PECT PreK-4 Practice Questions (2026) — Free Sample Questions with Answers

Answer: B

Object permanence: Object permanence (knowing objects exist when unseen) develops in the sensorimotor stage, long before age 4.

Conservation of liquid quantity: Correct. Preoperational children center on one dimension (height) and do not yet understand that quantity is unchanged by a change in shape; conservation typically emerges in the concrete operational stage.

Hypothetical-deductive reasoning: Abstract hypothetical reasoning belongs to the formal operational stage (adolescence) and is not what this task measures.

Symbolic or pretend play: Symbolic play is a hallmark the child already has in the preoperational stage; it is not tested by the juice task.

Classic conservation tasks reveal preoperational centration: the child judges by one salient dimension rather than recognizing that amount stays the same.

Answer: D

Gather more evidence over several days before deciding whether to report: The legal threshold is reasonable cause to suspect; mandated reporters must not delay to investigate.

Tell the principal, who then decides whether a report is needed: Since the 2014 amendments, notifying the person in charge does not replace the reporter's own duty to report; the principal does not screen the report.

Contact the parent to hear their explanation of the bruises: Alerting the alleged perpetrator can endanger the child and compromise the investigation; it is not part of the reporting duty.

Report immediately to ChildLine, then notify the person in charge: Correct. Mandated reporters must make the report themselves immediately (ChildLine or the online system) and then notify the school's person in charge.

In Pennsylvania, a school employee with reasonable cause to suspect abuse reports directly and immediately to ChildLine; telling an administrator is in addition, not instead.

Answer: A

Phoneme isolation: Correct. Identifying a single sound in a specified position (first, last, middle) of a spoken word is phoneme isolation.

Phoneme deletion: Deletion asks the child to remove a sound and say what remains (e.g., map without /m/ is "ap").

Syllable segmentation: Syllable segmentation breaks words into syllables; map has only one syllable, and the task asks for a sound.

Letter-sound matching: Matching letters to sounds is phonics; the task is purely oral, with no printed letters involved.

Phonemic awareness tasks are oral; isolation ("first sound in map?") is easier than blending, segmenting or manipulating phonemes.

Answer: A

opportunity cost: Correct. Opportunity cost is the value of the next-best alternative given up when a choice is made.

profit: Profit is revenue minus costs for a producer; the student is a consumer making a choice.

income: Income is money or tokens received; the tokens she spends are her income, not the alternative she gave up.

consumer surplus: Consumer surplus is the benefit a buyer gets beyond the price paid; it does not describe the alternative she gave up.

Because resources are scarce, every choice has an opportunity cost: the best alternative not chosen.

Answer: C

The Moon produces less of its own light at certain times of the month: The Moon produces no light of its own; it reflects sunlight.

Clouds in Earth's atmosphere block different parts of the Moon each night: Clouds can hide the Moon on a given night but do not cause the predictable monthly cycle of phases.

We see different amounts of the Moon's sunlit half as it orbits Earth: Correct. Half of the Moon is always lit by the Sun; its changing position in orbit changes how much of that lit half faces Earth.

The Moon's distance from the Sun changes greatly during each month: The Earth–Moon system stays at about the same distance from the Sun; distance changes do not create phases.

Phases come from viewing angle: the Moon's sunlit half is seen to varying degrees as it orbits; Earth's shadow on the Moon is a lunar eclipse.

Answer: A

Have the student fold same-size paper strips into fourths and eighths: Correct. Comparing equal-size wholes partitioned into more parts shows that each part gets smaller as the denominator grows.

Teach the student to cross-multiply to compare the two fractions: A procedure may give the right answer without fixing the underlying misunderstanding about unit fractions.

Have the student convert both fractions to decimals with a calculator: Decimal conversion bypasses the concept and is not grade 3 fraction reasoning.

Tell the student that the smaller denominator is always larger: Stating a rule without meaning invites rote errors; it is also false for non-unit fractions such as 3/8 versus 1/4.

Use visual models with the same whole: more equal parts means smaller parts, so 1/8 < 1/4.