This subtest focuses on the essential content knowledge needed for teaching elementary mathematics. The 47 one-point questions and 5 two-point questions measure two kinds of content knowledge.

The first kind is the content knowledge needed to do the work of the student curriculum, such as solving a math problem similar to one students would solve. Approximately 20 percent of the questions measure this kind of content knowledge. The second kind is the specialized content knowledge needed to teach the student curriculum; this is the knowledge a teacher would use, for instance, when choosing an example to demonstrate a mathematical concept or interpreting a student’s mathematical misunderstanding based on a pattern of errors.

This specialized content knowledge is not knowledge that students are expected to learn, nor is it general knowledge of classroom-management strategies or learning theory; it is mathematical knowledge specialized to the work of teaching elementary mathematics. Approximately 80 percent of the questions measure this kind of content knowledge. Each question focuses on specific mathematics content. Questions measuring specialized content knowledge also incorporate a particular task of teaching mathematics; these questions are intended to measure the specialized content knowledge needed to carry out the practice effectively.