Test Day tips

Here are a bunch of our favorite strategies for making Test Day as successful as possible—we hope you find them useful!

Avoid cramming: Plan to end your review a day or two before the actual test date. Sometimes called "tapering", this method is preferred by marathon runners, and the Praxis is a marathon of the mind, don't you think? Give your brain the recovery time it needs so you'll be refreshed and focused when the clock is ticking.

Make a transit plan: A few days before the test, take a dry run to the test center so you’re sure of the route, traffic conditions, and parking. Most of all, you want to eliminate any unexpected factors that could distract you from your ultimate goal—passing the Praxis test!

Get some rest: Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep each of the preceding two nights.

Dress for comfort: Wear comfortable clothes and dress in layers—so you don't get too hot/cold!

Treat yourself to some good food: Have a healthy meal before you take the test—the night before and the morning of.

Stay hydrated and avoid hunger Bring a healthy snack and water with you to the test site.

Bring ID: You'll need to bring an acceptable and valid photo ID with you.

Be patient! Be prepared to stand in line to check in or to wait while other test takers check in.

Avoid anxious people: You don't need their stress rubbing off on you.

Go for it! You can think of preparing for this test as training for an athletic event. Once you’ve trained, prepared, and rested, give it everything you’ve got.

Many students find this approach helpful:

First pass = Harvest low-hanging fruit: Work your way through the test, completing the passages and questions you immediately know how to do, and skipping passages you find difficult. Keep your eye on the time, and try to finish your first pass with 10 or 15 minutes remaining.

Second pass = Pick your battles: Go back to the beginning of the test, and look more carefully at the passages and questions you skipped during the first pass. Avoid "quicksand" passages and questions that might take you a lot of time—you don't need to complete every question to pass!

Leave nothing blank! Your score is based on the number of right answers, so it is to your advantage to answer every question. If you don’t know an answer, try to narrow down the choices, then guess.

If you have extra time left over at the end of the test, look over each question and make sure that you have answered it as you intended. Many test takers make careless mistakes that they could have corrected if they had checked their answers.

You can miss a few questions and still pass! It doesn’t matter on the Praxis tests whether you score high or barely pass. If you meet the minimum passing scores for your state and you meet the state’s other requirements for obtaining a teaching license, you will receive a license. In other words, what matters is meeting the minimum passing score.

You can find passing scores for all states that use the Praxis tests at the ETS website or on the web site of the state for which you are seeking certification/licensure.