Praxis II

Test Preparation WorkshopNovember 1, 2008

Why Praxis?

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001Requires all teachers in public

schools to be “Highly Qualified” Three requirements:

Bachelor’s degree Full state teacher certification Subject matter competency

Subject Matter Competency

Individual states choose how to test subject matter competencyUtah uses the Praxis II test

developed by Educational Testing Service (ETS)

Utah State Law

Requires educators to take the Praxis II exam in any subject they wish to teach

Here’s the good news…!

Any educator who scores below the final Utah state score will be issued a non-renewable conditional Level 1 license.

If the educator fails to pass the Praxis during the three-year duration of the conditional license, the license will lapse

School of Education Requirement

Must register for Praxis II exam before student teaching

Which Praxis?

Praxis II not Praxis I Content only – no pedagogical

requirements Must take Praxis II for any

subject area in which you plan to teach!

How Do I Register for the Praxis II? http://www.ets.org website http://www.ets.org>Praxis>state

requirements>Utah Be sure to include Westminster

College and Utah State Office of Education

Praxis II—How are these tests different than other tests?

They assess content knowledge you have learned in order to teach it to others.

They are comprehensive—covering materials you may have learned in several courses during more than one year.

Content questions may be embedded in pedagogical situations.

Praxis II – Generally, what can I expect?

Content knowledge Praxis exams are all multiple choice

Very few simple identification questions of the sort “Which of the following authors wrote Moby Dick?”

Rationale—prospective teachers should be able to analyze, synthesize, and apply knowledge to specific examples.

So . . . It might take longer to respond and questions may take longer to read.

Praxis II—How should I prepare to take these tests?

Learn What The Test Covers—See specifications in the Tests at a Glance at www.ets.org/praxis.

Assess How Well You Know The Content. Collect The Materials You Need to Study. Plan And Organize Your Time. Study. [See TAAG for detailed test descriptions, sample questions

with answers and explanations, tips on pacing, guessing] Know the Multiple-Choice Question

Types

Praxis II—What kinds of questions can I expect?

“Which of the following . . . “ “Complete the statement . . . “ “Roman Numeral Choices” “Least, Except, Not” “Graphs, Tables, Reading Passages” Other Formats

“Which of the Following” This format limits your choice of answers

only to the list given.Example:

“Which of the following” is a flavor made from beans?a) Strawberryb) Cherryc) Vanillad) Mint

“Complete the Statement” You are given an incomplete statement.

You must select the choice that will make the completed statement correct.

Example “The underlying concepts of division most likely will

be understood by the greatest number of children if the teacher

a) presents the concept of division in several waysb) thoroughly explains the theory of divisionc) provides one easy step-by-step procedure for

dividingd) stresses the everyday usefulness of understanding

division

“Roman Numeral Choices” This format is used when there can be

more than one correct answer from the list.

Roman Numeral ChoicesExample

The term “gender gap” is used in a political science context to refer to differences in survey response data from women and men in which of the following areas?

I. The relative importance of domestic versus foreign-policy issuesII. Attitudes regarding such social issues as gun control or

pornographyIII. Specific foreign-policy issues such as military issues

a) I onlyb) II onlyc) I and III onlyd) I, II, and III

“Least, Except, Not” This type of question is used in situations in which there are

several good solutions, or ways to approach something, but also a clearly wrong way to do something.

You must be very careful! It’s easy to forget that you are selecting the negative!

These words will be in ALL CAPS!!Example

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 did all of the following EXCEPTa) Establish a minimum wage of 40 cents an hourb) Require the hiring of women and members of minority

groups for some government jobsc) Fix the workweek at 40 hoursd) Forbid the hiring of workers under the age of sixteen

“Graphs, Tables, or Reading Passages”

The important thing to keep in mind is to answer the question that is asked . . .

So, you might want to read the question first and then look at the graph or chart or reading passage.

You may not need to spend a great deal of time trying to understand a graph or passage fully when you are asked a very specific question about it.

“Graphs, Tables, or Reading Passages”

ExampleHow many of the countries shown in the graph produced more crude oil in 1975 than in 1974?a) Noneb) Onec) Twod) Three

Soviet Union

United States

Saudi Arabia

Iran0123456

197419751976

Other Formats New formats are developed from time

to time. As always, read the directions carefully. Then ask yourself what you are

supposed to be looking for, and what details are given in the question that help you find the answer.

Other Format—Sample Example

The following question asks you to analyze teacher goals and actions intended to lead to the achievement of the goal. Decide whether the action makes it likely or unlikely to lead to the achievement of the goal. GOAL: To increase the participation of low-achieving middle-school students in whole-class discussions. ACTION: Instead of asking for volunteers, the teacher randomly calls on students to discuss homework assignments.a) Likely, because students who feel anxiety about being called on will

be more at ease and will pay more attention to class discussion.b) Likely, because low-achieving students often hesitate to volunteer

and random questioning will increase responses from these students.

c) Unlikely, because students in the middle-school grades prefer to have a choice in responding to discussions.

d) Unlikely, because students’ positive feelings toward the teacher will decrease.

Small Group – Test Simulation

Okay . . . Let’s take a test!

Praxis II—What do the “survivors” have to say?

Special Guests:

› Charity Gleason: Secondary› John Cedarland: Elementary

Formulating a Study Plan

Learn what the test covers Assess how well you know the

content Collect materials to help you

study material from the subjects/grades you’ll be teaching Core curriculum, see http://www.uen.org Tests at a Glance (TAAG) ETS Study Guides Cliffs Notes Test Prep Guides

Formulating a Study Plan

Plan and organize your time Be familiar with question types Study Take advantage of practice tests

and study tips available from ETS.

RELAX!GOOD LUCK!!CELEBRATE!!!