I'm working on getting my Florida teaching certificate and I have the FTCE General Knowledge test coming up in 6 weeks. I passed the Professional Education component last spring but the GK math section is what I'm most worried about—I've been out of school for 12 years and math was never my strong suit even then.
I've been using a FTCE practice test and my GK English Language Arts scores are solid (around 78%) but my math practice scores are running about 55–58%, which is below the passing mark. I'm studying about 2 hours a day, split roughly evenly between the two sections, but I'm thinking about shifting more time to math.
The math topics that are killing me are algebraic functions and number theory—the arithmetic and geometry I can handle, it's the abstract reasoning around functions and patterns that trips me up. Is there a good way to approach these topics if you've been out of school for over a decade?
Also: does the GK math section allow a calculator? I've gotten different answers on this and it changes how I'd approach the harder computation problems.
I retook the GK math section once after scoring 58% the first time. What changed: I did 30 math questions every single day for 5 weeks instead of longer but less frequent sessions. Consistency at shorter intervals builds retention faster than occasional marathon study sessions for math.
Algebraic reasoning is test-able—once you drill 50–60 problems on functions you'll start seeing the patterns and it stops feeling as abstract.
GK math does not allow a calculator on the Florida exam—that catches a lot of people off guard. All computation is by hand, which is part of why the algebraic sections feel harder than they should. Practice doing the work manually from the start so you're not adjusting habits under test pressure.
Functions and patterns clicked for me when I stopped thinking about them abstractly and started plugging in numbers to see what happens. Build intuition before memorizing rules.
The GK math section is the most common retake on the FTCE—you're not alone. A lot of people pass ELA on the first try and need a second attempt on math. At 55–58% you need to move that score significantly in 6 weeks, so I'd go 70–80% of your study time to math right now.
Khan Academy's pre-algebra and algebra sections are genuinely useful even for adults returning to the material—don't feel like you need to find FTCE-specific resources for the foundational content.
Coming back to this thread — just passed my FTCE yesterday. Everything about the ftce practice test section is accurate. For anyone still studying, the how to become a notary in pa was the closest thing to the real exam I found.
Just wanted to share a quick update since I've been lurking on this thread. I'm in a similar boat with the GK math — took a practice test last Saturday and scored a 64, which isn't great but honestly way better than the 51 I got three weeks ago so I'll take it. I've been doing about 30-45 minutes of Khan Academy every night focusing on fractions and algebra and it's actually helping more than I expected.
I'm scheduled to sit the real exam on July 22nd, so I have just under three weeks to close the gap. Someone on another forum mentioned that the math questions aren't as tricky as they look if you just slow down and read carefully, which has been true in my practice runs. Completely unrelated but while I was job hunting for teaching positions I ended up falling down a rabbit hole reading about how to become a notary in pa as a side income idea — anyway, you're not alone with the math struggle and I think we can both do this!