Free TRCN Past Questions [All 5 Topics] — Pedagogy, Numeracy, Literacy, ICT, Safeguarding

Need TRCN past questions and answers to prepare for the exam this year?

Get free TRCN questions on all (5) topics (Pedagogy, Numeracy, Literacy, ICT, Safeguarding) for category A, B, C and D teachers with answers, explanation and CBT practice.

ALSO SEE: NEW TRCN EXAM SYLLABUS FOR ALL TEACHERS

How many questions are in TRCN exam?

Your TRCN exam this year will have 60 objective (multiple-choice) questions to be answered in 1 hour — so you have 1 minute for each question.

Practice TRCN past questions to beat the time and PASS YOUR TRCN EXAM this attempt.

What TRCN exam really tests

Let’s first understand what each of the five topics assess before practicing past questions.

Beyond your knowledge, TRCN tests whether you think like a licensed classroom teacher.

So, many candidates fail not from lack of knowledge, but from picking “textbook” answer instead of “best classroom practices”.

Topic	What it assesses
Pedagogy	Applying learning theories to real classroom scenarios, not just defining them.
Numeracy	Speed and accuracy with basic arithmetic and geometry.
Literacy	Comprehension, grammar rules and identifying parts of speech in context.
ICT	Digital safety and classroom technology awareness.
Safeguarding	Child protection procedures, especially how NOT to compromise a disclosure or investigation.

The most common trap across these five topics is that candidates confuse “familiar” answer with “the right procedure”.

For example.

Mixing up theory names with their actual application in Pedagogy.
Skipping the workings in Numeracy and guessing from numbers that look correct.
Rushing a passage and answering from reality or the memory of a similar question rather than the actual text.
Assuming every question is about hardware in ICT rather than digital safety awareness.
Choosing what “sounds caring” in Safeguarding instead of the official procedure for protecting the child.

Why past questions ALONE won’t help

Yes. TRCN past questions help you recognize the questions pattern and structure.

But the exam rewrites the scenarios so while the principle stays the same, the surface details change.

For instance, a Pedagogy question about “Token Economy” here may appear in your exam as a question about “Praise and Rewards”.

Same concept of operant conditioning but different wording.

This is why understanding the reason behind each answer is what really helps you in the exam hall, not just memorising the answer.

Check the answer and explanation to each question.

And if you keep missing one particular topic, visit the TRCN EXAM SYLLABUS for that section to get e-Study notes.

Study TRCN questions and answers with explanation

Click ‘SEE ANSWER’ to understand from explanation.

Or scroll to the bottom download it as PDF.

TRCN Pedagogy questions

1. A Primary 3 teacher uses “Token Economy” (giving stars for good behaviour to be traded for prizes later). This is an application of _____

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
Bandura’s Modelling
Bruner’s Discovery Learning

SEE #1 ANSWER ✅

Operant conditioning is all about how rewards and punishments shape behaviour.

2. Which of these is a “Specific” verb for a SMART objective?

Understand
Outline
Grasp
Familiarize

SEE #2 ANSWER ✅

In a SMART objective, the action verb must be ‘observable’. You can see a student outline a concept on paper, but you can’t see them understand, grasp or familiarize.

3. A teacher asks: “How would the story have ended if the protagonist had made a different choice?” This is an example of which type of question?

Recall
Comprehension
Evaluative
Literal

SEE #3 ANSWER ✅

This question asks the student to critique and judge an alternative scenario. It goes beyond simple recall or comprehension into higher-order evaluation.

4. The “80/20 Rule” in classroom management suggests that _____

80% of the class should be quiet 20% of the time
80% of disruptions come from 20% of the students
80% of the time should be spent on 20% grading
20% of the students should teach the other 80%

SEE #4 ANSWER ✅

This Principle states that a minority of people are often responsible for the majority of something.

5. A teacher uses “VARK” to understand their students. VARK stands for _____

Very Active and Really Kind
Valid, Accurate, Reliable, Keen
Visual, Auditory, Read, Kinesthetic
Vocabulary, Arithmetic, Reading, Knowledge

SEE #5 ANSWER ✅

VARK is a model defining the four primary learning styles.

6. A “Criterion-Referenced” test compares a student’s performance against _____

the performance of other students in the class
a fixed set of learning standards
the teacher’s expectations only
a national average

SEE #6 ANSWER ✅

A criterion-referenced test measures what a student knows against a pre-set benchmark. While ‘norm-referenced’ test compare students’ performance against each other.

7. The range of scores: 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 is _____

SEE #7 ANSWER ✅

Range = Highest Score – Lowest Score

SEE MORE TRCN (Pedagogy) QUESTIONS

TRCN Numeracy questions

8. A farmer shared his land in the ratio 3:5:7 among his three children. If the smallest portion is 12 hectares, what is the total size of the land?

28 hectares
45 hectares
60 hectares
75 hectares

SEE #8 ANSWER ✅

If the smallest ratio (3 portions) = 12 hectares
- Then, 1 portion = 4 hectares (i.e. 12 ÷ 3).
So, 5 portions (5 × 4) = 20 hectares
And 7 portions (7 × 4) = 28 hectares.
Now, add all the ratio (3:5:7) hectares together.

9. A bag contains 4 red, 6 blue, and 10 white marbles. What is the probability of picking a marble that is NOT white?

1/2
3/10
1/5
2/5

SEE #9 ANSWER ✅

Total marbles = 4 + 6 + 10 = (20). Number of marbles that are NOT white (i.e. only Red or Blue) = 4 + 6 = (10). So, the probability of picking a marble not white:

\text{Probability} = \frac{10}{20} = \frac{1}{2}

10. A rhombus differs from a square because _____

its sides are not all equal
its interior angles are not 90°
it has only one pair of parallel sides
it is a 3D shape

SEE #10 ANSWER ✅

Square and Rhombus both have four equal sides, but only a square has four 90° right angles.

SEE MORE TRCN (Numeracy) QUESTIONS

TRCN Literacy questions

Read the passage carefully and answer question (11).

The silence in the library was not a void, but a heavy, velvet curtain that muffled the frantic pulse of the city outside. To the students hunched over their desks, the rustle of a turning page sounded like a crack of thunder. Here, time didn't tick; it flowed like ink from a fountain pen—slow, deliberate, and permanent.

11. What is the predominant mood established by the author?

Chaotic and stressful
Solemn and focused
Joyful and celebratory
Angry and restrictive

SEE #11 ANSWER ✅

Phrases like “not a void,” “muffled the frantic pulse,” and “slow, deliberate and permanent” paint a picture of quiet concentration and deep study.

12. “She has arrived, hasn’t she?” The expected answer is _____

No, she hasn’t.
Yes, she has.
Yes, she hasn’t.
No, she has.

SEE #12 ANSWER ✅

Question tags follow a (Positive – Negative – Positive) or (Negative – Positive – Negative) rule. Here, the statement is Positive and the tag Negative so, a Positive response is required.

13. In the sentence, “The unusually bright light flickered,” what part of speech is the underlined word?

Adjective
Adverb
Noun
Conjunction

SEE #13 ANSWER ✅

The word “unusually” modifies the adjective “bright.”

SEE MORE TRCN (Literacy) QUESTIONS

TRCN ICT question

14. Emails that try to trick people into sharing bank or login details fall under _____

phishing attempts
online marketing
legitimate newsletters
audio streaming

SEE #14 ANSWER ✅

Phishing is a cybercrime where targets are emailed, called or texted by someone pretending as a legit institution to deceive individuals into providing sensitive data.

SEE MORE TRCN (ICT) QUESTIONS

TRCN Safeguarding question

15. In analysing a disclosure, why should a teacher avoid asking leading questions?

They allow the teacher to test personal theories about the family
They make the learner feel too important
They help the teacher obtain quick confessions
They influence the child’s account and weaken future investigations

SEE #15 ANSWER ✅

Leading questions indirectly prompt the child to give a specific answer rather than their own true story. This can compromise the legal integrity of further investigation.