- First-attempt registration for FTCE MGSS 5-9 (038) costs $150, and every retake also costs $150.
- You must wait 31 calendar days between attempts, with no cap on how many times you can retest.
- Score verification is a separate $75 fee if you want your exam rescored.
- A passed exam locks you out from retaking it for three years, so aim to pass once.
Total Cost Overview: What You'll Actually Pay
Anyone researching the FTCE Middle Grades Social Science 5-9 (038) exam wants a straight answer to one question: how much money does this actually take out of your pocket? The Florida Department of Education, through its testing vendor Pearson Evaluation Systems (NES), keeps the fee structure for this Subject Area Examination fairly simple compared to multi-part certification programs. There is one registration fee that applies whether it's your first sitting or your fifth, and a small number of optional add-on services if you need them.
For most candidates who prepare seriously and pass on the first try, the total out-of-pocket cost is just the single registration fee. For candidates who need a second attempt, the cost effectively doubles, which is exactly why understanding the fee mechanics before test day matters as much as knowing the content in the FTCE MGSS 5-9 (038) exam domains.
Registration Fee Breakdown
The base registration fee for FTCE MGSS 5-9 (038) is $150. This fee covers a computer-based test consisting of approximately 80 multiple-choice questions administered over 2 hours and 30 minutes at an approved testing center, either in Florida or at a nationwide location through Pearson's network. That $150 buys you a single scheduled seat and a single scored attempt.
A few mechanical details worth knowing before you pay:
- No prerequisite exam fees. There is no prerequisite examination or coursework required simply to register for FTCE MGSS 5-9 (038), so your only mandatory cost is the registration fee itself - though the state does require a bachelor's degree and appropriate subject-area preparation before certification is granted.
- Field-test questions are included at no extra charge - and at no extra risk. Some forms include unscored field-test items mixed in with scored questions. You won't know which is which, and they do not affect your score, so there's no financial reason to worry about them.
- No reference materials are provided during the test, which means there's no calculator rental fee, no formula sheet purchase, and no approved-material list to buy from. What you study beforehand is what you bring into the room, mentally.
What the $150 Fee Covers
Your registration payment secures a testing appointment for the full FTCE MGSS 5-9 (038) exam, which assesses candidates across five weighted domains rather than charging separately per section.
- Knowledge of History (33%)
- Knowledge of Geography (25%)
- Knowledge of Civics and Government (25%)
- Knowledge of Economics (10%)
- Knowledge of Social Science Curriculum and Instruction (7%)
Retake Costs and the 31-Day Rule
If you don't pass on your first attempt, the retake fee is identical to the initial registration fee: $150. There is no reduced "retake rate," so every additional sitting is a full-price transaction. This is the single biggest lever candidates have over their total cost - the more thoroughly you prepare the first time, the less likely you are to pay twice.
Two scheduling rules affect how quickly (and how expensively) you can retest:
- 31-calendar-day waiting period. After an unsuccessful attempt, you must wait at least 31 calendar days before registering for another sitting. There is no limit on the total number of attempts you're allowed, but each one costs $150.
- Three-year lockout after passing. Once you pass, you cannot retake the same test for three years. This matters for candidates considering whether to "test now and improve later" - a passing score is effectively final for a long stretch, so treat every attempt as the one that counts.
Key Takeaway
Because every retake costs the full $150 with a mandatory 31-day gap, the real financial strategy for FTCE MGSS 5-9 (038) is front-loading your preparation so you never need a second registration. Review the FTCE MGSS 5-9 (038) study guide before you schedule, not after a first attempt falls short.
Score Verification and Reporting Fees
If you believe your scored result doesn't reflect your actual performance, Florida allows you to request score verification for $75. This is a separate, optional service - it is not automatically included in your registration fee, and it's not refunded if the verification confirms your original score.
Score reports themselves are released within four weeks of your test date at no additional charge; you do not pay extra just to receive your results. The $75 fee applies only if you formally request that your responses be reverified after receiving your score. Given that the passing threshold is a scaled score of at least 200, and Florida's published maximum-percentage table puts the ceiling around 61% correct, most candidates who fall short by a wide margin will find retesting a more efficient use of $150 than paying $75 to verify a score that isn't close to passing. Score verification tends to make more financial sense only when a candidate is confident they were extremely close to the cut score.
| Fee Type | Cost | When It Applies |
|---|---|---|
| First-attempt registration | $150 | Every candidate, required |
| Retake registration | $150 | Each subsequent attempt, no discount |
| Score verification | $75 | Optional, only if requesting a rescore |
| Prerequisite exam | None | Not required to register for this test |
Hidden Costs Beyond the Registration Fee
The state-mandated fees are only part of the real cost of earning this certification. Before you even think about test-day fees, consider the costs that come earlier in the process:
- Study materials and prep resources. Because no reference materials are allowed during the exam, most candidates invest in a structured review - whether that's a content-specific guide, practice questions modeled on the actual format, or a full FTCE MGSS 5-9 (038) cheat sheet for last-minute review of must-know facts across History, Geography, Civics and Government, and Economics.
- Travel and time to a testing center. Since the exam is administered at centers throughout Florida and nationwide, candidates outside major metro areas may factor in mileage, parking, or an overnight stay depending on center availability near their scheduled date.
- Time away from work or coursework. The 2 hour 30 minute testing window plus check-in time means blocking out a half-day, which has an indirect cost for working teachers or degree-seeking candidates juggling other obligations.
- Opportunity cost of a failed attempt. Beyond the $150 retake fee, a failed attempt costs you the 31-day wait before you can try again - a delay that can push back hiring timelines, contract deadlines, or program completion.
If you're unsure whether the total investment - fees, materials, and time - makes sense for your career path, it's worth reading a broader breakdown of whether the credential is worth the investment before you commit to a test date.
Cost vs. Value: Why the Fee Structure Rewards Preparation
Florida's fee model for FTCE MGSS 5-9 (038) is a flat, pay-per-attempt structure with no bundled discounts, no subscription model, and no partial-refund options for missed appointments. That means the exam rewards candidates who treat their first attempt as their only attempt. Given that History alone accounts for a third of the exam, and History, Geography, and Civics and Government together make up 83% of all questions, a candidate who under-prepares in those three domains is the one most likely to pay for a retake.
Compare that to the Economics domain (10%) and the Social Science Curriculum and Instruction domain (7%) - smaller slices of the test, but still worth mastering since every point counts toward the same scaled score of 200. Skipping review in the smaller domains to "save time" doesn't save money; it just shifts risk toward a $150 retake.
Budgeting Your Prep Time by Domain
Because there's no way to pay extra for a "partial retake" of just the domains you missed, your real cost-control tool is time allocation before test day. A short, weighted study plan tied directly to the domain percentages can reduce the odds of needing a second $150 registration.
History (33% of the exam)
- World civilizations across Africa, the Americas, Asia (including the Middle East), Europe, and Oceania
- Primary source analysis techniques
- Florida's historical periods, immigration, and settlement patterns
Geography and Civics and Government (25% each)
- Themes and elements of geography, map and spatial-tool interpretation, mental maps
- U.S. Constitution, founding documents, and major Supreme Court cases
- Federal, state, and local government structures and comparative political systems
Economics and Curriculum/Instruction (10% and 7%)
- Economic development, migration's economic effects, and basic economic systems
- Instructional strategies specific to teaching social science content
- Full-length practice run under timed conditions
This kind of weighted schedule is really just applying spaced review to the exam's own priorities - no need for elaborate study systems when the domain percentages already tell you where to spend your limited hours. For a deeper dive into how difficult each domain tends to be for candidates, see the FTCE MGSS 5-9 (038) difficulty guide, and for the exact passing mechanics, check the article on the FTCE MGSS 5-9 (038) passing score.
Before you schedule, it also helps to confirm you meet the underlying eligibility conditions - the bachelor's degree and subject-area preparation requirements - detailed in the full FTCE MGSS 5-9 (038) requirements breakdown, and to check upcoming testing windows on the FTCE MGSS 5-9 (038) exam dates page so you can plan your budget around a firm deadline.
Once you've mapped out your timeline, running through timed practice questions on our FTCE MGSS 5-9 (038) practice test platform is one of the most direct ways to confirm you're ready before you spend the $150 on a real attempt. Repeated practice under exam-like conditions on the practice site also helps you get comfortable with the roughly 80-question, 2.5-hour format so nothing on test day feels unfamiliar.
Frequently Asked Questions
The standard cost is $150 for registration, whether it's your first attempt or a retake. There's no separate application fee, and score reports are issued free of charge within four weeks. Optional score verification, if you request it, is an additional $75.
No. Every attempt, first or subsequent, costs the same $150 registration fee. There is no discounted retake rate, so the financial incentive is to prepare thoroughly and pass on your first try.
There is no limit on the number of attempts, but each one requires a new $150 payment and a 31-calendar-day wait after a failed attempt. Once you pass, you cannot retake the exam for three years, so plan your attempts carefully.
No. There is no prerequisite examination or coursework required just to register for FTCE MGSS 5-9 (038). You do need a bachelor's degree and appropriate subject-area preparation to be certified, but those are eligibility requirements, not separate test fees.
It depends how close you were to passing. Since the passing standard is a scaled score of at least 200, with Florida's maximum-percentage table capping around 61% correct, verification tends to make financial sense only if you narrowly missed the cut. If you scored well below that range, a $150 retake with focused review is usually the more effective use of money.