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Improving Your Majors' Praxis Scores
I have been consulting with colleges and universities in ways to improve their students'
scores on the Praxis Physical Education Exams for over a decade. Institutions use senior
seminars, check curriculum alignment against the exam content, and pay ETS to conduct
workshops for their professors. However, to my mind the one thing that you can do to improve
their scores is "Assess to the Test."
Assess to the Test
Please note, I said assess to the test, not teach to the test. There is a difference.
Assessing to the test involves using Praxis style assessments in your classes, not exclusively
teaching or testing what is on the exams.
Assessing to the test is important because the Praxis Exams are using assessment strategies
that are unfamiliar to many of our students, especially constructed response and video exams.
The multiple choice exams are similar to ACT and SAT tests – so at least they know what to
expect, even if they lack the reading and testing skills to do well.
How Do You Assess to the Test?
 | Write multiple choice questions similar to those on the exams
| Use multiple choice questions that assess higher order learning, like application,
evaluation, synthesis, and analysis
| On the Praxis II Specialty Area Exams, about 70 percent of the questions measure
knowledge and comprehension of basic concepts and principles, and 30 percent measure
higher order thinking skills, such as application and evaluation. |
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| Use the test bank questions if you are not a skilled question writer |
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Put diagrams and charts on your tests and ask questions about them
Write multiple choice questions with many choices
| For example, select the correct response
- This is correct
- This is incorrect
- This is correct
- This is incorrect
- I only
- II only
- I and III * this is the answer
- II and IV
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Replace essays and discussion questions with constructed response questions
| Use timed tests with 15, 30, 45, or 60 minute time limits
| Students have little experience writing in the context of these tests |
| Students need lots of practice with time management for the 0092 PE Exam |
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| Write questions with 3-6 parts, depending on the time allowed to respond
| You can get ideas from the sample constructed response questions included on this web
site |
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| Encourage outlining and bulleting answers and discourage answering in sentences and
paragraphs
| There isn't enough time to write complete sentences on the constructed response exam |
| Students need practice writing "quick and dirty answers" |
| If you are concerned about developing good writing skills, remember students can
develop writing skills with other assignments |
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| Ask for more information than you think students can answer well in the allotted time
| 0092 asks 2 very detailed questions with a 2-hour time limit |
| Students need practice dealing with that sort of pressure
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Use assessment techniques that approximate the Praxis testing conditions
| For example, on a 2 hour final exam
| Give a 60 item multiple choice test with a 1 hour time limit |
| Also give a 40 minute constructed response question
| Another option would be 2 constructed responses questions that are estimated to take
20 minutes each to answer |
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| This still gives time for directions, questions, and class management |
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| Mimic standardized testing conditions during the exam
| Use sealed booklet so students can go through the steps of opening the booklets, etc.
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Creative Assessment
Have students write and create questions and tests
| They can make their own videotape exam or constructed response exams |
Use fun assessments like QuizShow, WebWalk, and collaborative and cooperative testing
Assessing to the test and using creative assessments do not rule out other assessment
strategies
| You can still use alternative and traditional assessments while assessing to the Praxis
Exams |
| Use of one style of assessment style is a very good educational practice anyway |
Rethink Grading and Assessment
| Rethink once and done
| Think about using the Mastery Approach to Learning
| For example allow students to retake tests
| Until they get desired score |
| Until they get a minimum score |
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| Use online testing
| The tests and quizzes are graded for you so you're less likely to be overwhelmed by
the chore of retesting |
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| Use Cooperative/collaborative Tests
| Allowing students to talk with each other and work through tests in pairs and small
groups allows them to practice thinking through the questions and the responses |
| Students learn from one another and learn from the test |
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Maintaining Academic Rigor
| Alternative assessments are not necessarily less rigorous than other methods |
| You may have to convince colleagues and administrators that this is not “dumbing down”
courses and content |
| Convince them that alternative assessments may increase student motivation and learning
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