Skip to main content

Study Guide

Print

Section 3: Test Summary and Framework
WEST–B

The Washington Educator Skills Test–Basic (WEST–B) is designed to measure a candidate's basic skills in reading and writing contained in the test framework. The explicit purpose of the WEST–B is to help identify candidates with the required level of basic skills to perform successfully in an educator preparation program or as a teacher in a public school classroom.

Test Summary

This test summary describes general testing information. The framework contains the objectives that define the content for the WEST–B Reading and Writing subtests.

Format Online proctored test
Number of Questions Reading: 60 multiple-choice questions
Writing: 50 multiple-choice and 2 constructed-response questions
Test Session CBT tutorial and nondisclosure agreement: 15 minutes
Reading: 2 hours testing time
Writing: 3 hours testing time
Passing Score 240
Subtest Codes 895–096

Basic Skills Test Objectives

Reading

Objective 0001: Understand the main idea and supporting details of a reading selection.

The following are examples of content that may be covered under this objective.

Objective 0002: Analyze the relationships among ideas or information within one or more reading selections.

The following are examples of content that may be covered under this objective.

Objective 0003: Use critical reasoning skills to evaluate a reading selection.

The following are examples of content that may be covered under this objective.

Objective 0004: Analyze the writer's purpose, intent, and point of view in a reading selection.

The following are examples of content that may be covered under this objective.

Objective 0005: Determine the meaning of words and phrases in context.

The following are examples of content that may be covered under this objective.

Objective 0006: Apply study skills to aid in understanding reading selections, graphs, tables, and charts.

The following are examples of content that may be covered under this objective.

Writing

In the Writing section of the Washington Educator Skills Test—Basic, the standard writing conventions that will be tested are those that reflect "standard English as used in the United States." "Standard English as used in the United States" refers to a form of English that conforms to the conventions of style, usage, and syntax generally considered acceptable in formal written communication. This is the form of English that is used by writers in the United States to communicate in textbooks, government documents, magazines, newspapers, and the like. Many other forms of written and spoken English are acceptable in certain situations, but knowledge and proper use of "standard English as used in the United States" are what will be measured by this test.
Objective 0007: Understand the role of audience and purpose in written communication.

The following are examples of content that may be covered under this objective.

Objective 0008: Understand idea development, fluency, and organization within writing.

The following are examples of content that may be covered under this objective.

Objective 0009: Recognize writing that effectively communicates intended messages.

The following are examples of content that may be covered under this objective.

Objective 0010: Apply revision strategies to written works.

The following are examples of content that may be covered under this objective.

Objective 0011: Recognize the use of standard writing conventions.

The following are examples of content that may be covered under this objective.

Objective 0012: Prepare an organized, developed composition in response to instructions regarding content, purpose, and audience.

The candidate may be asked to respond to persuasive and/or expository writing exercises in which the candidate is asked to do one or more of the following.

Based on the writing exercise assigned, responses will be evaluated according to the following performance characteristics.

Performance Characteristics

Focus and Appropriateness The fluency and quality of the discussion, and the sustained attention on a given topic using language and style appropriate to a specified audience, purpose, and occasion.
Unity and Organization The effectiveness of the organization, the logical sequence of ideas, and the clarity of the writing used to state and maintain a main idea and point of view.
Development and Rationale The relevance, depth, and effectiveness of statements or arguments and examples used to support those statements or defend a position.
Usage and Sentence Structure The precision in word choice and use of effective sentence structure.
Mechanical Conventions The use of spelling, capitalization, and punctuation according to standard writing conventions.