Praxis 5001 Practice Exams
Question 1 of 5.
Extract:The following passage is from There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, by Louis Sachar. There are some kids-you can tell just by looking at them-who are good spitters. That is probably the best way to describe Bradley Chalkers. He looked like a good spitter. He was the oldest and the toughest-looking kid in Mrs. Ebbel's class. He was a year older than the other kids. That was because he had taken the fourth grade twice. Now he was in the fifth grade for the first, but probably not the last, time. Jeff stared at him, then gave him a dollar and ran away. Bradley laughed to himself, then watched all the other kids have fun.
Based on the information in the passage, which of the following is an appropriate student inference?
A. Bradley is old.
B. Bradley is a bully.
C. Bradley is a good spitter.
D. Bradley is a diligent student.
Explanation: An inference is a conclusion based on evidence and reasoning. The passage states Bradley is the 'oldest' and 'toughest-looking' kid, has been held back a grade, and is described in the context of being a 'good spitter' (which often has negative connotations). The key evidence is Jeff's action: Jeff stared, gave him a dollar, and ran away. This suggests Bradley has intimidated Jeff into giving him money, which is classic bullying behavior. The text says he 'looked like' a good spitter, not that he is one. He is not a diligent student, as he has been held back. He is older than his classmates, but 'old' is not the most significant inference.
Question 2 of 5.
Which of the following best describes why phonological awareness is predictive of beginning reading success?
A. It is an auditory skill in which understanding of letter-sound relationships is developed.
B. It is a visual skill in which letter recognition skills are developed.
C. It is a speaking skill in which oral production of letter sounds is developed.
D. It is a fine motor skill in which letter formation skills are developed.
Explanation: Phonological awareness involves recognizing and manipulating language sounds (e.g., rhymes, syllables, phonemes), an auditory skill critical for understanding letter-sound relationships (phonics). This supports early reading by enabling word decoding. Option B focuses on visual letter recognition, which is distinct. Option C relates to speech production, not phonological awareness. Option D involves writing, a motor skill unrelated to phonological awareness.
Question 3 of 5.
Which THREE of the following words contain diphthongs?
A. Boy
B. Mother
C. Buy
D. Apple
E. Coin
Explanation: A diphthong is a vowel sound gliding from one vowel to another within a syllable (e.g., /oi/, /ai/). 'Boy' (A) has /oi/, 'Buy' (C) has /ai/, and 'Coin' (E) has /oi/. 'Mother' (B) and 'Apple' (D) have simple vowels (/ʌ/, /ə/ and /æ/, /ə/). The correct choices are A, C, E, corresponding to option C.
Question 4 of 5.
Which two of the following words feature an open syllable pattern?
A. Happen
B. Robot
C. Sunlight
D. Artist
E. Silent
Explanation: An open syllable ends with a vowel, typically producing a long vowel sound (e.g., 'me'). 'Robot' (B) has an open first syllable ('ro', /oÊŠ/). 'Silent' (E) has an open first syllable ('si', /ai/). 'Happen' (A), 'Sunlight' (C), and 'Artist' (D) have closed syllables. The correct choices are B, E, corresponding to option B.
Question 5 of 5.
Which of the following best demonstrates student knowledge of sound matching?
A. A student is able to see an illustration of an object ending in 'g' and identify the ending sound as /g/.
B. A student is able to hear the sounds /d/ /o/ /g/ and can identify the word as 'dog' when asked.
C. A student is able to identify the initial sound of the word 'top' as /t/ and can point to an object identified by a word with the same initial sound.
D. A student can remove the /b/ sound from the word 'bat' and identify the resulting word as 'at.'
Explanation: Sound matching involves identifying words with the same sound, typically at the beginning, middle, or end. Option C demonstrates this by identifying the initial /t/ in 'top' and matching it to another word with the same initial sound. Option A is sound identification, not matching. Option B involves phoneme blending. Option D involves phoneme deletion.