TExES Core Subjects EC-6 (291) Book + Online (TExES Teacher Certification Test Prep)

This book was the ideal purchase to aid me in studying for the TExES Core Subjects EC-6 Exam. I passed on my first attempt. The full-length practice tests were especially useful, and I could not find anything else that offered such realistic practice tests.

First of all, I am glad this book is sold through the store Prime because the store is the BEST. I am forever loyal. I had ordered the TExES Generalist EC-6 191 book on March 14, only to find out that this book was realized 10 days later. When I ordered, there was nothing that said this, so I was pretty frustrated. The book was delivered to a US address but when I realized my mistake, I had it with me in Spain, where I'll be through the summer. I asked customer service if it was possible to return it, and they said there was no point in returning it from Spain, so donate the book and order the 291 book. I got a refund for the 191 book AND the store covered the shipping charges to have the 291 book shipped to me in Spain. Thank you so much, the store!!!

The book itself is excellent. First of all it's HUGE. So. much. content. But, it's really helpful. The book recommends that you start with the diagnostic test. I'm so happy that I did. It turns out, I don't have as much studying as I thought. What a relief! The diagnostic test helps you know your weakest points, so that you can study those and improve your score. I like this strategy because to try and study everything in the book would be so difficult! It really is so much information. The book also has great study tips, and breaks down the information in an easy format. Plus, it comes with practice exams that you can take in the book or online. I will take mine online because it simulates how it will be on test day because the test is an online test. Anyways, this is the only book you need to study for the exam. It has everything you'd and is totally worth the money.

Some of the information was found on the actual test. It helped me pass the math portion of the core subject test. I had taken the practice test 3 times and took the texes math portion the 4th time and passed! Before I had not used this practice core subject book and glad I did.

Great prep book. I used this, some online quizlets, and the a little of the official TEA prep manual, and passed my content exam with flying colors. A couple notes though: there isn't much, if any, Texas constitution specific content in this prep book, but I've seen such questions show up on practice tests, including the ones included with this book. Also, when doing the online practice tests, you may notice a little checkbox that says "Review Later." As far as I can tell, this doesn't populate a list for you anywhere (or maybe it's after you finish but before you submit - I always just submitted when I was done). On the actual content exam, though, this does mark your items on a list if you want to go back to them at the end. I suppose they are trying to familiarize you with the options you have on the real thing.

Edit: I agree with another reviewer that the Diagnostic test is a starting point only. After taking the practice tests I probably ended up reading the whole book.

I thought this book was okay. It was very detailed and it had A LOT of information. When studying for your exam, make sure you read the book from front to back because you need to know almost everything in it. I didn't like the way the book was organized (so much text without much paragraph separation in some sections and not a lot of bolding of words that I thought would be important). Also, since some of the competencies overlap with the same information, so did many sections of the book, which I didn't like. I wish it would have explained everything that we needed to know in one section rather than giving basic information in one part and then going into greater detail in another. The book also had a lot of typos and grammatical errors which I thought was strange. Lastly, the book referenced a lot of outside online resources for you to go look up information you needed to know for the test. The book should just clearly state the info, not make you go to another source to find what you need. Anyways, I ended up passing the exam by only using this book as my main source of information in addition to taking 3 practice tests through TEXESprep.com. I did not take the practice exams in this book. I'm not sure if I'd recommend this book since the organization and typos really through me off, but then again, I did pass the exam...

Wife's Review: I'd lean toward a 3.5. It wasn't a bad purchase. I will say I took the exam in 2016 and there were categories within the first portion (ELAR) that was on the exam but not mentioned in the book at all. Not the perfect study guide, but a decent one to pass if you study well.

Studied for a week and passed my test. Truthfully, I only studied the ELA and Health/Music/Art portions as I already had a good grasp on everything else but the parts I did study had me well prepared. I only 15 questions total on the test.

The study book seemed good, I bought the one with the online practice tests. It gave a good foundation and I felt prepared for the test. When I walked into the actual test I felt very unprepared. It was much more application than the practice tests and book prepared me for. It was very different.

By the grace of God I did pass the test on the first try. Which is why I am giving 3 stars. Again, this book was a good foundation to learn the terms/concepts but I felt unprepared in the actual test. So unless you are a good test taker I would recommend getting supplemental study material.

My degree is in business not education, so all things I learned in this book will be helpful in the classroom...but it doesn't help with the test. At all. The test is more intuitive and nothing like what's in this book. I passed the test in the first try, but probably would have without this book.

This study guide was exactly what I needed. It was thorough, very well organized, and most importantly very easy to read. I followed the study guidance that is listed at the front of the guide. This means, I used the study guide every day until I read through all of it. Along the way I made notes, which I then turned into flash cards (VERY IMPORTANT). I also utilized both the diagnostic and practice tests. These were extremely helpful. Although this was not all I used to study, it was instrumental in my process. In addition to my flash cards and the practice tests I used several other sources to study. I think the culmination of all is what helped me pass on my first attempt. My other sources were the TExES site [...] preparation manual and practice questions as well as the free T-CERT site [...] I hope this information is helpful. I studied every day and used my flash cards the last week of study. Best of luck!

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to take the Texes 291 content test. I will say that the test requires inferring, being able to make connections and critical thinking and is therefore not an easy test. This book gives you the foundation you need to be able to answer those questions that require higher-order thinking. The book has a code inside that gives you online practice exams that are great because they get you ready for what the real exam will feel like. I read this book all the way through, made a study guide, memorized important terms and concepts and I passed my test the first time around with very high scores. I contribute my high scores to really studying this book in depth.

Very comprehensive, and thorough! I studied for the exam intensely for about a week, did the online practice tests, and passed the 291 on the first try. I'm now studying for the SPED, then I'll take the ESL exam. I'll be using the REA books to study for these exams as well.

The overall structure of the book is great and I love the practice tests. However, I cannot get over the errors in the book! For example, in the Science practice test, pg 459, question 37 on weather map symbols, answer choices B and C both represent a stationary front. The book says that answer choice B represents a occluded front, which is not true. The symbol for an occluded front would have the humps and points facing the same direction vs a stationary front that has them facing in opposite directions. (this is just one error, I will happily point out more if need be.) The point is, these errors make me question the validity of anything else I study in this book.

Although I passed all 5 subjects on my first try, I am unsure how much credit I could give to this book. I feel like the most useful elements of this book are the social studies & science sections, as they cover a lot of content that I hadn't dealt with since high school so that was a nice refresher. On the other hand, the art & music sections (which were the hardest parts of the test, in my opinion) did not provide adequate information at all! I read these sections, took notes over them & reread my notes several times, only to be completely thrown off by so many questions in these areas on the actual test. With all of this considered, I cannot fully recommend this book as its positives are out weighed by its negatives. In all honesty, I feel that the multiple quizlets I found from google served as better study guides than this book. Plus the dozens (not an over-exaggeration, I promise) of grammatical errors & typos were mind blowing.

I guess it all depends on what city you live in. I live in Houston and to be honest, I took the test June 16 and had to go off basic instinct because none of the information in the book was on either subject for the test, the only subject that hit close to the book was ELA. The exam questions were way much harder than the ones given on the actual exam. Already working as a charter school teacher, I just had to go off of what I knew. I passed all parts of the new 291 core content, except Music which was extremely difficult, missed it by 15 points