Nick Bones

Education 299

10 September 2019

Practice Praxis Exam Explanation

The Praxis exam is a test that is put in place in order to assure that perspective teachers

have the proper knowledge to be in a position to become educators. The Praxis Core Exam is a

standardized test that is must be taken by every student that is planning on continuing their

education training. Before a student can be accepted into a Bachelors program for education at

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada State college, or University of Nevada, Reno they

must first pass the Praxis Core exam. There are three parts to the Praxis Core exam; reading,

writing, and mathematics. Praxis Core test takers are able to decide between two options when

they are taking the test. They can choose to take all three sections in one day, which adds up to

five hours, or each test individually, which would be two hours each. There are associated scores

that must be achieved based on each of these tests. The passing score for reading is 156, the

passing score for math is 150, and the passing score for writing is 162. Each test given is

multiple choice or fill in the blank (for a few math questions), with the exception of writing, in

which the tests give two prompts and you are required to write a short essay on each topic.

When preparing for the Praxis Core Exam, I have studied every free practice test as many

times as I can. I have taken each of the practice tests through every link that was offered in the

Praxis Core analysis module on Canvas. Once those resources were exhausted, I turned to the

paid practice tests that are sold through the ETS website, which is the company that runs the

Praxis Tests. I ran through the practice test every few days, but unfortunately they were the same
questions each time, thus I tried to give each attempt a few days to forget the answers before I

tried again.

The practice tests that were provided by Professor Wyckoff, that we were to use as our

self-evaluation, have proven to be extremely useful. I took each test on consecutive days to allow

full concentration on the given subject. I took writing first, because I was the most nervous about

the outcome of that subject based on my scores from the other practice tests on the other links

provided. For writing, I received an 83% which said I was likely to pass, this was reassuring and

set me at ease a bit. Mathematics was my least worrisome subject. I have always had a fairly

easy time with math classes, and the questions were not too difficult. My score in Math was an

85% which stated I was also likely to pass, and I felt like I could do better if I did not overthink

some of the questions. My score in reading was my most surprising because I did fantastic on all

other practice tests, but when I took this test, I received a 61% which meant that I need

improvement. This was an example of bad preparations, because when I took the test I was

overly confident as a result of my previous practice reading test scores. When I took this test, I

was extremely tired, had just got home from a workout, and had not eaten. I was falling asleep

while reading the prompts and could not concentrate. With all the excuses aside, I was now quite

worried about the reading section of the Praxis.

I was supposed to have taken the Praxis Core Examination before this assignment was

due, but unfortunately the testing center had technical difficulties and my test was canceled. The

next available test time that worked for my schedule was October 1st. I will continue to do as

many practice tests as I can between now and then. I have purchased the official test preparations

through the ETS website, and have gone through them each twice already. The ETS website

reuses the same questions, so I have been combatting that by switching between the ETS practice
tests and the other practice tests. This is in an attempt to make it easier for me to forget my

previous answers. My studying and practice testing will continue until I am sure that I will pass

my Praxis Exam.