Teaching

How to Practise for the Praxis Core and Subject Tests with Practice Quizzes

April 18, 20265 min readEmily Chen · Cognitive Psychology Writer & Study Skills Coach

In this article

1.Praxis Core at a glance
2.What the format means for how you practise
3.Why topic quizzes with spaced review work
4.A 6-week Praxis practice plan
5.How to build Praxis practice sets with SimpleQuizMaker
6.Worked example: a Core Math skill refreshed
7.How to review essay practice
8.Common mistakes
9.Frequently Asked Questions
10.Keep going
11.Sources

Short answer. "The Praxis" is a family of tests. Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators checks reading, writing and math, and Praxis Subject Assessments check the content you will teach. The tests you take and the score you need depend on your state and your licence area. Once you know which tests they are, the approach is the same: get each test's content outline from ETS, quiz yourself topic by topic, and space your reviews over several weeks.

Facts checked against ETS on 24 September 2026.

Praxis Core at a glance

Test	Questions	Time
Core Reading (5713)	56	85 minutes
Core Writing (5723)	40 selected-response questions plus 2 essays	100 minutes (40-minute selected-response section plus two 30-minute essay sections)
Core Mathematics (5733)	56	90 minutes

The Core Combined test (5752) includes all three subtests in one appointment.

Passing scores are set by each state or agency, not by ETS. Check your state's requirements on the Praxis site.

Subject Assessments have their own test codes, lengths and content outlines. Each test page on praxis.ets.org has a free study companion listing the content categories.

What the format means for how you practise

Reading is about 1.5 minutes per question. Passages vary in length, and questions ask about main ideas, inferences and how an argument is built. Practise with unfamiliar passages.

Writing is two different tasks. The selected-response section tests grammar, usage and research skills in 40 minutes. The two essays, 30 minutes each, are an Argumentative essay (support a position from your own experience, observation or reading) and an Informative/Explanatory essay that draws on two provided sources. Quizzes work well for the selected-response section, and timed writing is the only way to prepare for the essays.

Mathematics has three content categories: Number and Quantity (about 36% of the questions), Data Interpretation and Representation, Statistics, and Probability (about 32%), and Algebra and Geometry (about 32%), according to the ETS study companion. Many candidates have not practised these in years, so short topic quizzes bring the procedures back quickly.

Subject Assessments are content tests. Your study companion's content categories are your checklist. Turn each category into a quiz.

Why topic quizzes with spaced review work

Practice testing and distributed practice were the two techniques the review by Dunlosky et al. (2013) rated as most useful for learners in general. For a teacher candidate fitting study around coursework or a job, that means short quizzes several times a week work better than long weekend cramming sessions.

A 6-week Praxis practice plan

Week 1: check requirements and take a baseline. Confirm the test codes and passing scores for your state. Download the study companion for each test and take its sample questions.

Weeks 2–4: work through the content.

Choose two content categories a week per test.

For each category: review it, then take a 10-question quiz the same day, quiz again three days later, and once more the next week.

*Core Writing:* one timed 30-minute essay each week, alternating argumentative and informative.

*Core Math:* flashcards for formulas and procedures on a spaced-repetition schedule.

Week 5: practise under time. Do full-length timed practice using ETS's official practice tests, which are available for Core and many Subject Assessments.

Week 6: taper. Focus on the categories that are still weak, with short quizzes and flashcards only.

How to build Praxis practice sets with SimpleQuizMaker

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Category quizzes. For example, "Praxis Core Math: ratios, proportions and percent word problems, 10 questions, show the working in explanations." The free plan works from a topic or pasted text, with up to 10 questions per quiz and 5 generations a month.

Subject Assessment content. Paste your methods-course notes or a content summary, and ask for questions that follow your study companion's categories.

Longer sets on Student. For $2.99 a month you can upload PDFs, Word files and images and generate up to 100 questions per quiz.

Templates for refreshing content: algebra 1 practice, grammar and punctuation, reading comprehension, fractions and decimals.

See the Praxis exam page and the quiz maker for teacher candidates.

Worked example: a Core Math skill refreshed

Many candidates find percent-change problems rusty. A sample practice question written for this guide:

> *A class had 24 students in September and 30 in January. By what percent did enrolment increase?*

The answer is 25%. The change is 6, and 6 ÷ 24 = 0.25. The common mistake is dividing by the new number (6 ÷ 30 = 20%).

Turn it into practice:

Write the rule on a flashcard: percent change = change ÷ original.

Generate 10 word problems that mix increases and decreases, including a few where the original value is not given directly.

Re-quiz in three days and a week.

The same routine works for Reading (main idea and inference questions from short passages) and Writing (usage and sentence-structure items).

How to review essay practice

Check the task first. Did the argumentative essay take a clear position? Did the informative essay use both sources?

Time how long planning took. With 30 minutes per essay, about five minutes of planning usually leaves enough time to write.

Keep a short list of your usual errors, such as comma splices or vague topic sentences, and check for them in your next essay.

Common mistakes

Studying the wrong test. Confirm test codes with your state or programme before you start.

Skipping essay practice. The Core Writing essays need timed practice, not just grammar review.

Cramming the week before. Short sessions spread over several weeks hold up better on test day.

Relying on a single practice test. Use your study companion's categories to find and fix specific gaps.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is on the Praxis Core?

Three tests: Reading (56 questions in 85 minutes), Writing (40 selected-response questions and two essays in 100 minutes) and Mathematics (56 questions in 90 minutes).

What score do I need to pass the Praxis?

It depends on your state and licence area. Passing scores are set by each state or agency and listed on the Praxis website.

Do I need Praxis Core or a Subject Assessment?

It depends on your state and programme. Some require Core for admission to a teacher-preparation programme and Subject Assessments for licensure. Check your state's requirements.

How long should I study for Praxis Core?

There is no official figure. Four to six weeks of short, regular practice works for many candidates, adjusted to your baseline score.

Are there official Praxis practice tests?

Yes. ETS offers practice tests and free study companions for Core and many Subject Assessments on the Praxis website.

Keep going

How to study for exams (general guide)

Praxis practice quizzes

Sources

Sources: ETS Praxis: Core Reading (5713) · ETS Praxis: Core Writing (5723) · ETS Praxis: Core Mathematics (5733) · ETS Praxis: passing score requirements. Checked 24 September 2026.

*SimpleQuizMaker is not affiliated with or endorsed by ETS. Praxis is a trademark of ETS. Quizzes described here are AI-generated practice, not official Praxis questions.*

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Emily Chen

Cognitive Psychology Writer & Study Skills Coach

Try it on your own material

SimpleQuizMaker turns what you are already teaching or studying into practice questions. The free plan includes 5 quiz generations a month and needs no card.

Quiz from a PDFTurn a lecture deck or a chapter into practice questions.Share with a linkStudents open the link and answer. No account needed to take it.Quiz analyticsSee which question the class missed, and which wrong answer pulled them.