1|Page: 2024/2025 Grade A+
NES Test Special Education Questions and
Correct Answers & Latest Updated
Competency 1
o :## Focuses on the characteristics of typical and atypical human growth and development
and the characteristics of students with various disabilities that special education teachers are
likely to encounter.
Learning Disabilities
o :## Students with learning disabilities have average or above average intelligence but an
unexpected academic weakness in one or more content areas.
Dyslexia
o :## Impacts a student's ability to learn to read, to recognize sound segments or letters,
following along in text comprehending what they read.
Dysgraphia
o :## Impacts student's ability to learn to write, often their handwriting and/or spelling.
Dyscalculia
o :## Impacts a student's ability to understand numbers and mathematical operations,
remembering math facts and the sequence of steps in math problems.
Intellectual Disabilities
o :## Students qualify as having an intellectual disability when they show developmental delays
in most aspects of academic and social functioning.
Communication Disorders
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,2|Page: 2024/2025 Grade A+
o :## Students who are more likely to mispronounce sounds or have speech that lacks fluency
are identified as having speech disorder.
Articulation Disorders
o :## Affects a student's ability to produce certain sounds and sound combinations.
Fluency Disorders
o :## Hesitations or stuttering
Specific language Impairment
o :## Manifests as a delay in a student's language development but the student shows no other
conditions that would cause such a delay in language development (e.g., autism, deafness)
Emotional Impairments
o :## Typically, children who are identified as having emotional impairments show behaviors or
emotions that are not appropriate for setting. Often they have trouble making friends,
working in groups, and maintaining personal relationships.
Anxiety Disorders
o :## Characterized by excessive fears or worry. Phobias, separation anxiety, and obsessive-
compulsive disorder.
Mood Disorders
o :## Including depression and bipolar disorder (i.e., swings between elevated or manic mood
and depression). Students who are depressed may cry often, lose motivation for things that
were once enjoyable, lose weight and disregard hygiene, or have suicidal thoughts.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
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,3|Page: 2024/2025 Grade A+
o :## Students show hostile and defiant behaviors, including temper tantrums, arguments, and
irritability.
Conduct Disorders
o :## Students consistently engage in antisocial behaviors that interfere with others.
Attention Disorders
o :## Students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more easily distracted
and divide their attention between multiple stimuli instead of staying on task when compared
to others at the same developmental level.
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
o :## Range from mile to severe based on the degree to which they show characteristics.
Atypical Language Development and Communication Delays
o :## Many never learn to communicate successfully using spoken language. Some engage in
echolalia, repeating pars of a sentence they just hear. Many show limited eye contact or
extreme focus or interest in one topic or conversation. Students with ASD often have
difficulty understanding figurative language and humor.
Atypical Social Development
o :## Students with autism do not seem to recognize or respond to others' emotions, social
cues, and nonverbal signals. Many do not interact with others during play and/or do not
engage in reciprocal interactions.
Repetitive Behavior, Including Movement and Verbalizations
o :## Tics (physical) and obsessions (attention) are common.
Undesirable Behaviors
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, 4|Page: 2024/2025 Grade A+
o :## Some children with autism are aggressive toward others or engage in repetitive self-
injurious behaviors.
Need for Predictability
o :## Many students with autism gain security from environmental structure and experience
anxiety in unfamiliar situations. Some focus intensely on adherence to routines and become
upset if things are out of place or sequence.
Sensory and Movement Disorders
o :## Some children are over-responsive to sensory stimuli, whereas others are under-
responsive, some show atypical movement of the head, trunk, and limbs; clumsiness or
posture; or an awkward (i.e., not smooth) gait.
Intellectual Disabilties
o :## Although students with autism spectrum disorders may have very high intelligence or low
intelligence, more than half also have an intellectual disability.
Sensory Disorders
o :## Hearing and visual impairments are the two most common sensory disorders that special
education teachers encounter.
Hearing Loss
o :## Students who are deaf or hard of hearing often experience language delays, particularly if
their hearing loss goes undetected.
Visual Impairments
o :## Individuals are considered totally blind if they cannot receive any meaningful visual input.
They rely on input from other senses.
Master01: DO NOT COPY AND PASTE!! August 25, 2024 Latest Update
NES Test Special Education Questions and
Correct Answers & Latest Updated
Competency 1
o :## Focuses on the characteristics of typical and atypical human growth and development
and the characteristics of students with various disabilities that special education teachers are
likely to encounter.
Learning Disabilities
o :## Students with learning disabilities have average or above average intelligence but an
unexpected academic weakness in one or more content areas.
Dyslexia
o :## Impacts a student's ability to learn to read, to recognize sound segments or letters,
following along in text comprehending what they read.
Dysgraphia
o :## Impacts student's ability to learn to write, often their handwriting and/or spelling.
Dyscalculia
o :## Impacts a student's ability to understand numbers and mathematical operations,
remembering math facts and the sequence of steps in math problems.
Intellectual Disabilities
o :## Students qualify as having an intellectual disability when they show developmental delays
in most aspects of academic and social functioning.
Communication Disorders
Master01: DO NOT COPY AND PASTE!! August 25, 2024 Latest Update
,2|Page: 2024/2025 Grade A+
o :## Students who are more likely to mispronounce sounds or have speech that lacks fluency
are identified as having speech disorder.
Articulation Disorders
o :## Affects a student's ability to produce certain sounds and sound combinations.
Fluency Disorders
o :## Hesitations or stuttering
Specific language Impairment
o :## Manifests as a delay in a student's language development but the student shows no other
conditions that would cause such a delay in language development (e.g., autism, deafness)
Emotional Impairments
o :## Typically, children who are identified as having emotional impairments show behaviors or
emotions that are not appropriate for setting. Often they have trouble making friends,
working in groups, and maintaining personal relationships.
Anxiety Disorders
o :## Characterized by excessive fears or worry. Phobias, separation anxiety, and obsessive-
compulsive disorder.
Mood Disorders
o :## Including depression and bipolar disorder (i.e., swings between elevated or manic mood
and depression). Students who are depressed may cry often, lose motivation for things that
were once enjoyable, lose weight and disregard hygiene, or have suicidal thoughts.
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
Master01: DO NOT COPY AND PASTE!! August 25, 2024 Latest Update
,3|Page: 2024/2025 Grade A+
o :## Students show hostile and defiant behaviors, including temper tantrums, arguments, and
irritability.
Conduct Disorders
o :## Students consistently engage in antisocial behaviors that interfere with others.
Attention Disorders
o :## Students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more easily distracted
and divide their attention between multiple stimuli instead of staying on task when compared
to others at the same developmental level.
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
o :## Range from mile to severe based on the degree to which they show characteristics.
Atypical Language Development and Communication Delays
o :## Many never learn to communicate successfully using spoken language. Some engage in
echolalia, repeating pars of a sentence they just hear. Many show limited eye contact or
extreme focus or interest in one topic or conversation. Students with ASD often have
difficulty understanding figurative language and humor.
Atypical Social Development
o :## Students with autism do not seem to recognize or respond to others' emotions, social
cues, and nonverbal signals. Many do not interact with others during play and/or do not
engage in reciprocal interactions.
Repetitive Behavior, Including Movement and Verbalizations
o :## Tics (physical) and obsessions (attention) are common.
Undesirable Behaviors
Master01: DO NOT COPY AND PASTE!! August 25, 2024 Latest Update
, 4|Page: 2024/2025 Grade A+
o :## Some children with autism are aggressive toward others or engage in repetitive self-
injurious behaviors.
Need for Predictability
o :## Many students with autism gain security from environmental structure and experience
anxiety in unfamiliar situations. Some focus intensely on adherence to routines and become
upset if things are out of place or sequence.
Sensory and Movement Disorders
o :## Some children are over-responsive to sensory stimuli, whereas others are under-
responsive, some show atypical movement of the head, trunk, and limbs; clumsiness or
posture; or an awkward (i.e., not smooth) gait.
Intellectual Disabilties
o :## Although students with autism spectrum disorders may have very high intelligence or low
intelligence, more than half also have an intellectual disability.
Sensory Disorders
o :## Hearing and visual impairments are the two most common sensory disorders that special
education teachers encounter.
Hearing Loss
o :## Students who are deaf or hard of hearing often experience language delays, particularly if
their hearing loss goes undetected.
Visual Impairments
o :## Individuals are considered totally blind if they cannot receive any meaningful visual input.
They rely on input from other senses.
Master01: DO NOT COPY AND PASTE!! August 25, 2024 Latest Update
