The Praxis I Exam, also known as the PPST (Pre-Professional Skills Test), is the first exam of two that all education students have to take in order to become a teacher. The PPST test is comprised of three sections- reading comprehension, writing, and math. There are hundreds of test prep books on the market for this test, and I definitely recommend you buy one and use it to study for about a month before the exam. Having said that, I am not going to just regurgitate the information and tips that you will find in these books. Although I cannot give specific questions or example questions from the test (this is unethical and illegal in some instances), I can give some tips on which sections of the PPST were easy and which sections of the PPST were hard.
After glancing over and studying several of the PPST prep books, I can say this- they make you think that the math section is going to be the most difficult section of the PPST – It is not. They throw so much math at you that you start panicking the moment you open the book and if you are like me, you will study for the math section of the PPST everyday for months, trying to cram a hundred formulas into your brain. I can assure you that you can relax with the math section of the PPST. I took the computer-based test, so I do not know if that made a difference, but the math was easy breezy. If you could get into university, having taken the ACT, you will have no problems whatsoever with the math section of the PPST because it’s easier than the math on the ACT.
So, now that I have calmed your mind about the math section of the PPST, I must stop you before you through that PPST test prep book in the garbage. The comprehension section of the PPST is the one you should worry about. I did not devote that much time to studying the comprehension section on the PPST because after all, I was English major, so how hard could it be for me? Also, I was too busy worrying over the math section of the PPST, which turned out to be no sweat.
Take my advice- study your vocabulary and study it good. They give you words on the comprehension section of the PPST you have never even heard before, and then they ask you to give a synonym for the word out of a list of words you have never heard before either. Also, on the actual reading comprehension questions on the PPST, they try to trick you a lot. The reading comprehension section of the PPST is the section you need to study the most for.
That leaves the writing section on the PPST. It was neither hard nor easy. The advice I can give for the writing section on the PPST is that you should make sure that your essay is written correctly in terms of grammar, syntax and spelling. Most likely, they are going to give you an argument and ask you to take a side. Your opinions mean nothing in the assessment of your writing ability. They cannot score your opinions. They can, however, score the presentation of your opinions. Make sure your argument is cohesive, but not too complicated (your time runs out very quickly).
The only thing you have to worry about with the writing section of the PPST is your structure, grammar, syntax and spelling. If you are a competent writer, you have nothing to worry about. Keep in mind that your time for the writing section on the PPST is very limited. By the time you start to get going in your argument, you will look at the timer and see you only have three minutes left. I had to hurry up and just type something the last couple of sentences on my essay and it closed out on me as soon as I finished, so I had no time to edit. Given the time limitation, you will not have time to edit either, so write carefully.
Overall, the Praxis I, PPST, was pretty easy. I passed with fairly high scores on all three sections of the PPST the first time I took the exam. I did study with the test prep booklets, only in retrospect to learn that I studied more on the wrong sections, but nonetheless, the PPST was easy to pass. If you study and take these PPST tips into consideration, you will pass too. You must have confidence in yourself, and besides that, it’s not the end of the world if you have to take the PPST again- you just have to pay twice.
