CTET Mock Tests, Syllabus & Complete Exam Guide

The Central Teacher Eligibility Test is conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education to certify that a candidate meets the minimum standard required to be appointed as a teacher at the elementary level. It follows from the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and the NCTE norms, which made a teacher eligibility test compulsory for teaching appointments. CTET is one of India's largest examinations by number of candidates, usually held twice a year, because it is the gateway to teaching posts in Kendriya Vidyalayas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, schools of the Union Territories, and a large number of State-run and private schools that accept the certificate.

CTET has two papers. Paper I is for those who want to teach Classes I to V, and Paper II is for Classes VI to VIII; a candidate intending to teach at both levels may sit both. Each paper is a 150-question, 150-minute objective test with one mark per correct answer and no negative marking. Importantly, CTET is an eligibility test rather than a recruitment exam — clearing it does not by itself give you a job. It qualifies you to apply, after which each recruiting body such as KVS or a State education department runs its own selection.

The single biggest mistake candidates make is treating CTET as a general knowledge paper. It is not. Every section, including Mathematics, Environmental Studies, Science and Social Studies, is roughly half subject content at school level and half pedagogy — how children learn that subject, what their common errors reveal, and how a teacher should respond. Child Development and Pedagogy, worth 30 marks and compulsory in both papers, is entirely of this kind. Candidates who study only content and skip pedagogy routinely fall short of the 60% qualifying mark despite knowing the subject matter well.

The content itself is pitched at the level of the classes you will teach, so NCERT textbooks for those classes are the right source rather than advanced material. Read the NCERT books for Classes I–V for Paper I and VI–VIII for Paper II, and pair them with the theories that recur every year: Piaget, Vygotsky, Kohlberg, Gardner, inclusive education and the principles of continuous and comprehensive evaluation. Because there is no negative marking, you should attempt all 150 questions — leaving anything blank simply forfeits a chance. Language I and Language II are separate papers in two different languages, and each carries its own pedagogy half, so plan for both rather than assuming fluency is enough.