I recently took the PRAXIS CORE and passed both Reading and Math, except Writing. Can I just retake the writing only? What study material do you recommend to improve my essay scores?
According to ETS at https://www.ets.org/praxis/about/core/content/, Praxis Core is administered as three distinct subtests that a test taker can elect to take all together (as you did), or one at a time. It seems entirely likely that you can retake the writing test by itself. Have you already received an official score report with a breakdown of how you did on each test?
How was the writing score if you don't mind me asking? I haven't received my scores but by the time I got to the writing portion, I was mentally exhausted.
156. I need 162 to pass. Same here, I was exhausted by the time I got to the writing portion....after reading and math....
I meant what was the break down of the scoring, are the multiple choice weighted more then the essays. I feel that my essays were better then the multiple choice questions.
I took my Praxis Combined last Thursday for the first time. I passed math, according to the scaled score I saw on the screen, with a 156. I passed reading with a 184. I'm not sure about writing, as I have to wait the 10-16 days for the scores to come in. Although I scored very good on the multiple choice practice tests, I'm very nervous because I did not get to proof read my last essay. The time goes by so fast! I do have a question. Is a works cited required after the essay? I ran out of time and did not include one.
Most basic-skills test essays are written under time pressure by writers who weren't provided with the specific topic in advance. If you were able to note some works that supported your argument, that's grand, but I've never heard of a works-cited section being required in one of these tests.
Looks like I'm closer to passing Math than I am writing, just seen my scores from 8/7, 144 last time, 152 this time, I need a 162. I really don't know where I'm going to get those 10 points from. It didn't help that I got a really stupid subject to try and write about. I need a Lynn Gardner type of book for writing. Any Ideas? Thanks
I'm not sure of your situation, but does it have to be the praxis? For me, I had to either pass the core or get above a 21 on the act.
They won't allow the ACT? I ask because like you and so many others, I failed my writing portion of the praxis core. It was disheartening considering I am in school to be a high school english teacher. I talked to an education advisor, and she mentioned that with the cumulative score of the ACT your stronger scores could bring up the areas where you are weak.
Apparently they do accept ACT instead of praxis, you need a 24 on the ACT. I don't know how hard that is compared to praxis core.
I found the ACT to be easier then the Praxis. I received a 27 composite score on the ACT and my praxis scores were 188 reading, 160 math, and 156 writing. I didn't have to take the writing on the ACT, but there are 4 sections Math, english, reading, and science. It is cheaper then the praxis, but the downside is it is only offered a select number of times per year.
I wish they would at least break down the essay and tell you what part you need work on, I'm sure it's everything, but think they should let me know. Is it punctuation, sentence structure or whatever? I got 12 out of 24, I know that much. I got 11 out of 24 last time. On the mc part 20 out of 34, 16 out of 34 the first time.
Lets see if anyone can figure this one out for me. I have passed all parts, beside the writing so far. I seem to be having trouble- let me explain. The first time I got a 152, obviously not passing. I got 16 on the multiple choice and 14 on my essay. The second time i got 158, still not passing. Increasing on my multiple choice with 18 and 14 on my essay again. Now i just took the test again and recieved a 158 again. BUT this time i got 20 on my multiple choice and 14 on my essay. Why did my score not go up this time? I know there can be mistakes but unsure if its a mistake or not. Wondering if anyone has answers to my problem before i call on monday as i have to wait a few days and this will drive me insaneeee!!! Someone help. I mean if my acore went up six points just going up 2 on my multiple choice. It should of went up once again. Thanks all!
I fail to understand how they do things. I just got 20 on MC and 12 on essay and that equaled 152. For the money we pay, they should give us more feedback.
I just took the core skills test today! From the screen I knew i passed math (198) and reading (178). I think I did horrible on essay writing. Any suggestion for how to improve the writing skills? I will be a foreign language teacher. Thank you in advance!
Great math score! Good reading score! It's entirely possible that you'll have done better on the essays than you think you did, especially if you hate "five-paragraph essays" but you wrote one anyway.
Thank you! Finally i got my scores today. I can't believe that I got 162 for my writing. Anyway I passed for the first time!
I'm registered to take the praxis writing for the third and hopefully final time on the 30th. Waiting the two weeks for a grade will kill me.
Hey, 3rd time’s the charm! Good luck. BTW, when do you have to pass this by? Is your continued employment contingent on you passing the writing section?
Yes it is, by June 30th. I already passed reading and math. I think the college classes i have been taking will help me out this time.
I’m glad that you’re making progress with your studies. Unless I am mistaken, I believe the evaluators are looking for a standard 5-paragraph essay, so there is no need to be flowy with your language. Just get straight to the point. My suggestion is when you write your thesis statement that you make sure to include three examples to exemplify your main point. For example, “I believe that heterogenous group work, in certain instances, is a more effective teaching strategy than homogeneous collaborative work because it benefits the low- and medium-level performers to a greater extent, it encourages the high-level performers to help struggling group members, and it enables every student to do their best learning in the classroom as the discussions are more student driven.” Next, each body paragraph should reference one of the examples. This makes it very easy to write an essay. Also, if you have difficulty writing your introductory paragraph, try working backward. Think of the big picture and fill in the steps on how to get there as you write. Finally, in your conclusion, paraphrase your thesis and add some last-minute thoughts to tie everything together. For example, “Mixed-group learning is more advantageous than ability grouping because all learners benefit and students peer tutor one another. The teacher can take on more of a facilitator role and the students take charge of their own learning. In homogenous groups, the teacher has to routinely check in with students, in particular, the low and medium groups, to ensure that those students are not left floundering. This can detract from the learning process as said students are not doing the investigative task on their own and have to be steered toward the correct answer.” The trick to writing a good essay is to avoid adding fluff to a paper to make it long enough and to give the how or why to every argument. In this case, don’t just say “heterogeneous grouping is better than homogeneous grouping,” say “heterogeneous grouping is better than homogeneous grouping because blah blah blah.” This helps your thoughts flow and enables you to expand upon each thought more so than if you were to just write a closed-ended response. Lol, I feel like an English teacher and I teach high school and some college-level math!
Flunked again with a 152. I don't know how I'm supposed to get better if ETS doesnt give you feedback on where you need practice, i got 18 on the multiple choice, 12 on essays.
I have a question about the timing of the essay portion. When does the time actually start? After you read the prompts? I'm more concerned about the source-based essay, since it typically has two long-ish articles to read. Do they factor into your 30 minutes?
As with all other teacher tests, prompt-reading time is included in test time. Scorers know that test takers are under time pressure. They're not looking for an exhaustive analysis. They're looking for evidence that - a test taker can figure out what question the prompt is asking and answer THAT question; - a test taker can ferret out a couple of key features of a text (or a couple of key similarities and differences between two texts, if the question is set up that way); - a test taker can support either analysis or argument with suitable evidence, from the text(s) or from what passes for Real Life; and - a test taker has an adequate grip on the standards of English formal writing.
I just took the writing test again on the 26th of May. This is the 4th time. I thought the mixed response was harder this time. I had a couple of decent prompts to write to. I feel pretty good. It stinks waiting for so long. After failing the 3rd time, I wrote ETS and asked why they don't give some feedback on the writing, they replied that it's not a diagnostic test. How can it not be a diagnostic test? Is it just subject to someone's opinion? It has to be graded to some sort of rubric. This is the last thing I need to get my Certificate.
You can take look at essays written by professional writers. This way you can analyze what mistakes you have and how you can improve your paperwork. I've noticed that there are a lot of worthy works out there. I know that some of my students share their essays online. Of course, you shouldn't copy their content, but it would be great to look at the structure and writing style. I saw such essay samples on the Essay Sampler https://essaysampler.com/1665-american-flag-stands-for-tolerance-essay-sample , Template Tab, and many other resources for college students. You can use those as a reference, sort of a research material, but never as a way to replicate someone’s published work.
