1. Presented by: This information is being provided by PAGE and the PAGE Foundation, which are not affiliated with GACE ® or the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. All copyrighted images from the GACE ® website are used with permission.

2.  GACE® Content Assessments are used to determine if you know what you need to know in order to teach your content and/or grade level(s).  These GACE® exams are designed to be the culmination of years of teacher preparation.  They are not designed to be passable by someone who simply “crams” before the test.

3.  The Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC) is the licensing agency for teachers in Georgia. Passing the GACE ® is one of their requirements for a teaching certificate.  In some cases, your college or university may also require you to pass the GACE ® before you student teach or graduate. This varies by school, so check with your college advisor.

4.  Only eligible individual may register for and take a GACE® exam.  Check your eligibility on the official GACE® website (http://gace.ets.org/). Click on “About the Assessments” under Quick Links. Then click on “Eligibility” at the top left.http://gace.ets.org/

5.  The Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC) determines which exam(s) you must take in order to be licensed for the teaching certificate you want.  Go to the official GACE ® website ( http://gace.ets.org/ ) and click on “About the Assessments” under Quick Links. Then click the “Assessments Offered” link at the top left.” Find your certification area listed in the Content Assessments table, and you will see which test(s) you must take. http://gace.ets.org/

6.  All GACE® assessments are aligned with the state standards for the P-12 curriculum and with state and national content standards.  Each GACE® exam was developed by Georgia educators to measure competency on what is taught in Georgia's P-12 classrooms.  You can find information about Georgia standards at www.georgiastandards.org.www.georgiastandards.org

7.  Beware of expensive study guides that may or may not actually be written for the GACE ® exams. For example, in our research we found a “GACE ® ” study guide that was written before the GACE ® exams were ever created. This is an example of a guide written for another teacher certification exam that was simply re-packaged as a GACE ® study guide.

8.  The most reliable source of information is the official GACE ® website. Carefully read through the information provided in the “Test Preparation Resources” section.official GACE ®  Select your content area from the drop-down menu and you will be taken to a page listing resources for the relevant exams for that area.

9.  Some of the most valuable study information you can get is found in the “GACE ® Study Companion” for your content area.  These are free pdf downloads and answer most of your questions about the exam.

10.  While it is tempting to skip straight to sample questions, there is valuable information in the beginning of your Study Companion—don’t gloss over it.

11.  Take time to read and understand the rationale behind selecting the best responses.  Note the “Quick Tips” and other strategies offered..

12.  Note this interesting quote from the GACE® Study Companion: “Research shows that test takers tend to overestimate their preparedness.…The GACE assessments are demanding enough to require serious review of likely content…” (p. 14)  Don’t be among those who neglect to prepare thoroughly and far enough in advance.

13. Develop a Study Plan  Okay, we have all been told to develop a study plan at one time or another, but how many of us have actually done it? Do we even know how?  Page 17 of your Study Companion explains how to do this simply and effectively.  Your time is too valuable to waste—use it most efficiently by doing a little prep work.

14. Develop a Study Plan  It gives a simple and straightforward way of identifying and organizing the main elements of your study plan: 1. What will be on the test 2. What you know versus what you need to know 3. Where you can find what you need to know 4. Timeline for preparing

15.  You can download a template for the study plan organizer from the PAGE GACE Help Zone.  Note: when you click on the link you may receive a warning about downloading files from the Internet. Give your computer permission to download. Save to your hard drive so you will have the ability to type your information on it.

16.  Another important aspect of test preparation is to understand the rules and what to expect.  One thing that will totally unnerve an already anxious test taker is to be taken by surprise by some unexpected rule or prohibition.  To give yourself every advantage and avoid an embarrassing and upsetting episode on the day of the test, be completely familiar with what is allowed into the testing room.  Well before the exam, go to the “About the Assessments” page of the official GACE website and click on “On Test Day” at the left.

17.  Remember, these tests are not designed to be passable by “cramming.”  Map out your study plan weeks in advance.  Plan your work, then work your plan!