Passing the Literacy Skills Test

“This book is fantastic and has been purchased by many of our students who have subsequently passed the skill test.”

– Sarah Martin-Denham, Faculty of Education and Society, University of Sunderland

All applicants to Initial Teacher Training in England need to PASS the QTS Literacy Skills Test before starting their course. This professional skills test is designed to ensure trainee teachers have a sound grasp of literacy skills such as comprehension and spelling and how to apply these in practice. This popular and widely recommended book outlines all of the requirements of the QTS Literacy Skills Test, explains the essential subject knowledge candidates need and includes practice questions for test preparation.

This fourth edition, co-written by an author of the test itself, is updated throughout and now includes a full practice test, more practice questions and more question and answer commentary. This is more than a collection of practice questions. It includes advice, tips, test commentary and guidance to help students pass first time.

It helps students to:

• familiarise yourself with the skills and knowledge to be tested
• fully understand the format and structure of the literacy skills test
• know what to expect on the day of the test

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

For the purposes of the test, literacy is seen as comprising the four sections: Spelling, Punctuation, Grammar and Comprehension. Each section has its own chapter. There you will find an explanation of the knowledge required, examples of the features of literacy being tested and explicitly direction about what to do in the test. There are practice questions for each section.

Chapter 5 is a complete literacy practice skills test for you to work through, and Chapter 6 contains answers and explanatory key points for all the questions in the main chapters, and for the practice test.

Revision checklist
You can use the checklist in your revision to make sure that you have covered all the key content areas.