FTCE exam prep

FTCE Elementary Science Study Hub

Everything for the Science subtest of FTCE Elementary Education K-6: about 55 questions in 70 minutes, five competencies, and 44 lessons covering the content and the reasoning the test asks for.

2 free pop-up tests · 108 flashcards · 44 connected lessons

2 pop-up practice tests44 connected lessons1 complete flashcard deck

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FTCE Elementary Science Practice Center

Take a full 70-minute form, read the explanation under every question you miss, then use the flashcards to close the content gaps the test found.

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QRQuick ReviewThe subtest at a glance, competency by competency

Elementary Science at a glance

Half of this subtest is content you either know or do not: cells, matter, forces, the solar system. The other half is reasoning about an investigation someone else ran. The second half is where most points are won and lost, and it is the part you can improve fastest.

Subtest	Science, part of Elementary Education K-6 (060)
Part of	The FTCE Elementary Education K-6 test, code 060, alongside Language Arts and Reading, Social Science, Science, and Mathematics. Each subtest is passed and retaken separately.
Number of questions	Approximately 55 multiple-choice questions
Answer options	Four per question (A, B, C, or D)
Time limit	70 minutes
Format	Computer-based. Many questions attach to a described investigation or a small data table. Nothing depends on seeing a photograph.
Passing score	A scaled score of at least 200.
Retakes	Subtests are retaken individually after a 31-day wait.

Florida does not publish how many questions come from each competency. Any percentage breakdown you see on a prep site is someone’s estimate, not an official figure, so this hub does not repeat one.

The five competencies, in plain language

Forty-eight skill statements, grouped into what the test actually checks.

Competency 1: Knowledge of effective science instruction

Teaching science to children, not just knowing it.

Planning inquiry that children can actually run
Safety in an elementary classroom and on field work
Common misconceptions children hold, and how to surface them
Assessment that shows what a child understands rather than what they memorized

Competency 2: Knowledge of the nature of science

What counts as evidence, and what evidence allows you to say.

Variables, controls, and fair tests
The difference between a hypothesis, a theory, and a law
Correlation against causation
Reading tables, graphs, and measurement with units

Competency 3: Knowledge of physical sciences

Matter, energy, force, and motion.

Properties and states of matter, and physical against chemical change
Atoms, elements, compounds, and mixtures
Force, motion, and simple machines
Energy forms, transfer, heat, light, sound, and basic electricity

Competency 4: Knowledge of Earth and space

The systems children can observe and the ones they cannot.

Rocks, soil, and the processes that shape the surface
Water cycle, weather, and climate
Earth, Moon, and Sun: days, seasons, phases, and tides
The solar system and the universe beyond it

Competency 5: Knowledge of life science

Living things, from cells to ecosystems.

Cells, body systems, and how structure fits function
Life cycles, heredity, and traits
Adaptation, natural selection, and change over time
Ecosystems, food webs, and human effects on them

A routine that fits a 70-minute subtest

Seventy minutes for about 55 questions is roughly 75 seconds each, and the investigation items eat more than that. Build the content knowledge first so the reasoning items get the time they need.

DiagnoseTake Practice Test 1 cold. The point is to find which of the five competencies is actually thin.

Fix content firstContent gaps are the cheapest to close. Work the lessons in your weakest competency before anything else.

Practice the reasoningRedo the investigation and data items without looking at the options. Say what the data allow before you read the choices.

Prove itTake Practice Test 2 under time. Anything still wrong goes on a one-page list for the night before.

Complete lesson map

Forty-four lessons, grouped the way the content clusters. Each opens in a new tab.

Reading and interpreting science

Scientific reasoning

Experimental design

Data: tables, charts, and graphs

Life science

Heredity, evolution, and ecosystems

Matter and reactions

Earth and space science

Before test day

Two habits carry this subtest. The first is checking what changed and what was held constant before you answer anything about an experiment. The second is refusing to pick an answer that goes further than the data. A choice can be true about the world and still be wrong about the study in front of you.

Watch the classic misconceptions, because the test writes distractors from them: seasons come from axial tilt and not from distance to the Sun, mass and weight are different things, and dissolving is not melting.