Saturday I told you the thing that costs capable people the most points: on the ILTS, the last two answers you're stuck between are usually both correct. The test isn't asking which one is right. It's asking which one is best.
That raises the obvious question — the one I held back for the list. Best according to what?
Because it's not a mood. This test has decision-making logic baked in, and once you can see it, those two-answer moments stop being coin flips. Whenever the ILTS drops you into a scenario and asks what you'd do, three rules decide the "best" answer. They hold across the exams — special ed, early childhood, secondary, content-area. Let me show you all three on one question.
(If you haven't watched this week's video yet, start there)
The example
Here's a Special Education (ILTS 290)-style item. I'm building it to make the logic clear — your real question won't be word-for-word this, but the moves are identical.
A student in an inclusion classroom has started refusing to begin independent written work, and lately he puts his head down during that block. What should the teacher do first?
A. Move the student to a separate resource room for written work.
B. Contact the student's parents to report the behavior.
C. Collect data on when the refusals happen and what comes right before them.
D. Start a reward chart for every assignment he finishes.
Read those and notice what your brain does. Two of them — C and D — are both good teacher moves. Neither is the obviously-wrong answer. That's the two-answer trap, live.
Here's how the three rules cut through it.
Rule 1 — Assess before you act. When a question asks what to do first, the answer that gathers information beats the one that jumps to a fix. C collects data on when and why the refusals happen. D is a real strategy — but it acts before anyone knows what's driving the behavior. You can't fix a cause you haven't found. C wins on Rule 1, and D is exposed as the tempting-but-early answer.
Rule 2 — Positive and proactive beats punitive and reactive. The test consistently rewards the constructive move — teaching, supporting, addressing the cause — and marks punishing or negative responses as wrong. This is your fastest eliminator: if an option punishes, shames, or takes something away, it's almost never the best answer. (It's also why D at least survives longer than A or B — a reward chart is positive; it's just not first.)
Rule 3 — Least intrusive first; escalate last. Keep the student learning in the room, and pick the least drastic option that could work. Pulling him out to a separate room (A) is the most restrictive move on the board — gone. "Immediately contact the parents" (B) feels responsible, but on this test, jumping straight to parents or the office is almost always a later step, not the first one — gone.
Watch what just happened. A and B fell in seconds on Rules 2 and 3. That left C and D — the real down-to-two — and Rule 1 broke the tie. The answer is C. Not because D is wrong, but because the test asked for first, and you assess before you act.
The trap answers (why smart people miss this)
A is the "fix it by removing the student" trap — tempting when the behavior feels disruptive, but it's the most restrictive option, so it's the first one to cut.
B is the "loop in the parents" trap — it feels caring and proactive, which is exactly why it's written to catch you; escalation is a later move.
D is the sneaky one — a genuinely good practice sitting in the wrong spot. It's not a bad answer, it's a bad first step. That's the whole game: the test loves offering you a correct action that isn't the best one for what it actually asked.
The pattern to keep — the three rules
Whenever the ILTS gives you a judgment call and two answers both look right, run them through these, in this order:
1. Assess before you act — the option that gathers information beats the one that jumps to a solution.
2. Positive and proactive over punitive and reactive — if it punishes, shames, or removes, it's almost never best.
3. Least intrusive first, escalate last — keep the student in the room; sending out, referring, or "call the parents right now" is usually a later step.
Three rules. They won't answer a pure fact-recall question for you — but the moment the test asks what would you do, they turn a guess into a decision. That's strategy. And it's the exact thing that never shows up in a content review, because it isn't content.
Your turn
Here's an Early Childhood (ILTS 206) one. Same idea, different room. Don't overthink it — run the three rules and see where you land.
During free play, a child keeps grabbing toys out of other children's hands. What is the teacher's best first response?
A. Give the child a time-out each time it happens.
B. Observe the child during free play to find out what sets off the grabbing.
C. Tell the parents at pickup that their child is grabbing toys. D. Keep the child out of free play until he can share.
Reply and tell me which one you'd pick and why — I read every single one. (Watch which rule you used to eliminate, and which one broke your tie. That's the skill.)
When you want this done on your actual test
Everything above is the free version — the rules, out loud, for anyone on this list. The next step, when you're ready for it, is doing it on your situation instead of my example.
The easiest first step is free: a 20-minute strategy call. This is your opportunity to ask questions about your test preparation, strategy, score reports, or what may be keeping you from getting the passing score you need.
Bring your questions—there’s nothing you need to prepare in advance. We’ll use our 20 minutes to focus on what’s most important to you right now. No charge, no pitch — grab a time here.
Two more ways to work with me
- Monthly Strategy Workshop — a live session on how the ILTS thinks and how to beat it.
- 1:1 Strategy Coaching — send me your score report(s) and I map exactly where the test is beating you, then build a targeted plan for your next attempt.
See you next week.
-Keona
