Study Strategy
I studied for 4 days and took the test July 2019. I read through many of the strategies on this forum and purchased the REA TExES Study Book since it was mentioned so often. It comes with online access, diagnostic testing, and 2 practice exams. It was roughly $26 on Amazon. I only had FOUR days to study for this exam. I would NOT recommend this route, but I had no other option. I took off work and studied for 8-10 hours each day. I felt the REA study guide does a great job of laying out the competencies and content, and the diagnostic test gives you a clear idea of what you need to study for. A lot of people say to study the competencies, but I had no time for that. I studied the content as much as possible and the teaching strategies at the end of each section. I can't recommend that REA study guide enough, because I truly think it is the reason I passed. The practice exams in the REA online study center are way harder than the actual exam. I failed the practice exams every time! I think this is why it's so beneficial. It makes you study harder than you may think you should. I will say I am generally a good test taker and had just completed my Masters degree, so I was used to studying efficiently.
Testing Strategy
It was about as hard of an exam as I suspected. I took the test on a computer and the order was ELAR, Math, Social Studies, and Science. The ELAR and Math sections were pretty tough, but I felt the Social Studies & Science sections were oddly easy. ELAR had a ton of teaching strategies and Math had little calculus. Social Studies was a lot of TX History and some US. I had very little safety questions on the Science portion. Other than that, it was spread evenly throughout. I took my break after the ELAR section, thinking the time would stop. When I returned to my computer, the time had been running on my Math section! I ran out of time on Math and had to guess on the remaining few. Be sure your test provider is helpful and knowledgable with the breaks/test time. I was instructed to get up and take a break when I wanted, even in the middle of a section! I didn't do this, but was frustrated to see my Math time was running while I stepped out.
I left feeling unsure. The exam was definitely easier than the REA practice exams, so I didn't feel as discouraged but still felt I had failed due to the short amount of time I had to study. The only confidence I had was that everyone here said they left feeling like they failed and ended up passing. I tested on a Friday and received my scores the following Tuesday night. I passed with a 261 and Math was my highest scoring section - go figure! My advice would be to study content and teaching strategies and think about every student in the classroom. Take a deep breath, read carefully (!!) and take your time, and mark questions to go back to review. I think a marked 60% of the questions for review. If you study, you will pass! Good luck :)