TExES exam prep
TExES Special Education Specialist EC-12 Online Center
This TExES Special Education Specialist EC-12 Online Center brings together practice, lessons, worksheets, flashcards and review tools. Choose the resource that matches the skill you want to work on next.
2 free pop-up tests · 108 flashcards · 5 weighted domains
2 pop-up practice tests108 connected lessons1 complete flashcard deck
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TExES Special Education Specialist Practice Center
Take a full form, then read the explanation under every question you missed. Domain III, curricular knowledge and instructional practices, is twenty-seven percent and the largest single block, so score it separately.
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TExES Special Education Specialist EC-12 at a glance
Check the number on your study guide first. Texas retired Special Education EC-12 (161) on August 31, 2025 and replaced it with 186, which has a different shape: ninety selected-response questions plus one written assignment, where 161 had a hundred fifty questions and none. A passing 161 score can still be used, but only until September 1, 2026.
| Test code | 186 (Special Education Specialist EC-12) |
|---|---|
| Replaces | Special Education EC-12 (161), whose last administration was August 31, 2025. 186 launched September 2, 2025. |
| If you passed 161 | Texas states the last day to apply and be recommended for a certificate on a passing 161 or 163 score is September 1, 2026. Confirm your own record with the state. |
| Number of questions | 90 selected-response questions and 1 constructed-response assignment |
| What the written task asks | You are given qualitative and quantitative data on one student. Identify strengths and needs, give one instruction or intervention recommendation, and describe how you would implement it and monitor progress. |
| Time limit | 5 hours total: 15 minutes for the tutorial and compliance agreement, then 4 hours 45 minutes of testing. |
| Format | Computer-administered |
| Passing score | 240 on a scale of 100 to 300. |
Texas publishes weights by domain: Legal and Ethical Guidelines and Knowledge of Learners 18 percent, Assessment and Program Planning 18 percent, Curricular Knowledge and Instructional Practices 27 percent, Professional Collaboration Learning and Responsibilities 18 percent, and Analysis and Response 20 percent, which is the single written assignment. Texas notes that its own percentages do not add to exactly one hundred because of rounding. The written assignment is worth more than any domain except instruction.
The five domains, in plain language
Texas states each competency. Here is what each domain asks of you, with its published weight.
Domain III: Curricular knowledge and instructional practices (27 percent)
The largest domain: what you actually teach and how.
- Explicit, systematic, evidence-based instruction
- Accommodations against modifications
- Assistive technology and augmentative and alternative communication
- Task analysis, prompting, prompt fading, and chaining
- Literacy instruction for students with reading difficulties
- Mathematics instruction for students with disabilities
- Access to the general curriculum
- Building independence rather than prompt dependence
Domain V: Analysis and response (20 percent, the written assignment)
One written task, worth a fifth of the exam.
- Read the qualitative and quantitative data you are given
- Identify the student’s strengths as well as needs
- Name one instructional or intervention recommendation, not a list
- Describe how you would implement it
- Describe how you would monitor progress
Domain I: Legal and ethical guidelines and knowledge of learners (18 percent)
Who the students are and what the law requires.
- The disability categories and their characteristics
- Child find, evaluation, and eligibility
- The IEP and its required components
- Least restrictive environment and the continuum
- Procedural safeguards and family rights, in principle
- Professional ethics and confidentiality
Domain II: Assessment and program planning (18 percent)
Gathering evidence and turning it into a plan.
- Formal and informal assessment
- Non-discriminatory evaluation
- Present levels and measurable annual goals
- Progress monitoring and curriculum-based measurement
- Alternate assessment and testing accommodations
- Using data to change the plan
Domain IV: Professional collaboration, learning, and responsibilities (18 percent)
The team around the student.
- Collaboration with general education teachers and co-teaching
- Supervising and supporting paraprofessionals
- Partnership with families
- Working with related service providers and outside agencies
- Transition planning and self-determination
- Professional learning and reflective practice
A study routine for a 285-minute exam
Almost five hours for ninety questions and one written task means time is not the pressure. The written assignment is, because it is twenty percent and most candidates have never written one.
DiagnoseTake Practice Test 1 cold. Score the four selected-response domains separately.
Work Domain III hardestTwenty-seven percent, and it is the domain about what you do with a student rather than what you know about them.
Practise the written responseTwenty percent for one task. Take any set of student data and write it out: strengths, the specific need the data show, one recommendation, how you would implement it, and how you would know it worked. Practise producing all five parts.
Learn the legal principles, not the numbersThe exam asks what a team must do, not which rule says so. Timelines vary; the principles do not.
Prove itTake Practice Test 2 under time.
Complete topic map
The descriptive statements Texas publishes across the competencies of the five domains.
Competency 001: Legal and Ethical Guidelines
- 01Demonstrate knowledge of major state guidelines, including the Texas Administrative Code, state transition guidelines, and ARD committee guidelines; of federal legislation, including ESSA, IDEA, Section 504, the ADA, and the ADAAA; and of key court cases.
- 02Demonstrate knowledge of the IDEA eligibility categories.
- 03Demonstrate knowledge of the special education teacher’s roles and responsibilities regarding Child Find.
- 04Apply knowledge of the similarities and differences between Section 504 plans and IEPs.
- 05Demonstrate knowledge of confidentiality requirements and of the components and maintenance of special education eligibility folders.
- 06Demonstrate knowledge of the components of an IFSP and of procedures for developing, implementing, and amending IFSPs.
- 07Demonstrate knowledge of the components of an IEP and of procedures for developing, implementing, and amending IEPs.
- 08Apply knowledge of auditing student class schedules for least restrictive environment and service compliance.
- 09Demonstrate knowledge of the legal responsibility to fully implement IEPs and to protect student confidentiality.
- 10Apply knowledge of ARD committee member roles and of the components required in an ARD committee meeting.
Competency 002: Knowledge of Learners
- 11Apply knowledge of how disabilities affect developmental milestones, executive functioning, social skills, and learning.
- 12Apply knowledge of the multiple influences (biological, physical, emotional, psychological, social, environmental, and linguistic) that affect students across the instructional continuum.
- 13Apply knowledge of the multiple influences that affect students who carry other identifiers, including gifted and talented students, emergent bilingual and English learner students, highly mobile students, and students at risk.
- 14Demonstrate knowledge of factors that contribute to stress and trauma, and distinguish their effects from those of a learning disability.
- 15Apply knowledge of addressing stress and trauma, and of protective factors, resilience, and supportive relationships.
- 16Apply knowledge of the impact of brain development from birth through early adulthood.
Competency 003: Assessment for Data-Driven Decision Making
- 17Demonstrate knowledge of the various forms of assessment, including formative and summative assessment, and of the purpose of each.
- 18Apply knowledge of assessing students’ learning, behavior, modes of communication, and learning environment.
- 19Demonstrate knowledge of administering and interpreting screening instruments and diagnostic assessments.
- 20Apply knowledge of administering formative and summative assessments and collecting the resulting data.
- 21Apply knowledge of best practices for obtaining expert guidance from specialists and related service providers.
- 22Apply knowledge of interpreting multiple assessments to determine a student’s progress on IEP goals.
- 23Apply knowledge of identifying and implementing appropriate accommodations and modifications during assessment.
- 24Apply knowledge of interpreting assessment data to describe present levels of academic achievement and functional performance and to describe progress.
- 25Interpret and respond to multiple assessment data points regarding student mastery of the TEKS.
- 26Apply knowledge of interpreting assessment data to determine progress toward and mastery of the TEKS.
Competency 004: Developing, Implementing, and Monitoring Individualized Programs
- 27Apply knowledge of the special education teacher’s role in creating IEPs and implementing them with fidelity.
- 28Apply knowledge of using formative and summative data to identify goals and plan instruction.
- 29Apply knowledge of how academic, social, communication, and functional characteristics affect the level of support a student needs.
- 30Demonstrate knowledge of coordinating with staff and service providers using assessment data.
- 31Apply knowledge of using assessment data to draft IEP components, including measurable goals, the PLAAFP statement, and accommodations.
- 32Apply knowledge of creating and facilitating IEP transition activities.
- 33Apply knowledge of preparing for ARD committee meetings.
- 34Apply knowledge of preparing students to lead ARD discussions regarding their own progress and needs.
Competency 005: Subject Matter Content and Specialized Instructional Strategies
- 35Apply content-specific knowledge for early numeracy, early literacy, and pre-academic skills aligned with the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines.
- 36Apply content-specific knowledge for instruction aligned with the TEKS.
- 37Apply content-specific knowledge aligned with the TEKS and the Texas College and Career Readiness Standards for completion of a graduation plan.
- 38Apply knowledge of TEKS subject matter and of specialized curricula to make programmatic decisions.
- 39Apply content-specific knowledge to modify and differentiate instructional materials and provide access to them.
- 40Apply knowledge of designing learning and performance accommodations and modifications.
- 41Demonstrate knowledge of specialized curricula, including social skills, life skills, transition, and orientation and mobility.
- 42Apply knowledge of integrating the TEKS with specialized instructional strategies.
- 43Demonstrate knowledge of postsecondary education and career options and pathways.
- 44Apply knowledge of promoting student readiness for employment models and community-based instruction.
Competency 006: Supporting Learning Using Effective Instruction
- 45Apply knowledge of the key differences between IEP accommodations and modifications.
- 46Apply knowledge of planning instruction that delivers accommodations appropriately and as the IEP requires.
- 47Apply knowledge of designing explicit, scaffolded, systematic, and individualized instruction.
- 48Apply knowledge of grade-level appropriate strategies that promote high expectations and student engagement.
- 49Apply knowledge of creating opportunities for students to demonstrate knowledge through different modalities.
- 50Apply knowledge of learning processes to select appropriate grouping strategies.
- 51Apply knowledge of the Universal Design for Learning guidelines.
- 52Apply knowledge of the types of assistive technology and of strategic integration of assistive technology.
- 53Apply knowledge of promoting transfer and generalization of concepts across settings.
- 54Apply knowledge of planning meaningful learning experiences for students with high support needs.
Competency 007: Supporting Social, Behavioral, and Emotional Growth
- 55Apply knowledge of effective procedures and routines that create a safe and organized learning environment.
- 56Apply knowledge of strategies for establishing and maintaining high behavioral expectations.
- 57Apply knowledge of grade-level appropriate procedures for transitions and for student self-regulation.
- 58Demonstrate knowledge of how factors such as family, community, and trauma affect student behavior.
- 59Demonstrate knowledge of preventative and responsive practices that promote social competence.
- 60Demonstrate knowledge of de-escalation strategies, nonviolent crisis intervention, and restorative practices.
- 61Demonstrate knowledge of functional behavior assessment and of the components and purposes of a behavior intervention plan, including applied behavior analysis.
- 62Apply knowledge of interpreting functional behavior assessments to design behavioral interventions.
- 63Monitor the effectiveness of behavioral interventions through progress monitoring data.
- 64Demonstrate knowledge of preventative practices that address trauma, harassment, bullying, and violence.
Competency 008: Consultation and Collaboration
- 65Apply knowledge of collaborating with parents and guardians, school personnel, and specialists in differentiated ways.
- 66Apply knowledge of supervising, collaborating with, and mentoring paraprofessionals.
- 67Apply knowledge of consulting, co-planning, and co-teaching using collaborative strategies.
- 68Apply knowledge of coordinating with administrators and service providers on scheduling for the least restrictive environment.
- 69Demonstrate knowledge of implementing transition activities, including the use of community resources.
- 70Apply knowledge of the various co-teaching strategies and models and of selecting among them based on setting and student needs.
- 71Apply knowledge of collaboration with general education teachers to support inclusive practices.
- 72Apply knowledge of collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to plan instruction.
- 73Apply knowledge of selecting resources that improve communication with families and the community.
- 74Demonstrate knowledge of coordinating with related service providers and community agencies.
Competency 009: Professional Learning and Responsibilities
- 75Demonstrate knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of the EC-12 special education teacher and of other service providers.
- 76Demonstrate knowledge of effective advocacy strategies for students and families.
- 77Apply knowledge of setting short-term and long-term professional goals based on self-reflection.
- 78Demonstrate understanding of the barriers students face from early childhood through postsecondary settings.
- 79Apply knowledge of advocacy for social, legal, and environmental changes.
- 80Apply knowledge of advocating for family and student participation in the IEP and transition processes.
Competency 010: Analysis and Response
- 81Analyze and interpret assessment information, including varying types of data from formal and informal assessments.
- 82Synthesize the data to generate one recommendation for instruction and/or intervention.
- 83Describe the implementation and progress monitoring of the generated recommendation.
Before test day
Three habits carry this exam. Gather data before changing a plan, because the wrong answers are usually the ones that act on an assumption. Choose the least intrusive support that works and fade it, because building independence is the goal and prompt dependence is the failure mode the exam keeps testing. And on the written task, resist listing everything the student might need: one specific recommendation, implemented and monitored, scores better than a survey.
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TExES Special Education Specialist EC-12: study questions
What can I study in this TExES Special Education Specialist EC-12 Online Center?
This TExES Special Education Specialist EC-12 Online Center includes practice, lessons, worksheets, flashcards and review tools. Topics on the page include Domain III: Curricular knowledge and instructional practices (27 percent), Domain V: Analysis and response (20 percent, the written assignment), Domain I: Legal and ethical guidelines and knowledge of learners (18 percent).
How should I use the TExES Special Education Specialist EC-12 resources?
Choose a topic or practice activity from this Online Center. Review the linked explanation, try the practice, and use the result to decide what to study next. Check each resource’s directions for its format and access requirements.
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