Praxis I

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Praxis I
How do I begin to prepare ????
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Why Praxis ??

• 35 states in US currently use Praxis for
• assessment purposes
• in CT - used for assessing skills of future
• teachers, assuring high quality teachers
• CT used home grown assessments before
• development of Praxis series

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Why Praxis ??

• Praxis I (reading, writing, and math skills)
• for entry into teacher prep program
• Praxis II (content area knowledge) before
• issuance of initial certificate, and for
• addition of other endorsements

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Praxis I tests required in Connecticut
subject area test code test name qual.
score all areas 10710 PPST
reading 172 20720
PPST writing 171 10730
PPST math 171 OR
5710 Computerized
PPST Reading 172 5720
Computerized PPST
Writing 171 5730
Computerized PPST math 171
no calculators
no calculators
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Does everyone have to take Praxis I?

• Praxis I required of all prospective teachers
  unless
• you took the SATs after July 1, 1995 and scored
  a
• combined total of more than 1100 points
• you took the SATs before July 1, 1995 and
  scored
• a combined total of more than 1000 points
• you took the ACT exams and scored the
  equivalent
• of a combined total of more than 1000 points

application for a Praxis waiver is available from
the CT State Dept. of Education via this web
link http//www.state.ct.us/sde/dtl/cert/certform
/ed_192.pdf
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Whats on the Praxis I exams?
note This program will describe the
computerized PPST exams the content of the
paper-and-pencil exam formats is the same, but
the number of questions varies
PPST Reading literal comprehension -- 26
questions / 56 of exam critical
inferential comprehension -- 20 questions /
44 of exam PPST Writing
grammatical relationships -- 12 questions / 13
of exam structural relationships -- 16
questions / 18.5 of exam idiom/word
choice, mechanics, no error -- 16 questions
/ 18.5 of exam essay -- 1 question
/ 50 of exam PPST Math conceptual
knowledge procedural knowledge -- 21
questions / 45 of exam representations of
quantitative information -- 13 questions / 30
of exam measurement informal geometry,
formal mathematical reasoning -- 12 questions
/ 25 of exam
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• PPST Reading - What skills do I need to
  demonstrate?
• literal comprehension understand accurately
  and completely what a passage explicitly
  states recognize how passage is organized
  uses language
• literal comprehension skills to be able to
  recognize in a passage..
• a main idea or primary purpose
• a supporting idea or detail
• how vocabulary words or phrases are used
• critical analytical comprehension
  understand aspects of a passage that arent
  explicitly stated, understand implications, make
  predictions, analyze an argument, compare
  situations and arguments
• critical analytical comprehension skills
• draw an inference or implication
• evaluate supporting evidence
• identify an assumption
• distinguish fact from opinion
• identify the authors attitude toward the topic
• extend and predict based on passage content
• draw conclusions

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• PPST Reading - What can I do to practice using
  these skills?
• LITERAL COMPREHENSION
• a main idea or primary purpose
• a supporting idea or detail
• how vocabulary words or phrases are used

• some resources available for practice in using
  skills
• (ETS) PPST Pre-Professional Skills Tests Study
  Guide, 2nd edition
• chapter 4 - preparing for the reading test
• chapter 8 - practice reading test
• study guide available for purchase through
  ETS http//www.digitalriver.com/dr/v2/ec_MAIN.En
  try10?V1281721PN1SP10023xid30027DSPCUR8
  40PGRP0CACHE_ID0
• (ETS) PPST Test-at-a-Glance practice questions
  - download from web site
• reading - ftp//ftp.ets.org/pub/tandl/5710.pd
  f
• (Internet) free test prep review - contains
  self-assessment modules and self-improvement
• links . http//www.testprepreview.com/praxi
  s_practice.htm
• (note There are many other resources listed on
  the Internet, many of which charge for service.)

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PPST Reading - What can I do to practice using
these skills? CRITICAL ANALYTICAL COMPREHENSION

• draw an inference or implication
• evaluate supporting evidence
• identify an assumption
• distinguish fact from opinion

• identify authors attitude toward the topic
• extend predict based on passage content
• draw conclusions
• make an application to another situation

• some resources available for practice in using
  skills
• (ETS) PPST Pre-Professional Skills Tests Study
  Guide, 2nd edition
• chapter 4 - preparing for the reading test
• chapter 8 - practice reading test
• study guide available for purchase through
  ETS http//www.digitalriver.com/dr/v2/ec_MAIN.En
  try10?V1281721PN1SP10023xid30027DSPCUR8
  40PGRP0CACHE_ID0
• (ETS) PPST Test-at-a-Glance practice questions
  - download from web site
• reading - ftp//ftp.ets.org/pub/tandl/5710.pd
  f
• (Internet) free test prep review - contains
  self-assessment modules and self-improvement
• links . http//www.testprepreview.com/praxi
  s_practice.htm
• (note There are many other resources listed on
  the Internet, many of which charge for service.)

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PPST Writing - What skills do I need to
demonstrate on the multiple-choice
section of the test? usage and sentence
correction types of questions, covering these
major areas

• parts of speech
• noun
• verb
• adjective
• adverb
• pronoun
• preposition
• conjunction
• interjection

• grammar
• forms of adjectives adverbs
• comparisons
• subject-verb agreement
• verb tense
• parallelism
• noun-pronoun agreement
• negation
• modification

• punctuation
• comma usage
• colon usage
• semicolon usage
• apostrophe usage

• clarity of expression
• redundancy
• wordiness

• parts of sentences
• subject
• predicate
• phrases clauses

• other
• sentence fragments run-on sentences
• capitalization
• word usage (diction)
• idiomatic expressions

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PPST Writing - What can I do to practice using
these skills? usage and sentence correction
types of questions, covering these major areas

• parts of speech
• parts of sentences
• clarity of expression
• sentence fragments
• run-on sentences

• grammar
• punctuation
• capitalization
• word usage (diction)
• idiomatic expressions

• some resources available for practice in using
  skills
• (ETS) PPST Pre-Professional Skills Tests Study
  Guide, 2nd edition
• chapter 6 - preparing for the writing test -
  multiple choice section
• chapter 7 - the essay
• chapter 10 - practice test, writing
• study guide available for purchase through ETS
  http//www.digitalriver.com/dr/v2/ec_MAIN.Entry10?
  V1281721PN1SP10023xid30027DSPCUR840PGR
  P0CACHE_ID0
• (ETS) PPST Test-at-a-Glance practice questions
  - download from web site
• writing - ftp//ftp.ets.org/pub/tandl/5720.pd
  f
• (Internet) free test prep review - contains
  self-assessment modules and self-improvement
• links . http//www.testprepreview.com/praxi
  s_practice.htm
• (note There are many other resources listed on
  the Internet, many of which charge for service.)

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PPST Writing - What makes a good essay?
The essay, which is 50 or your score, is scored
on a scale of 6-1, 6 being high and 1 being low.
One way to prepare for writing the essay is to
understand and work with the scoring system by
focusing on key words in the scoring guide. The
official ETS scoring guide follows.

• score . demonstrates a high degree of competence
  in response to the assignment but may
• 6 have a few minor errors
• states or clearly implies writers position or
  thesis
• organizes develops ideas logically, making
  insightful connections between them
• clearly explains key ideas, supporting them
  with well-chosen reasons, examples, or details
• displays effective sentence variety
• clearly displays facility in the use of
  language
• is generally free from errors in grammar,
  usage, and mechanics

• score . demonstrates clear competence in
  response to the assignment but may have minor
• 5 errors
• states or clearly implies writers position or
  thesis
• organizes develops ideas clearly, making
  connections between them
• explains key ideas, supporting them with
  relevant reasons, examples, or details
• displays some sentence variety
• displays facility in the use of language
• is generally free from errors in grammar,
  usage, and mechanics

Ask yourself questions such as What words would
I use to show that ideas are developed logically,
rather than just clearly? What would show that a
detail is well-chosen, rather than just relevant?
What makes sentence variety effective?
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PPST Writing - What makes a good essay?
scoring guide (contd).

• score . demonstrates competence in response to
  the assignment.
• 4
• states or implies writers position or thesis
• shows control in the organization development
  of ideas
• explains some key ideas, supporting them with
  adequate reasons, examples, or details
• displays adequate use of language
• shows control of grammar, usage, and mechanics,
  but may display errors

• score . demonstrates some competence in response
  to the assignment, but is obviously
• 3 flawed..reveals one or more of the
  following weaknesses
• limited in stating or implying a position or
  thesis
• limited control in the organization
  development of ideas
• inadequate reasons, examples, or details to
  explain key ideas
• an accumulation of errors in the use of
  language
• an accumulation of errors in grammar, usage,
  and mechanics

Ask yourself questions such as What words would
show that I limited stating my position? What
would make reasons or details inadequate, rather
than adequate? Whats the difference between
displaying errors and having an accumulation of
errors?
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PPST Writing - What makes a good essay?
scoring guide (contd).

• score . seriously flawed..reveals one or more
  of the following weaknesses
• 2
• no clear position or thesis
• weak organization or very little development
• few or no relevant reasons, examples, or
  details
• frequent serious errors in the use of language
• frequent serious errors in grammar, usage, and
  mechanics

• score . demonstrates fundamental deficiencies in
  writing skills..essay contains
• 1
• serious or persistent writing errors, or
• is incoherent, or
• is undeveloped

score . essay is off topic, is not a response to
the topic specified 0
Ask yourself questions such as What are some
examples of serious errors in the use of language
and grammar? What would make an essay
incoherent? What are some signs of weak
organization?
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PPST Reading Writing exams general preparation
suggestions

• read practice materials specific to PPST
• read other materials, such as magazines,
  journals, and
• non-fiction books published for general
  audiences
• practice the skills using these materials
• study with others preparing for the PPST

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PPST Mathematics - What skills do I need to
demonstrate?
conceptual knowledge - order, equivalence,
numeration, place value, number and operation
properties procedural knowledge - skills for
matching real-life problems with appropriate math
procedures, operations, and quantities finding
solutions to applied problems, determining
information needed, interpreting and adjusting
results of computation representations of
quantitative information - reading and
interpreting visual displays of quantitative
information finding average, range, mode or
median making comparisons, predictions,
extrapolations, or inferences applying
variation recognizing connections between
symbols and words, tables, graphs, data,
equations, number lies, and the coordinate
plane measurement informal geometry -
knowledge of customary and metric systems
reading calibrated scales using geometric
concepts and properties solving measurement
problems formal math reasoning in a quantitative
context - connectives quantifiers, Venn
diagrams, validity, conclusions
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PPST Mathematics - What can I do to practice
using these skills?

• some resources available for practice in using
  skills
• (ETS) PPST Pre-Professional Skills Tests Study
  Guide, 2nd edition
• chapter 5 - preparing for the mathematics test
• chapter 9 - practice mathematics test
• study guide available for purchase through
  ETS http//www.digitalriver.com/dr/v2/ec_MAIN.En
  try10?V1281721PN1SP10023xid30027DSPCUR8
  40PGRP0CACHE_ID0
• (ETS) PPST Test-at-a-Glance practice questions
  - download from web site
• reading - ftp//ftp.ets.org/pub/tandl/5710.pd
  f
• (Internet) free test prep review - contains
  self-assessment modules and self-improvement
• links . ftp//ftp.ets.org/pub/tandl/5730.pd
  f
• (note There are many other resources listed on
  the Internet, many of which charge for service.)

18
PPST Mathematics exam general preparation
suggestions

• read practice materials specific to PPST
• practice the skills using these materials
• use a variety of PPST test preparation
  materials
• study with others preparing for the PPST
• seek out students who have already taken the
  test