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Frequently Asked Questions
Official Study Guide Available!
ETS publishes an official study guide for the health and physical
education exams! The study guide is not available for download, but must be ordered from ETS.
The study guide is $40 and can be ordered from the
ETS Online Store
Do you have any
information on the Health Praxis Exams?
Do you have any information on any of the other Praxis Exams?
Do you have any tips on 0093
the Video Exam?
Are there
accommodations available for students with disabilities?
Can you cancel your score once you sit
for the exam?
If your primary language is not English,
can you request special testing conditions?
Is the Praxis exam culturally and
linguistically fair?
Who controls a Praxis
score you take the test?
Are these
the same tests as the SSATs (Single Subject Assessment Tests)?
Can you tell me about any
other sites or reference books I might try?
Are there any study guides
available like those for the SAT?
Do you know of any Praxis
Preparation classes on the Internet?
Where can I order the textbooks that you
recommend?
If you get good grades in your
courses will you pass the Praxis exam?
Will I be prepared for
the PE Praxis Exams if I follow your practice tests?
Do you have the
answers to the Barton College Study Guide?
Is the North Carolina A&T Mock Test
a real test?
How many correct answers
does it take to pass 0091?
Should I guess if I don't know
the answer to a multiple choice question?
I took the 0091 Exam twice
and got the same exact scores both times. Is that possible?
Should I ask for my test to be
rescored?
Do you have any additional
information that is not posted on the web site?
I need help with the Motor Development
part of the test. Can you help?
I am taking the Praxis Exam this
weekend can you answer this question?
Please mail or email me information on
the Praxis Exams?
I live in (name your state).
Which Praxis Exam do I have to take?
What is the Physical
Education Praxis Prep Community?
Can you help me with a research
project?
Is golf an open or closed skill?
What is tennis?
What are open and
closed skills?
What is the difference between
isotonic, isometric, eccentric and concentric muscle contractions?
What is the 1800s Battle of Gymnastics
Styles?
What is the Inverse U Theory or Inverse U
Phenomena?
Can you describe how to
perform a... What strategies are used... How would you teach...?
The test shows a diagram of (a name a
skill) in four different ways. Which one is correct?
On 0092 I am too rushed to do a good job.
What should I do to answer these questions properly?
Can you
help with an 0092 question dealing with strength development in children/adolescents?
Are the
principles of exercise the same thing as the principles of physical education?
About fitness
activities for children of different ages, are there different activities which should be done
for different age groups? Can't I use the same activities and vary the number of sets,
repetitions and frequency of the activity?
 | I don't have any information on the Health Education Praxis Exams. I am aware that
Health Education candidates need a similar web site, but my site is currently limited to the
Praxis PE Exams.
|
| You will find some general information about the Praxis Exams here that will help you.
Start with the Praxis Exams Page and follow the tutorial
there.
|
| Next go to the Praxis Series Online site and search for
Tests at a Glance by
test title or test code. Review or download all of the Health TAAGs and use them as
study guides.
|
| The new Physical Education and Health Study Guide includes specific information that
would be helpful in preparing for the Health Education Praxis Exams.
More info... |
| I don't have any information on Praxis Exams for any other subject areas. My web site is
limited to physical education. |
| Unfortunately, I don't know as much about the video exam as I do 0091 and 0092. The
video exam (0093) is where you watch a video several times during the exam and then you must
answer constructed response questions about the video. Remember, the questions are
constructed response, not essay questions. Review all of my tips on the 0092 Exam's
constructed response items and apply them to the video exam. Based on my limited knowledge,
that is the best I can do for now.
|
| The new Physical
Education and Health Study Guide will be invaluable in preparing for the video exam! It even
has a sample test in DVD format on a CD-ROM. Best of all the study guide is available now!
More info... |
| Yes. If ETS receives a written request to cancel your score within one week of your test
date, your score can be canceled. For special circumstances see
www.ets.org/praxis/praxcrs.html for more information about score reporting. |
| Yes. If your primary language is not English, you may be eligible for an alternate test
site and/or extended time. Monday testing is available for those individuals unable to take
a Saturday exam for religious reasons or because they are in the U.S. Armed Forces. Find out
more details from www.ets.org/praxis. |
| Each question undergoes a rigorous review for sensitivity and differential item analysis
to ensure that no question favors or disfavors any group of test-takers by race, gender, or
ethnicity. Also, each test is reviewed by a team of linguists with specific training in
sociolinguistics to ensure accessibility. |
| You have the right to control the information that ETS has regarding your test score. No
one will see your scores unless you designate them as a score recipient. |
| Although there is no cut score (passing score) in the nation that is higher than 68%
correct on the 0091 Content Knowledge Exam. Yet, it is impossible to figure out how many
questions you need to get right to get a 68% correct.
|
| There are 120 multiple choice questions on the 0091 test. If 68% is a guaranteed passing
score then 82 correct answers should be 68%. Unfortunately, that isn't true.
|
| But just as with the SAT you probably took to get into college, not all 120 questions
will count in your final score. Some trial questions may be in your test, and those
questions would not count in your score. ETS includes "trial multiple-choice questions that
are being pre-tested for future use" in their multiple choice exams. "Pretest questions are
administered solely for developmental purposes to maintain the quality of the test and to
provide essential information for future test editions. They do not count towards the
examinees' scores. These questions are not identified and may appear in varying locations
within the test. Examinees should therefore do their best on all questions." (Quotes from
0856 TAAG.)
|
| Once in a while there may be a "questionable" question is include on the test. Until the
issue with the "questionable" question is resolved, that question is not counted either.
|
| Therefore, although there are 120 questions on the test, all 120 may not figure into
your final score. So if only 116 questions were counted then you would have to get 79
questions correct to guarantee passing the test. There is simply no way of knowing how many
of the questions will actually be counted in your final score.
|
| ETS has statisticians that work their magic to "equate scores" from one test form to the
next. The highest possible score on 0091 is a score of 200. That's about all I can tell you
about how the test is scored. I don't have enough skill with higher order statistics to
follow their explanations beyond this point. |
| Yes, you should guess. Incorrect answers do not count against you. Your test is scored
on the total number of correctly answered questions. Therefore, answer all questions even if
you have to guess!
|
| A word of advice! Make an educated guess! Narrow the options by eliminating as many of
the choices as you can. You may have to guess at a question or two, but you don't have to
take wild guesses. |
| Yes, it is very likely that your exams scores will remain the same. Do you recall what
you learned about test validity and test reliability? Then think about repeatability. These
tests have a high repeatability. Your scores will not change much for test to test unless
you change something!
|
| To get the same score, you must not have changed the things you were including in your
answers. To change your score your answers must change. That means you must change! The best
thing to change is you test preparation and that in turn will hopefully change your
responses. |
| The mechanical scoring of the 0091 multiple choice exam is nearly flawless so you are
essentially wasting your money to request a rescore.
|
| In regard to 0092 and 0093, these tests are scored by human beings, so there is some
margin of error in the scoring. Nevertheless, don't bother with exam re-score. Work on
writing clear concise answers that don't wander off target. The constructed response exam
questions on my page are very similar to the actual 0092 exam. Practice with them and
read up on the constructed response tips on the Praxis 0092 pages. |
| Unfortunately, this is the only free online source for the PE Praxis Exams. There are a
couple of other web sites around that deal with the Praxis Exams. I found them using an
online search engine like Yahoo! or MSN Search. Generally, the other free sites reference my
web site or they are by subscription only. That means you have to pay to access them
and I didn't fork over the money. If you are still interested in other sites or references
check these out. Just remember, I can't recommend them because I haven't seen them!
| Praxis PE Help Guide
are online subscription only study guides for 0092 PE Movement Forms - Analysis and Design
and for 0093 PE: Movement Forms - Video Evaluation Test.
|
| There is a book available at
Amazon.com, entitled
Praxis Physical Education High School: Teacher Certification Exam by Alexandria
Lucewich and Sharon A. Wynne from XAM Publishing (ISBN: 1581970196; January 2002). It is
150 page and 125 questions for $28.95. I have not seen the book so I cannot recommend it.
Furthermore, there are no reviews of the book posted on Amazon.com, so let the buyer
beware. |
|
Yes! ETS has just published a new study guide for the health and physical education
exams. You will find more information here!
Yes, as a matter of fact, I teach an online Praxis Preparation Course.
At the request of Ohio
University
and
JER Group, Inc. (JER) I am now
offering an online course to help test takers prepare for any of the Praxis II Specialty
Area Exams. This course, "Preparing for the Praxis II Subject
Assessments", is designed to prepare candidates for The Praxis II Subject Assessments by
concentrating on three keys to success: understanding the exams, preparing for the exams,
and developing a “Praxis State of Mind.” Students learn to read test questions critically,
prepare targeted study plans, and get tips that will improve their chances of passing.
To find out more visit the
JER Group home page. To
enroll in the course, click on the Course Catalog link and scroll down until you see
"Praxis ll Test Prep". The cost of the course is $124.
View the
Course Outline.
JER Group, Inc. (JER)
is a national provider of over 500 online courses that range across 30 subject areas.
| No. You must be able to integrate this information and draw from your coursework and
clinical experiences to pass the Praxis examination. |
| You can get them from a college library. If they don't have them try interlibrary
loan. If that doesn't work you might try
Varsitybooks.com. I have bought college textbooks from them in the past. |
| There is no way that I can guarantee that will you pass the Praxis Exams if you use my
web site. However, it is the most well-known and most recommended site. The site is
nationally known and I have collaborated with ETS for presentations on the exams at
the 2001 and 2002 National AAHPERD Conventions. So, although I cannot guaranteed that my
site will lead you to a passing grade, I guess it is probably the best there is available.
|
| I recommend that you follow the order I laid in the tutorial and on the site map. Start
at the home page and follow the instructions there for using the tutorial.
|
| The example questions included in these pages will be helpful in identifying weakness
and reviewing for the exams. I believe the best use of these example questions is to help in
targeting your weak areas and guiding your test preparation. Assuming that these sample
questions are the actual test questions and limiting your preparation to the examples
included here is a recipe for failure.
|
| I also highly recommend downloading the appropriate
Tests at a Glance and purchasing the new Study
Guide for the Physical Education and Health tests. |
| No, so please do not send an email asking me to send you the answers. The Barton College
Study Guide includes items to further guide your study for the PE Praxis exams. No
effort has been made to provide the correct answers to these items. Part of preparing
for the test is identifying and addressing your weak areas. Looking up the answers is part
of your test preparation! |
| The North Carolina A&T Mock Test is an exam the faculty made up to help their students
pass the test. It is not the same as the PE Content Knowledge Exam. It is a study guide, not
the actual test!
|
| Too many people think my questions and study guides are the actual test questions. My
general advice is to use my web page as a guide to study topics --- not just the questions
and answers! Too many people just study the stuff I have online. Instead of just answering
the questions on concentric and eccentric contractions you should study concentric
and eccentric contractions! |
| I have put everything that I can on the website. The only other thing that I have to
offer is workshop or seminar. I do make presentations at state AAHPERD conventions and at
colleges and universities. See the About Us,
Dr.Woolard's Vita and Contact
pages for further information. I do not offer commercial workshops or private tutoring. |
| Most importantly, be sure you have a clear understanding of
"The Developmental Perspective". I cannot stress how
important a developmental perspective is to taking the Praxis PE Exams. Remember to get into
"The Praxis State of Mind" when you take the test.
|
| If you need to know more about motor development I suggest that you go to a college
library and check out a textbook on motor development or you can purchase one of the texts I
have listed on the References and Resources page.
|
| Especially review at the chapters on fundamental motor skills. Do you know how to
analyze picture of fundamental motor skills? If you need help check out the
Developmental Analysis Example. Learn to
analyze where the performance is in the sequence of development. For example, look at the
stages of catching and the stages of throwing. Could you put illustrations of the stages in
order from the least mature to the most mature? |
| Waiting until the last minute to send me an email isn't a good way to get a response. As
Praxis test dates near my inbox gets crowded with emails concerning the Praxis Exams and
very often I am out-of-town giving a Praxis Preparation Seminar. A couple of years ago I
could answer almost every email I received. Now I get so many emails that chances are slim
that you will get a timely response. Sometimes I am so bust that I am lucky if I can respond
to Praxis emails at all. |
| Emailing the contents of this web site isn't practical. It's simply too big to email.
It's also too big to print out and send a copy through snail mail (the US Postal Service).
You will have to get your information online. |
| ETS posts State by
State Requirements here. I suggest that you visit
The Praxis Series Online.The Praxis
Series Online site has a lot of information about the exams, how to register and even which
tests you need to take and what scores you need to pass. If you have to take any of
the Praxis Exams that's a great place to start.
|
| Please check out my Links page for more ETS/Praxis links. |
| To find out more about this community join go to go to the Physical
Education Praxis Prep Community page. MSN Communities offer chat, message boards, photo
albums, and a wide range of options that can be a great addition to this web site. |
| Sorry, but I am a college professor with my own students and advisees. Between my job
and my family I don't have time to answer all of my emails much less respond to requests
like this one. |
| Instead of finding out whether a certain skill an open or closed skill, learn what open
and closed skills are! Then you will be able to answer the question. Check any motor
learning textbook for that information. I have a very short explanation of open and closed
skills below. Unfortunately, the subject is too detailed to go into on the website or email.
|
| An open skill is a motor skill that takes place in a changing environment and a closed
skill is executed in a more stable environment. Let's consider basketball. A free throw is
considered a closed skill because the conditions are always the same. For example, the
basket is always 15 feet away. On the other hand, a field goal attempt (a jump shot) is
taken under conditions that are always changing. The shot is taken from different positions
on the floor, sometimes off the dribble, sometimes after receiving a pass. Thus the
conditions are always changing.
|
| Between the golf drive and the tennis ground stroke, which is an open skill and which is
a closed skill?
| The golf drive is relatively unchanging. The ball is still, not moving - so it is a
closed skill. In tennis, you hit a ground stroke, either a forehand or a backhand, when
the ball has been hit to you. The ball is moving, so the conditions from one stroke to
another are constantly changing. That makes tennis ground strokes open skills. |
|
| About the 1800s Battle of Gymnastics Styles, I suggest that you look up "Turnen" or
"Turners" and the German and Swedish styles in almost any sport and physical education
history or general introduction to physical education text. The details are very involved
and a bit confusing, however, I would encourage you to know them in general and especially
the philosophies of the styles. The philosophies are the heart of the matter.
|
| Between 1830 and 1900, there were several major influences on physical education
programs in the United States, the Swedish system, the German system, English sports and
games, and to a lesser extent, the French system. Physical education in the U.S. in the
1890s was marked by a battle of the systems, where advocates of various gymnastics
approaches strove to have them incorporated into the school systems. The two of the four
major approaches, the German and Swedish systems, dominated the debate.
- In Germany, the leaders of the Turnen movement, including Jahn, had as an early goal
the liberation of Prussia from France after the Napoleonic wars. Later they espoused
nationalism and territorial expansion which eventually contributed to the rise of Hitler
and the Nazis in the 1920s and 1930s. Many Nazi party members first adopted nationalism
and aggressive racism as Turners.
- The German system, started by Johann Guts Muth and later called "Turnen" by
Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, was "heavy gymnastics" using large fixed apparatus, vaulting and
marching. Jahn felt that physical conditioning was essential for a strong nation. His
purpose in promoting the Turnverein movement was to help mold the German youth into
strong citizens capable of bringing about an independent Germany. Thus the German system
had a "militaristic" view of fitness and the result was a very strict and formal style
of physical training.
- In Germany, the leaders of the Turnen movement, including Jahn, had as an early goal
the liberation of Prussia from France after the Napoleonic wars. Later they espoused
nationalism and territorial expansion which eventually contributed to the rise of Hitler
and the Nazis in the 1920s and 1930s. Many Nazi party members first adopted nationalism
and aggressive racism as Turners.
- The German system of gymnastics was introduced to America by Charles Beck, a German
immigrant. Beck is considered by some to be the physical education teacher in America.
Although they based on their ideas on the work of Friedrich Jahn, American Turners were
less nationalistic and racist. Turners in America were modified by their new land and
their Turner societies were essentially social centers bridging the gap between the old
German culture and the culture of their adopted land.
- The Swedish system, as founded by Pehr Henrik Ling, was essentially a health-oriented
approach. The Swedish "light gymnastics," used no apparatus and consisted of calisthenics
and exercises on command. It was more free and less rigid than the German system. In the
1880s, the Swedish system was made popular in America by Hartvig Nissen and Nils Posse.
The Swedish system, sometimes called the "Swedish Movement Cure," was recognized for
inherent medical values.
- English sports and games - While European countries were using various programs of
gymnastics as the focus of their physical education programs England was concentrating on
a program of organized games and sports.
- French system was introduced by Francois Delsarte in the 1890s. Officially known as
the Delsarte System of Physical Culture, Delsarte's system was based on the belief that
certain exercises contributed to poise, grace, beauty and health. These exercise therefore
were beneficial in improving performances in singing, drama and dance. Delsarte's work
gained more popularity in dance and theatre than in physical education, where its
popularity was limited and short-lived.
|
| The Battle of the Systems refers to the debate between the physical educators of the
time as to which of the systems was the most useful. In 1889 the Boston Conference was
called to debate the issue. By 1892, the "Battle of the Systems" between the German and
Swedish systems was at a fever pitch. During the 1892 Association for the Advancement of
Physical Education convention, there were many arguments for both sides. Nils Posse, most
notably associated with the Swedish system called for the establishment of an "American
system" based on the needs of the America people. By the turn of the century the Battle of
the Systems was being won by the Swedish system. Ironically, by 1900 the influence of sports
and games was growing exponentially and for the most part they quickly replaced gymnastics
systems in physical education programs. |
| Isometric (iso=same, metric=length) contractions are contractions where the muscle does
not actually move. Pushing against a wall is an example. The muscle does not change length.
|
| Isotonic (iso=same, tonic=resistance) contractions are contractions where the muscle
does move. It shortens or lengthens during the exercise while the weight or resistance stays
the same. For example, during a 10 pound biceps curl the biceps shortens when you bring the
weight up and the muscle lengthens when you let the weight down. The resistance is 10 pounds
all the way through the range of motion. Most human movement involves isotonic contractions.
|
| Concentric contractions are those contractions where the muscle shortens, while
eccentric contractions occur when the muscle lengthens. Let's look at the biceps curl again.
The curl up shortens the biceps, so it is concentric. Letting the weight down lengthens the
muscle, so it is an eccentric contraction.
|
| Since we are talking about types of contractions, do you know what isokinetic and
plyometric contractions are? If not, maybe you should look them up!
| Here's a hint, isokinetic (iso=same, kinetic=energy) muscle contractions are the type
of muscle contractions that you perform when working out on Nautilus machines. Those
machines use a "cam" to chage the resistance so you work hard all the way through the
range of motion. The resitance changes, but your effort is supposed to be the same, i.e.,
maximum effort (at least in theory).
|
| Plyometrics are commonly called "depth jumping" or "explosive jump training."
Plyometrics are supposed to increase power rather than strength. The word was coined from
"plyo" meaning more or greater and "metric" meaning length. So it stands to reason that
plyometrics involve the lengthening of muscle.
| The idea is to stretch the muscle before it exerts a maximum contraction. In depth
jumping, you jump off a box, and when you land you immediately jump up again. When you
land, your quadriceps lengthens and when you jump up again the stretched muscle uses its
"elastic" stretched position to increase the height of the second jump. Theoretically,
depth jumping trains muscles to use this "elastic" stretched position more effectively,
thereby increasing your power for jumping.
|
| This is a simplistic explanation of a complex idea, but it will have to do. Please
don't stop at this explanation! Go on and look the terms up and get to know them better
than I have explained them here. |
|
|
|
 To
the right is a diagram of the Inverse U Theory.
(View a larger image in a Popup Window)
Performance is low when arousal is too low and performance is low when arousal is too high.
As you can see from the diagram performance is best when you are aroused some, but not too
much. In sports we say a performer wasn’t “up” for the game or perhaps they were too
“tight.” Choking in big game situations occurs at the right end of the graph. Doing poorly
on the Praxis Exams can come from too much test anxiety and would occur at the right end of
the graph. |
| I am sorry that my time will not permit me to answer the questions like those stated
above. However, you can find the information you asked for from any standard physical
education methodology or skills class textbooks. |
| I can't help you much here. It's hard to help with out the diagrams without having them
in front of me. But I understand your confusion! I find the diagrams confusing as well. You
may want to try visualizing yourself executing the skill and comparing that mental image
with the diagram. Of course, you must be fairly skilled for this to succeed. |
| Use a bullet format. Learn to manage your time a little better by practicing with mock
0092 Exams. I have some very specific tips listed on the
General Tips page.
Furthermore, I suggest you take a closer look at all of the web pages concerning 0092. There
is quite a lot of information here. You should also pay close attention to the
Principles of PE as a guide for justifying your
answers. |
| Yes, the principles of exercise are the principles of physical education (adaptation,
overload, specificity, etc). They might be called by another name, but they are basically
the same. See the Principles of PE page for a
description of the principles. |
| Remember is to use developmentally appropriate fitness routines and exercises. Are the
fitness programs developmentally age-appropriate? If not, that is a sure way to score poorly
on the constructed response. |
| Use developmentally appropriate fitness routines and exercises. Are the fitness programs
you are designing developmentally age-appropriate? If not, that is a sure way to score
poorly on the constructed response.
|
| For example, many people design strength training programs using weights for children.
Although there are some specific guidelines available for weight training children, there is
some disagreement on the appropriateness of strength training children with weights. You can
read the article Strength Training and Children's Health in the March 2001 issue of The
Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (pages 24-30) for some guidelines
and suggestions. However, I think it is probably best for you to avoid using weights in your
answer. I think there are better ways to build children's strength in physical education
classes.
|
| You seem to be limiting yourself to using push-ups and pull-ups to build strength. Bands
to music might be fun for younger children, but stay away from traditional "stand in lines"
calisthenics. You can do some stations and modify the exercises appropriately. If you are
doing traditional running and stretching exercises to address flexibility and aerobic
fitness, you may also be having trouble there. You can find more information in a good PE
methods textbook. It will have guidelines on children's fitness activities and some fun ways
to develop fitness in children. Also, check out PE
Central. It is a great place to find ideas and developmentally appropriate activities!
|
| Using creative exercises with bands, "fun push-ups" and similar creative fitness
exercises would be more likely to display your knowledge of developmentally appropriate
activities to build strength. PE Central has some
great ideas for fun ways to build strength. For example, Partner Patty Cake Push-Ups and
Macarena Push-ups. Including these types of activities for younger children would probably
score higher than the more boring traditional activities, like push-ups, pull-ups and
abdominal curls. So, if possible, use the best practices in your answers, not merely
acceptable ones! |
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