Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) Overview

The Ohio Assessments for Educators (OAE) provides an initial licensure program for candidates who want entry-level educator licensure or want to obtain a new educator licensure credential in Ohio. It is meant to determine the relevant content and professional knowledge for prospective educators in the state and the exams within the OAE are aligned with Ohio’s state learning standards.

There are several testing sectors within the OAE, which cover different content area and student ages.

Candidates only need to pass one of these assessments to obtain their first license. Additional licensure can only be obtained by passing the relevant exams in those content areas.

To determine the specific OAE exam that’s right for them, a given candidate should start by focusing on their particular area of interest and the test that aligns with it.

Tests are divided into different content sections and by age group.

OAE Study Guide Review

How Are the OAE Exams Administered?

The OAE exams are offered at testing centers around the country and most tests are available by appointment.


Ad for a Mometrix online course

What Content Is Covered by The OAE Foundations of Reading Exam?

The OAE Foundations of Reading exam has four main sections, each with several subsections. It contains 100 multiple-choice questions and two open-response item assignments and participants are given four hours to complete it. Per OAE, it is broken down as follows:

  1. Foundations of Reading Development (About 35 percent of test weighting)
    • Phonological and phonemic awareness
    • Concepts of print and the alphabetic principle
    • The role of phonics and promoting reading development
    • Word analysis skills and strategies
  2. Development of Reading Comprehension (About 27 percent of test weighting)
    • Vocabulary development
    • How to apply reading comprehension skills and strategies to imaginative/literary texts
    • How to apply reading comprehension skills and strategies to informational/expository texts
  3. Reading Assessment and Instruction (About 18 percent of test weighting)
    • Formal and informal methods for assessing reader development
    • Multiple approaches to reading instruction
  4. Integration of Knowledge and Understanding (About 20 percent of test weighting)
    • Prepare an organized, developed analysis on a topic related to: foundations of reading development, development of reading comprehension and/or reading assessment and instruction

What Content Is Covered by The OAE Early Childhood Education Exam?

The OAE Early Childhood Education exam has four main sections, each with several subsections. It contains 150 multiple-choice questions and participants are given 180 minutes to complete it. Per OAE, it is broken down as follows:

  1. Child Development and Learning (About 21 percent of test weighting)
    • Early childhood development from birth through age eight and factors that influence young children’s development and learning
    • The goals, benefits, types and uses of assessment
    • How to create positive indoor and outdoor learning environments for children age eight and younger
  2. Language and Literacy Development (About 29 percent of test weighting)
    • Oral language development and how to promote listening and speaking skills in children age eight and younger
    • The foundations of literacy development in children age eight and younger
    • Instruction in reading and reading comprehension for children age eight and younger
    • Writing processes and strategies for developing children’s writing competence
  3. Learning Across the Curriculum (About 36 percent of test weighting)
    • Music, drama, creative movement, dance and visual arts and how to facilitate arts learning for children age eight and younger
    • Health, safety and physical activity and how to facilitate learning about them for children age eight and younger
    • Mathematical concepts, processes and skills and how to facilitate mathematical learning for children age eight and younger
    • Social studies and concepts and how to facilitate social studies learning for children age eight and younger
    • Science concepts and skills and how to facilitate science learning for children age eight and younger
  4. Professional Relationships and Responsibilities (About 14 percent of test weighting)
    • Strategies for building positive, collaborative relationships with children’s families, other professionals and community agencies
    • The roles and responsibilities of early childhood educators

What Content Is Covered by The OAE Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Early Childhood (PK-3) Exam, The OAE Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Middle Childhood (4-9) Exam and The OAE Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Adolescence to Young Adult (7-12) Exam?

The OAE Assessment of Professional Knowledge: Early Childhood (PK-3), Middle Childhood (4-9) and Adolescence to Young Adult (7-12) exams each share three main sections and several subsections that cover the same content, as applicable to the age groups to which they pertain. Each exam contains 100 multiple-choice questions and two constructed response assignments, with 180 minutes granted for the completion of each exam. Per OAE, these exams are broken down as follows:

  1. Student Development and Learning (About 24 percent of test weighting)
    • Processes of human development, variations in student development and applying this knowledge to provide instructional environments and experiences
    • Learning processes, factors that can affect student learning and performance and applying this knowledge to provide instructional environments and experiences
    • Student diversity and providing learning opportunities and environments that are responsive to student differences, promote all students’ learning and foster students’ appreciation of and respect for diversity
  2. Assessment, Instruction and The Learning Environment (About 50 percent of test weighting)
    • Assessment instruments and practices, the relationship between assessment and instruction and how to use assessment to guide instruction and monitor students’ learning progress
    • Principles and procedures of curricular and instructional planning and how to use effective planning to design instruction that promotes all students’ learning
    • Principles and practices associated with various instructional approaches and how to apply these to promote all students’ achievement of instructional goals
    • Principles and practices of motivation and communication and how to apply these principles and practices effectively to promote students’ active engagement and learning
    • How to structure and manage the classroom to establish a safe, inclusive and positive environment
  3. The Professional Environment (About 26 percent of test weighting)
    • How to establish partnerships and collaborate effectively with families, colleagues and members of the community
    • Understanding roles and expectations for professional educators, legal and ethical guidelines and strategies for continuous professional growth
Self-Assessment Modules

How Can I Get A Passing Score on All OAE Exams?

Regardless of their specific content areas or age groups of focus, all of the OAE exams ask candidates to recall large amounts of specific knowledge. As such, it is recommended that anyone preparing to take an OAE exam spend considerable time with a customized study guide. In addition to time spent with a study guide, there are flash card options that also put candidates in the best possible position to perform well on any of the OAE exams. Mometrix provides an excellent, tailor-made solution for both an OAE study guide and flash cards.

OAE Study Guide

Explore our free OAE review provided by Mometrix. Check out our premium OAE study guide to take your studying to the next level. If you benefit from these materials, just click the link below! To compliment our OAE book, we also offer extensive OAE flashcards for even more OAE test prep help.

We hope you enjoy our products! Your purchase helps us make more great, free OAE certification content for test-takers just like yourself.

Online OAE Foundations of Reading Prep Course

If you want to be fully prepared, Mometrix offers an online OAE Foundations of Reading Prep Course. The course is designed to provide you with any and every resource you might want while studying. The OAE Foundations of Reading Course includes:

  • Review Lessons Covering Every Topic
  • 400+ OAE Foundations of Reading Practice Questions
  • More than 300 Digital Flashcards
  • Over 40 Instructional Videos
  • Money-back Guarantee
  • Free Mobile Access
  • and More!

The OAE Foundations of Reading Prep Course is designed to help any learner get everything they need to prepare for their OAE Foundations of Reading exam. Click below to check it out!