As on 10 October 2026 the DSC 2026 notification is not out, but the paper it will set has been stable: a computer-based test with the same backbone (General Knowledge, Perspectives in Education, Educational Psychology) and a post-specific core, and an 80:20 split between the written test and the TET for most teacher posts. This page builds a plan on those weights from the official scheme rather than on general advice. Study advice here is ours; arithmetic is labelled.
1. Know where the marks are
| Block | SGT (of 80) | School Assistant and TGT (of 80) | PET and SA (PE) (of 100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Knowledge and Current Affairs | 8 (10%) | 10 (12.5%) | 5 (5%) |
| Perspectives in Education | 4 (5%) | 5 (6.25%) | 5 (5%) |
| Educational Psychology | 8 (10%) | 5 (6.25%) | — |
| Subject content | 40 (50%), five areas at 8 | 40 (50%) | 70 (70%) |
| Subject methodology | 20 (25%), five areas at 4 | 20 (25%) | 20 (20%), pedagogy and methods |
Percentages are arithmetic. Three quarters of the SA paper and the SGT paper are content and methodology; for PET it is 90 per cent. The common parts are small individually but they are the same for every post, so a candidate applying for two posts prepares them once.
On top of the written 80 sits the TET weightage of 20 for SGT, SA, TGT and special education. If you already hold a TET score, that component is fixed; convert it (TET ÷ 150 × 20) and write it at the top of your plan so you know what the written paper has to deliver.
2. Time per question and the guessing rule
- Time: 160 questions in 150 minutes is about 56 seconds each; 200 in 180 minutes is 54 (arithmetic). Many General Knowledge and Perspectives questions take 20 to 30 seconds; bank that time for content and for calculation questions in Mathematics or Physical Science.
- Guessing: negative marking is not verified for 2026. Until the bulletin says otherwise, treat every wrong answer as possibly costly, and keep a note of how often your eliminated-to-two guesses are right. That number, not a rule of thumb, tells you what to do once the bulletin is published.
3. One reading list for DSC and TET
The common parts overlap heavily with APTET, and SGT content overlaps with Paper 1A. Read once, in DSC depth, and test in both formats.
| Read for | DSC part | APTET section |
|---|---|---|
| Child development, learning, personality, intelligence | Educational Psychology | Child Development and Pedagogy |
| Teaching methods, evaluation, lesson planning | Methodology of each subject | Pedagogy inside each subject |
| Classes 3 to 8 content (SGT) | Five subject areas | Language I, English, Mathematics, EVS |
| Classes 6 to Intermediate content (SA) | Subject content | Paper 2A content section |
| Commissions, acts, NCF 2005, NEP 2020 | Perspectives in Education | Limited |
| AP and national news, schemes, awards | General Knowledge and Current Affairs | Not in TET |
Perspectives and General Knowledge are the DSC-only parts; a TET pass gives you nothing there, so they go into the plan from week one.
4. The plan: three phases to the test
Our plan, written for a 90-day run-up; stretch or compress it to the date the 2026 notification fixes. The full week-by-week version, with a six-hour and a three-hour daily routine, is in our 90-day plan.
| Phase | Weeks | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation | 1 to 5 | Learn the whole syllabus once and write short notes. Psychology theorists and language grammar; Mathematics basics and English grammar; Science or EVS and learning theories; Social Studies and AP General Knowledge; Perspectives (commissions, RTE, NEP 2020) and remaining content. |
| Practice | 6 to 10 | A second round of content, 40 topic questions a day, a full timed mock every weekend, and an error log that tags each mistake. Week 10 is weak topics only. |
| Revision | 11 to 13 | Mocks on alternate days, red items from the error log, short notes, and a final fortnight that tapers to light revision and rest. |
Daily minimum, all phases: 15 to 30 minutes of current affairs with a one-line note per item (General Knowledge is 8 to 10 marks and nothing in TET prepares it), and a timed set of 20 subject questions.
If the notification brings the test closer
| Situation | Change (our suggestion) |
|---|---|
| Under 60 days to the test | Shrink foundation to three weeks, start mocks in week 3, trim low-mark topics |
| About 90 days | Follow the plan |
| 120 days or more | Add a second foundation round on weak subjects; do not postpone the first mock |
5. Subject tactics for the common parts
- General Knowledge and Current Affairs. No official sub-topics. Build two pages: an AP page (schemes, districts, rivers, projects, appointments, awards) and a national page, and add to them daily. The state guide covers the static AP material.
- Perspectives in Education. One timeline from Woods Despatch (1854) to NEP 2020 with the year and one recommendation each; one list of programmes (APPEP, DPEP, SSA, RMSA, KGBV, Model Schools); the main ideas, not just dates, of NCF 2005 and NEP 2020; and the RTE Act 2009 sections that come up (6 to 14 years, 25 per cent, no detention rules as amended). Fifteen minutes a week keeps it fresh.
- Educational Psychology. For each theorist (Piaget, Vygotsky, Kohlberg, Erikson, Bruner, Skinner, Pavlov, Thorndike, Gardner, Maslow) keep a four-column table: name, theory, key terms, classroom use. Questions are often situational, and the distractor is usually a theory that fits a different situation. Our psychology and pedagogy guide has the comparisons and case studies.
6. Post-specific tactics
SGT (five areas at 12 marks each). Start with the classes 3 to 8 textbooks the syllabus names, then the class 9 and 10 books for the topics flagged as higher difficulty. After each content topic, ask how you would teach it to a child; that links content to the 4-mark methodology part. Keep a grammar sheet for Language I (sandhi, samasa, chandassu, alankara) and English (tenses, articles, prepositions). Our SGT guide has the subject-by-subject method.
School Assistant (one subject, 60 of 80 marks). The content level is Class VI to Intermediate, and the Intermediate part is where most candidates are thin: matrices, probability and coordinate geometry in Mathematics; Intermediate physics and chemistry; botany and zoology; the Intermediate geography and history units in Social Studies; the prescribed literary texts in English. Give the Intermediate strands a fixed slot from week one. Methodology is 20 marks of named methods (heuristic, project, inductive, deductive, laboratory) and planning and evaluation; picture a real classroom for each method and note when it fits. Our School Assistant guide goes subject by subject.
PET and SA (Physical Education). 140 of 200 questions are content (anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, health, training, yoga, officiating, management). There is no TET component, so the written paper is the whole score; build content depth first and give the 40-question pedagogy part a weekly slot.
Two posts? The 2025 rules allowed separate applications with a fee per post, but SGT tests five subjects at 24 questions each and SA tests one subject at 120. Preparing both fully takes more time than most candidates have; decide early and prepare the second post only through the common parts.
7. The TET side
If you do not yet hold an APTET or CTET pass for the post you want, that comes first: for SGT, SA, TGT and special education it is mandatory, and it supplies 20 of the 100 merit marks. Qualifying marks are 90 of 150 (OC, EWS), 75 (BC) and 60 (SC, ST, PwBD, ex-servicemen); the certificate is valid for life. Every 7.5 TET marks is one DSC mark (arithmetic), so if a future notification allows reappearing to improve, a stronger TET score is a cheap way to move the merit total. Our APTET guide covers the papers and the weightage table.
8. Practising for a computer-based test
The TRT is a CBT in many sessions. Our suggestions:
- Practise on screen with a clock from the first mock; paper-based practice does not build the palette and flag habits.
- First pass for questions you can answer in 30 seconds; flag the rest; cap a calculation question at two minutes.
- Check the answer is saved before moving on; do not open a new long question in the last ten minutes.
- Sit at least two mocks at the time of day of your likely session.
- Because of normalisation, do not read a raw score as a rank; track your percentile on a fixed paper instead.
9. A weekly mock-analysis routine
Tag every wrong or skipped question:
- Not known – learn it, then do 10 questions on it.
- Confused – make a comparison table (two theorists, two methods, two formulas).
- Careless – underline the last words of the question (not, except, incorrect).
- Out of time – practise that block against the clock.
- Bad guess – note it; this is your guess-accuracy data for when the bulletin settles negative marking.
Count tags weekly; the largest tag is next week's work. Compare percentile, not only marks: on Pareeksha everyone in a cohort sits the same fixed paper, so your percentile shows where you stand on identical questions.
10. Mistakes this scheme punishes
- Treating methodology as definitions. It is 20 marks for SA and 20 across the SGT areas, and the questions ask for the best method in a situation.
- Leaving General Knowledge to the last month. It is 8 to 10 marks that TET preparation never covered, and it is read a little a day or not at all.
- Stopping at school level for School Assistant. The syllabus says Class VI to Intermediate; the Intermediate strands separate candidates.
- Ignoring the TET score. It is a fifth of the merit.
- Reading raw mock marks as rank. Multi-shift normalisation means percentile is the only comparable number.
- Waiting for the notification to start. The parts have been stable; dates and vacancies are what change.
11. Last-fortnight checklist
- Hall ticket downloaded; centre, session time and travel checked.
- Perspectives timeline, psychology table and the last six months of current affairs revised twice.
- Two final mocks at the real session time, on screen.
- Light revision only in the last three days; no new books; an early night before the test.
12. Practising on Pareeksha
- Book: our AP DSC teacher recruitment guide covers the General Knowledge, Perspectives and pedagogy backbone that every post shares.
- Free: the 10-question mini-mock, which opens when the DSC papers go live, and the Daily Dangal quiz for daily current affairs.
- Pro: full-length DSC mocks in the online test series, post-wise for SGT and the School Assistant subjects, plus topic-wise practice. See plans.
Related: Syllabus · Exam pattern · Cut-off · Exam guide · తెలుగులో