Stephanie Vivas

Praxis Core Exam Analysis

The Praxis Core Exam is one of the most important stepping stones in order to

continue my education towards becoming a teacher. In order for me to take any education

courses at Nevada State College, I am required to pass this exam. There are a total of 3

test to take and all of them have a required passing score. The passing scores are based

on the subjects. The passing score for math is 150, reading is 156, and writing is 162.

Luckily, there are practice tests available in order to see how likely I will be at

getting a passing score in the actual Praxis exams. I read some information about the

Praxis requirements as well as material to prepare for the practice tests. Ets.org provides

material to look over that is similar to what may be on the practice exam. I did the

practice questions for each of the subjects and only got a few wrong. I honestly thought it

wouldn’t be hard at all based on the practice questions. I did no further studying and

decided I was ready to take the practice Praxis exams.

To my surprise, the practice Praxis exams were extremely difficult! The first thing

I noticed was that it was a lot longer than I had thought. Each test had over 50 questions.

Math is my favorite subject, I only got a score of 81%. A score of 81% on the practice

exams means I am most likely to pass the Math section in the official Praxis Core Exam.

Still, I expected to get higher than an 81%. In writing, I received a score of 70% which

means I would be borderline in passing the actual exam. In reading, I received an

embarrassing score of 57%, meaning I need significant improvement! These results were

an eye-opener on what can happen if I do not study for the official Praxis Core Exam.
 Although, some of the practice test scores I received were considered passing;

none of them are acceptable scores to me. As an educator, it is important for me to be an

example to the students I will be teaching. I need to make sure that I am giving them the

best version of me as I possibly can. In order to do this, I will make sure to study before

taking the official Praxis Core exam. Fortunately, there are many resources available to

achieve success in the official exam. I enjoy learning through interactive practice exams,

so I will be purchasing a 90-day subscription to interactive practice exams offered on the

ETS.org website. If I find it difficult I may also take advantage of the free tutoring

offered by CSN. One thing's for sure, I will be studying a lot more than I had in mind.