Assessment Design and
Framework

Field 023: Health

The assessment design below describes general assessment information. The framework that follows is a detailed outline that explains the knowledge and skills that this assessment measures.

Assessment Design

Format Computer-based test (CBT)
Number of Questions 100 multiple-choice questions
Time* 2 hours
Passing Score 220

*Does not include 15-minute CBT tutorial

Framework

Pie chart of approximate test weighting outlined in the table below.

Domain Range of Competencies Approximate Percentage of Assessment Score
I Personal Health and Wellness 0001–0005 38%
II Avoiding and Preventing Health Risks 0006–0010 38%
III Health Education, Literacy, and Advocacy 0011–0013 24%
Domain I–Personal Health and Wellness

0001 Understand the benefits of personal health and wellness practices and causes, characteristics, treatment, and prevention of illness and disease.

Includes:

  1. Distinguish among types, stages, causes, and characteristics of chronic, communicable, and noncommunicable illnesses and diseases.
  2. Apply knowledge of the importance of regular preventive health care and how to detect, manage, and prevent illness, infection, and disease.
  3. Analyze various influences (e.g., environmental factors, genetics) and behaviors that increase and decrease susceptibility to disease and how to foster students' awareness of such influences and behaviors.
  4. Recognize common childhood and adolescent health conditions and appropriate strategies for addressing or preventing such conditions.
  5. Demonstrate knowledge of the dimensions of wellness (e.g., physical, mental, social-emotional) and the benefits of personal health and wellness practices.

0002 Understand principles of nutrition, concepts and issues associated with healthy and unhealthy eating, and strategies and resources for fostering students' lifelong healthy eating habits.

Includes:

  1. Recognize sources, functions, and effects of nutrients, including the lack or excess of particular nutrients on body systems, physical performance, and body composition.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of how to access and use nutritional planning tools and guidelines to help students establish, monitor, and achieve nutrition goals.
  3. Apply knowledge of how to interpret nutritional facts and labels and how to use this information to make health-enhancing decisions.
  4. Describe nutritional needs, concerns, and requirements for various age levels, fitness levels, health conditions, and purposes.
  5. Apply knowledge of principles, methods, and criteria for helping students design, implement, and monitor personal nutrition and weight management plans.
  6. Analyze various influences on students' eating behaviors.
  7. Apply knowledge of strategies, activities, and resources for fostering students' knowledge and skills in relation to establishing and maintaining lifelong healthy eating patterns.

0003 Understand principles, components, and benefits of health-related physical fitness and strategies and resources for fostering students' participation in lifelong physical activity.

Includes:

  1. Examine the health-related benefits of physical activity, factors that affect fitness and activity levels, and health risks associated with inactivity and low fitness levels.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of the components of health-related physical fitness and appropriate principles and activities for maintaining and improving fitness.
  3. Describe how the body responds and adapts to short- and long-term physical activity.
  4. Apply knowledge of principles, strategies, and criteria for establishing physical activity goals and implementing and monitoring personal activity plans.
  5. Demonstrate knowledge of strategies, activities, and resources for fostering students' knowledge and skills in relation to establishing and maintaining lifelong physical activity.

0004 Understand factors and conditions that affect mental and emotional well-being, appropriate ways to manage stress, and strategies and resources for fostering students' ability to maintain or improve mental and emotional health.

Includes:

  1. Apply knowledge of the stages and characteristics of the social-emotional and psychological development of children and adolescents and factors that affect development in these domains.
  2. Analyze risk factors, protective factors, characteristics, and conditions that foster or hinder mental and social-emotional health and well-being.
  3. Examine types and sources of stress; effects of stress on mental, physical, and social-emotional health; and strategies for coping with stress and life changes in health-enhancing ways.
  4. Identify the warning signs and symptoms of depression and other mental health conditions, self-harming behaviors, and suicidal ideation; and strategies and resources for addressing, reporting, and obtaining help for individuals affected by these conditions.
  5. Recognize behaviors and characteristics associated with individuals with eating disorders, short- and long-term effects of eating disorders, and strategies and resources for helping individuals with eating disorders.
  6. Demonstrate knowledge of strategies, activities, and resources for fostering students' knowledge and skills in relation to managing stress and maintaining and improving mental and emotional health.

0005 Understand sexual and reproductive health; characteristics, transmission, and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV; and strategies and resources for fostering students' ability to abstain from, avoid, and prevent sexual risk behaviors.

Includes:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of physiological processes, concepts, and issues related to puberty, male and female reproductive health, and pregnancy and childbirth.
  2. Analyze concepts, issues, and influences related to the development of gender identity, gender expression, sexual identity, and sexual orientation.
  3. Demonstrate knowledge of types, characteristics, modes of transmission, signs and symptoms, and treatment of STIs, including HIV.
  4. Apply knowledge of practices, resources, and strategies for protecting sexual and reproductive health and for preventing and minimizing sexual health risks, including unintended pregnancy, HIV, and other STIs.
  5. Demonstrate knowledge of principles, approaches, and resources related to abstinence from early sexual activity.
  6. Demonstrate knowledge of how to foster students' ability to assess the relative risks of various sexual behaviors, understand their susceptibility to potential negative outcomes of these behaviors, and avoid and prevent sexual risk behaviors.
Domain II–Avoiding and Preventing Health Risks

0006 Understand health risks associated with tobacco and alcohol and other drugs, and strategies and activities for fostering students' ability to avoid, reduce, and prevent health risks related to tobacco and alcohol and other drugs.

Includes:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of short- and long-term physiological and other health effects of using tobacco and alcohol and other drugs.
  2. Analyze various factors that influence decisions to use or abstain from tobacco and alcohol and other drugs.
  3. Apply knowledge of strategies, activities, and resources for fostering students' ability to avoid, reduce, and prevent health risks associated with tobacco and alcohol and other drug use.
  4. Examine the links between risk-taking behaviors involving tobacco and alcohol and other drugs and the likelihood of engaging in other unhealthy behaviors.
  5. Evaluate the potential severity and effects of illness or injury that may result from engaging in unhealthy behaviors related to tobacco and alcohol and other drug use.
  6. Demonstrate knowledge of societal and legal issues and consequences related to tobacco and alcohol and other drug use and types and characteristics of programs and methods for treating addictions.

0007 Understand principles for maintaining safety; factors and behaviors that influence, cause, and reduce violence; and how to foster students' use of safety, injury-prevention, and violence-prevention skills.

Includes:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of methods and criteria for recognizing hazards and unsafe conditions and principles and strategies for promoting safety awareness and creating safety initiatives.
  2. Identify risks related to Internet use and strategies and skills for safe Internet use.
  3. Apply knowledge of common causes of unintentional injuries, behaviors and perceptions that lead to unintentional injuries, and strategies for reducing and preventing accidents and unintentional injuries.
  4. Analyze factors and behaviors that cause and influence various types of violence, and practices and strategies for avoiding, minimizing, and preventing violence.
  5. Demonstrate knowledge of societal problems, conflicts, and risks that affect students and effective methods and programs for minimizing and preventing such problems, conflicts, and risks.
  6. Recognize types of emergencies in the home, school, and community and appropriate actions to take in emergency and crisis situations.
  7. Apply knowledge of principles and techniques of first aid, emergency medical care, and universal precautions.

0008 Understand interpersonal communication and how to foster students' use of communication skills to maintain healthy relationships and enhance personal, family, and community health.

Includes:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of characteristics, components, and functions of verbal, nonverbal, and electronic interpersonal communication.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of how to use communication skills to develop and maintain healthy interpersonal and social relationships.
  3. Identify factors that contribute to developing, strengthening, and maintaining friendships and social support systems.
  4. Recognize ways in which emotions affect interpersonal, social, and family communication, and techniques for expressing individual needs, desires, and feelings appropriately.
  5. Evaluate causes and effects of positive and negative peer pressure, and communication techniques for resisting and responding to negative peer pressure.
  6. Apply knowledge of appropriate strategies, skills, responses, policies, and resources for preventing and addressing all forms of bullying, harassment, exclusion, and intimidation, including electronic forms.
  7. Demonstrate knowledge of steps, strategies, and processes used in conflict management and resolution, and techniques for using conflict management and resolution skills in various situations.
  8. Demonstrate knowledge of family roles and responsibilities, factors that affect family relationships, and communication strategies for maintaining and enhancing family relationships.
  9. Recognize the characteristics of healthy and unhealthy dating relationships and how to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to practice and maintain healthy and safe relationships.

0009 Understand the role of decision making in identifying, implementing, and sustaining healthy behaviors; factors that influence decision making; and how to foster students' use of decision-making skills to enhance health.

Includes:

  1. Examine strategies and activities designed to promote self-management skills and the ability to make informed choices about personal and family health.
  2. Recognize principles, criteria, and techniques for determining when situations require a health-related decision and whether health-related decisions should be made individually or collaboratively.
  3. Analyze circumstances that influence healthy decision making and various internal and external factors (e.g., personal beliefs, peers, family, culture, media) that affect decision making.
  4. Apply knowledge of how to recognize healthy and unhealthy alternatives of health-related decisions, predict potential consequences of health-related decisions, and evaluate outcomes of health-related decisions.
  5. Demonstrate knowledge of problem-solving and decision-making skills, models, and processes and how to use these skills, models, and processes to address health-related problems and make healthy decisions.
  6. Apply knowledge of strategies, activities, and resources for fostering students' application of individual and collaborative problem-solving and decision-making skills to enhance personal, family, and community health.

0010 Understand the role of goal setting in identifying, adopting, and maintaining healthy behaviors; factors that influence goal setting; and how to foster students' use of goal-setting skills to enhance health.

Includes:

  1. Apply knowledge of principles, criteria, and techniques for assessing personal health practices and behaviors and current overall health.
  2. Demonstrate knowledge of techniques and skills for developing and prioritizing short- and long-term goals related to adopting, maintaining, or improving personal health.
  3. Recognize criteria and procedures for formulating a plan to achieve health goals that addresses individual strengths, needs, risks, and areas for improvement.
  4. Apply knowledge of strategies for assessing and overcoming barriers to achieving personal health goals and ways in which goals can vary with changing abilities, priorities, and responsibilities.
  5. Apply knowledge of principles and techniques for implementing and monitoring progress toward health-related goals, including self-monitoring and using assistance and resources to achieve goals.
  6. Apply knowledge of strategies, activities, and resources for fostering students' application of planning and goal-setting skills to enhance personal, family, and community health.
Domain III–Health Education, Literacy, and Advocacy

0011 Understand types and characteristics of reliable health information, products, and services and how to foster students' ability to access, analyze, and select valid information, products, and services to enhance health.

Includes:

  1. Apply knowledge of skills for researching, locating, and accessing credible sources of health-related information.
  2. Analyze the accuracy, validity, reliability, and usefulness of health-related information and advertising and marketing messages and claims.
  3. Demonstrate knowledge of criteria and procedures for evaluating and selecting health-related equipment, products, and services.
  4. Describe health-related services offered by government, private, and community organizations and how to access these services to enhance personal, family, and community health.
  5. Recognize characteristics and roles of health-care professionals and criteria and methods for evaluating and selecting health-care providers and services.
  6. Apply knowledge of how to foster students' ability to use health literacy skills to access, analyze, compare, and select valid health information and health-enhancing products and services.

0012 Understand research and theories related to health behavior; the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology, and other factors on health; and how to foster students' use of advocacy skills to enhance personal, family, and community health.

Includes:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of research and theories related to health behavior and ways in which health-related attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviors are influenced by family, peers, society, and culture.
  2. Examine ways in which perceived norms influence health-related behaviors and how to promote students' awareness and use of accurate social norms.
  3. Evaluate the role media play in influencing students' health-related beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors (e.g., in relation to self-concept, body image, nutrition, sexual activity, drug use, violence).
  4. Apply knowledge of persuasive methods and techniques used in health-related advertising, and principles and strategies for resisting unhealthy media influences.
  5. Analyze the effects of technology on personal, family, and community health.
  6. Recognize how regulations, public policies, and government agencies influence health promotion and disease prevention and support personal, family, and community health.
  7. Recognize conditions in the natural and human environment that influence the health and safety of individuals and communities.
  8. Apply knowledge of how to foster students' ability to develop advocacy strategies for self, family, and community; support others in making positive health choices; and create and deliver accurate health promotion messages.

0013 Understand practices and activities associated with a coordinated school health program (CSHP) and a comprehensive health education curriculum, as well as how to plan and use instruction and assessment to develop students' health knowledge, skills, and behaviors.

Includes:

  1. Demonstrate knowledge of characteristics, goals, best practices, and components of a CSHP.
  2. Analyze current research, theories, initiatives, philosophies, laws, policies, and ethical considerations related to comprehensive health education programs.
  3. Analyze the use and synthesis of professional resources and national-, state-, and district-level research related to behavioral health risks among diverse school-age youth to inform health education programs.
  4. Apply knowledge of principles, techniques, and resources for designing, implementing, and evaluating a health education curriculum.
  5. Apply knowledge of how to plan and use instruction to facilitate all students' acquisition of developmentally appropriate health knowledge, skills, and behaviors.
  6. Apply knowledge of various strategies, tools, and techniques for assessing and evaluating student knowledge and skills, monitoring student progress, and communicating effectively with students and families.
  7. Demonstrate knowledge of the importance of professional development and the role of the health education teacher as a resource for health information.
  8. Demonstrate knowledge of principles and methods for collaborating with students, families, colleagues, and health agencies to support program goals and enhance student development of health-enhancing skills.