TExES Science 4-8 116 Teacher Certification Test Prep Study Guide (XAM TEXES) 0th Edition

I bought this book (the TExAS Science 4-8 116 test prep book) as a main study guide to help me prepare to take the TExAS test to become a junior high science teacher. A little background on my education so you know what I was building off of before diving into this study guide... I finished my bachelors degree in geology in summer of 2013 and have completed all the courses for my Master's Degree in Geology as well. In the course of my studies I had to take chemistry and physics on top of my minor in biology. This book was a good refresher on a lot of the basic concepts in those fields of study and I found it quite reliable in the accuracy of the information as well. It covers concepts of chemistry, physics, principles of electricity (such as parallel circuits vs series circuits, and voltage, resistance, and amperage). It also covers taxonomy, biology, anatomy and physiology, as well as ecosystems and climates. Basics of earth science, like the rock cycle and different types of volcanoes, mountains, and geologic hazards are also covered. Astronomy and theories of the creation of the universe are included as well. Teaching theory is laid out pretty well and tailored to teaching in the sciences. It mostly discusses how to engage students and get them interested in the material and then different methods of assessing students progress (such as formal tests or just observations while walking around the classroom). This book also covers the safe and proper practices and procedures for scientific labs and the equipment found in them.A little insight on how I used this book... I slowly read this book over the course of a few weeks and wrote out flash cards packed with lists, processes, and bullet points. I wrote down just about every key point that I could pull out of the book, besides the ones that I knew that I would remember. I ended up with about 600 flash cards in all, and like I said the back side of them was packed full of information. So there is no lack of information in this book.I then review the flashcards once the whole day before taking the test (each flash card was so packed full of information it really did take a whole day to review. It was probably about 12 hours of reviewing them).I would have review them a second time, but ran out of time before I had to take the test. Some might think its a waste of time to write all of that information down, when I could have probably read the book over another time with the time I spent writing all of the flashcard out, but I have found that writing things down helps ingrain facts in my long-term memory better.I took the test yesterday morning and am awaiting the results, but I can honestly say I feel pretty good about it and believe that I will have gotten a passing score. While there were a couple of questions on my test that seemed a little off the topics covered in this book, overall as I was taking the test I felt like I had been well prepared for it. This book did a really good job at synthesizing and summarizing almost all the information and scientific and teaching concepts I needed to understand to do well on this test. If I had not had this study guide I most definitely would have spent probably 3-5 times the amount of time pouring over material in review for this test.The only reason why I am giving this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because there are some grammatical errors, but even more importantly there were a lot of key words that were not bolded or underlined in anyway and I believe it would have been even more helpful if it had of had all key words bolded that were defined.Overall, I would definitely recommend this to anyone preparing to take the TExAS 116 Exam for Science 4-8.UPDATE (5-10-2016): I passed with a 283 the first time!!!I'm so glad I didn't try to glean all the information I needed to know from my old chemistry, biology, and physics books. It would have taken forever. I you make sure you know this book inside and out and study the periodic table of elements and you should do fine! I would definitely recommend this book!

This book has plenty of grammar mistakes, which does question the validity of the information contained in the book, but it offers two very helpful things.First, trying to study for a test that covers five grades is a difficult task in itself. Having all of the information to refresh a person's memory in one spot is a blessing. Topics that needed a bit of touching upon can be covered with this text and topics that need more of an in-depth look can be searched for online or in textbooks. You don't have to reread every textbook from the five grades, just this one booklet as a starting point.Second, the wealth of questions gives the reader more of a chance to practice for the test. They are not the best questions out there, but they are similar to the test and can give the reader an idea of how to study. Use these questions along with the questions from the ETS Study Guide and you should have a good idea of how you are going to do on the test and what you need to look into with more detail.This book is comprehensive in its scope, but doesn't offer a ton of depth. It allows you to refresh your memory. It definitely will not teach you the principles. Good luck on the test and use this book for what it is: a refresher. Recommended.

I have to say that this book was great in covering content if you needed some brush up with the material. I wouldn't solely rely on all the information without following the guidelines with the prep. material found in the Texes website. Using both will definitely help! Also, the test questions in the back of the book help prepare me for content, but they where just practice with basic content, that's why you should make sure you use the guidline from texes! I passed with flying colors! Don't just rely solely on this book to pass, you need to combine with other resources too!

This guide was a useful and comprehensive test prep. I agree with some of the other reviews in that the guide could benefit from a bigger focus on the instruction of science. (I suggest using the TEA website to prepare for those questions) The errors were also discouraging, but overall I was pleased.

Using this book as a study guide, in one week's time I passed the TExES Science 4-8 exam with a score of 270! Good coverage of topics and the sample test provided at the end is indicative of what you would find on the TExES exam.

I wasn't crazy about this book. The test formats in the back are much harder and different than the actual test. That being said it did force you to study more in depth so that you know the material. I wouldn't completely overlook this as a resource but don't rely on this as a stand alone study guide.

This book had most of the required information, but got occasional details wrong. It explained things well, but the occasional inaccuracies made it difficult to feel confident in the rest of the book.

PASSED! Also paired this with actual text books and an online test provider that you can buy practice test. Would recommend these books.