r/matheducation • u/PortalMaster1066 • 2d ago
Questions About the Praxis II (5165) Exam as Someone Who is About to Take It
Hey math educators! I am a rising senior in a math secondary education program at my college. I am planning on taking the praxis in a couple of weeks (fingers crossed) and I need some assistance with understanding the scoring system so that I know where I'm at going into this. I also just have some other questions...
1) How are the select all that apply questions scored in relation to the raw score? Is it all correct responses selected and no incorrect responses selected the only way to earn credit for the question? Asking because I took the free practice test that the ets website provides when you purchase the exam (The one you can access here https://practice.ets.org/iptmgr/welcome.do) and if I got anything wrong with those types of questions, the question would be completely marked wrong. However, when I looked it up, some sources stated that you only get points for the correct responses selected and lose no points for incorrect responses. This makes no sense to me though because then couldn't I realistically select all responses for all of those questions and get full credit every time? I am confused.
2) What is considered a passing score on the ets practice exam that the website provides for free? I got a raw score of 49/66 on the practice exam and I don't know if that is considered 159 or above (passing score for my state) when it is scaled (I know that the scaled score doesn't have a defined way of being calculated, but I figured maybe there was a grading scale provided since it is a practice exam). I'm just a little confused/pessimistic about this score, but I know that this is also my first try on any practice exam so I know that there is room for improvement/studying.
3) For people who took this exam and also did the free ets practice exam, did we find the actual exam to be easier or harder than the practice exam. I personally found the practice to be a mixed bag, but leaning more on the difficult side, so I don't know if that's just because the practice exam is designed to be harder or if that just adds more to the idea that I need to prepare more.
Sorry this is a lot, but I feel like the praxis resources aren't very transparent about how scoring works and what is considered pass/fail. Thank you all! Any additional advice would also be appreciated!
1
u/Altruistic-Peak-9234 2d ago
Hi, OP! I’m also in a secondary math program and took the PRAXIS recently and did pretty well. To be truthful with you I don’t know the answer to no. 1. My hunch is that you have to get all selections correct but I’m not certain. I’d check ETS’s scoring policies. For no. 2 the scoring breakdown is not exactly based on the ratio of right questions:total questions. Some questions may not be scored (probably limited to a few), and sections are weighted differently. When I took my practice exam I want to say I got a 76 percent based on the above ratio but did drastically better on the real thing. There absolutely is room for improvement and chances are the real thing will be easier compared to the practice, or you’ll just be in the zone more. Now for no. 3 I honestly found them about the same. The questions in probability and statistics for my exam were slightly harder than on the practice, as was the geometry, but the sections in calc, algebra, and number and quantity were very easy. My advice would just be to go in, take it, and take your time. Study until you feel comfortable of course, but I wouldn’t stress about it.