I'm applying for a teaching position in Georgia and I need to pass two GACE content area tests plus the Educator Ethics test. My content area is middle school social studies. I graduated with a history degree 3 years ago and I've been working in education admin, so the content isn't totally foreign but it's not fresh either.
The GACE middle grades social studies exam covers geography, world history, U.S. history, economics, and government. Economics and geography are my weaker areas — I can handle history and government confidently. The exam is split into two tests of 80 questions each with separate passing scores.
I used a gace practice test to get a baseline and I'm hitting about 65% overall with a clear drop in the economics section. Passing requires roughly 70% on the scaled score. I'm planning to test in 8 weeks.
Also wondering about test day logistics — can you take both content tests in the same sitting or do you need separate appointments?
For geography specifically, focus on U.S. regions and their economic characteristics, world climate zones, and human geography concepts like push-pull migration factors. Those topics showed up repeatedly in my exam. Don't spend a lot of time memorizing capitals — it's more conceptual than factual for GACE.
You can schedule both content tests on the same day — I did mine back to back with a 15-minute break in between. It's a long day but getting it done at once is worth it. The Educator Ethics test is separate and honestly much easier — most people pass it with minimal prep if they have any professional education background.
65% with 8 weeks to go is a solid starting point for a pass. My advice is to take a full practice test every weekend and spend weekdays drilling only your weak content areas. Don't review what you already know — use your practice test scores to guide exactly where to spend each study session.
I passed GACE middle grades social studies last spring after 7 weeks of studying about 90 minutes per day. The economics section was the hardest for me too — it goes fairly deep on macro concepts, supply/demand, fiscal policy, and international trade. Khan Academy Economics is genuinely the best free resource for that section.