Fourth-grade fluency check, mid-year, grade-level passage: Words correct per minute: 68 (well below benchmark) Teacher notes: Reads nearly every word correctly but slowly and with effort, often pausing a second or two before familiar words such as "through" and "because". Phonics inventory shows mastery of all patterns through multisyllabic words. Retells only the first part of the passage. Which instructional plan is most appropriate for this student?

Repeated reading of short instructional-level passages, with feedback and a graph of WCPM gains

Additional silent sustained reading time with self-selected books and no teacher feedback

Phonemic awareness lessons on blending and segmenting sounds in spoken one-syllable words

Phrase-cued text lessons focused on pausing at commas and changing pitch for dialogue

Which statement best describes the structure of the poem?

Two four-line stanzas with an ABAB CDCD rhyme scheme

Two four-line stanzas written as unrhymed free verse

Two four-line stanzas with an ABBA CDDC rhyme scheme

One eight-line stanza with an AABB CCDD rhyme scheme

A fourth grader's informative paragraph begins with sentence (1), which is missing: (2) Their sticky toe pads let them climb straight up glass. (3) Some kinds can drop their tails to escape a predator and grow a new one later. (4) Many also lick their own eyes to keep them clean because they have no eyelids. Which topic sentence would best introduce this paragraph?

Geckos have several unusual features that help them survive.

Some geckos can lose their tails when they are frightened.

Geckos are small lizards that many families keep as pets.

I think geckos are the most interesting animals in the world.

A student writes: "The class planted bean seeds on Monday, by Friday the first sprouts had appeared." Which revision best corrects the error while keeping the meaning?

The class planted bean seeds on Monday; by Friday, the first sprouts had appeared.

The class planted bean seeds on Monday by Friday the first sprouts had appeared.

The class planted bean seeds on Monday, and, by Friday the first sprouts, had appeared.

The class planted bean seeds on Monday, by Friday, the first sprouts had appeared.

A third-grade teacher has a group of five students who read grade-level text with 96-98% accuracy and near-benchmark rates. Their reading sounds flat and choppy, and they groan when asked to reread a passage a second or third time. Which activity best builds these students' expressive reading while keeping them motivated to reread the same text?

Readers theater, in which each student rehearses a part in a script for a performance at week's end

Timed silent reading, in which each student records how many pages were read in fifteen minutes

Word sorts, in which each student groups words from the passage by their spelling patterns

Round-robin reading, in which each student reads one paragraph aloud while the others follow along

Which structural element does the poet use most to emphasize the speaker's feelings?

A refrain repeated as the last line of each stanza

A fixed meter of iambic pentameter in every line

A regular ABAB rhyme scheme within each stanza

A rhyming couplet that closes the final stanza

A third grader's informative paragraph reads: (1) Recycling helps our planet in several ways. (3) It saves trees because old paper becomes new paper. (4) It also uses less energy than making things from scratch. Which sentence would make the most effective conclusion for this paragraph?

Because it saves space, trees, and energy, recycling is one easy way to protect the earth.

Plastic is made from oil, and some kinds of plastic take hundreds of years to break down in soil.

My family recycles cans and bottles every week, and my brother puts out the blue bin.

Recycling was first started a long time ago, and many cities now collect it at the curb.

A student writes: "Neither of the boys remembered to bring their permission slip." Which revision correctly fixes the pronoun-antecedent agreement for formal writing?

Neither of the boys remembered to bring his permission slip.

Neither of the boys remember to bring their permission slip.

Neither of the boys remembered to bring them permission slips.

Neither of the boys remembered to bring their permission slips.

Praxis Elementary Education Fundamentals: Reading and Language Arts (8002)

Free Praxis RLA 8002 Practice Questions

10 sample questions for the Praxis Elementary Education Fundamentals: Reading and Language Arts (8002), with the correct answer and an explanation for each. No account needed. Try each one before you open the answer.

Sections covered on the exam: Reading: Foundational Knowledge, Reading: Literature and Informational Text, Writing, Language, Speaking and Listening.

Question 1 · Reading: Foundational Knowledge
A first-grade teacher tells students that some words have more sounds than letters. Which word could she use as an example?
- A.quilt
- B.thumb
- C.wax
- D.knee
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. wax
Wax has three letters but four phonemes, /w/ /a/ /k/ /s/, because the letter "x" spells two sounds. Knee has four letters but only two phonemes (/n/ /ē/), and thumb has five letters but three phonemes (/th/ /u/ /m/). Quilt has five letters and five phonemes (/k/ /w/ /i/ /l/ /t/), since "qu" spells two sounds, so its counts are equal rather than greater.
Question 2 · Reading: Foundational Knowledge
Fourth-grade fluency check, mid-year, grade-level passage:
Words correct per minute: 68 (well below benchmark)
Teacher notes: Reads nearly every word correctly but slowly and with effort, often pausing a second or two before familiar words such as "through" and "because". Phonics inventory shows mastery of all patterns through multisyllabic words. Retells only the first part of the passage.
Which instructional plan is most appropriate for this student?
- A.Additional silent sustained reading time with self-selected books and no teacher feedback
- B.Phonemic awareness lessons on blending and segmenting sounds in spoken one-syllable words
- C.Phrase-cued text lessons focused on pausing at commas and changing pitch for dialogue
- D.Repeated reading of short instructional-level passages, with feedback and a graph of WCPM gains
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Repeated reading of short instructional-level passages, with feedback and a graph of WCPM gains
Accuracy is high and phonics skills are mastered, so the need is automaticity: the student decodes correctly but too slowly. Repeated reading of instructional-level text with feedback is the best-supported method for building rate, and graphing gains motivates the student. Phonemic awareness lessons target a skill already in place, and phrase-cued text targets prosody rather than speed.
Question 3 · Reading: Literature and Informational Text
Which statement best describes the structure of the poem?
- A.Two four-line stanzas with an ABAB CDCD rhyme scheme
- B.Two four-line stanzas written as unrhymed free verse
- C.Two four-line stanzas with an ABBA CDDC rhyme scheme
- D.One eight-line stanza with an AABB CCDD rhyme scheme
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Two four-line stanzas with an ABAB CDCD rhyme scheme
The poem has two stanzas of four lines each. In the first, hill and still rhyme with each other and lit and it rhyme with each other; in the second, feet and neat alternate with twice and ice, giving ABAB CDCD. ABBA would require the first and fourth lines to rhyme, and the regular end rhymes rule out free verse.
Question 4 · Writing
A fourth grader's informative paragraph begins with sentence (1), which is missing:
(2) Their sticky toe pads let them climb straight up glass.
(3) Some kinds can drop their tails to escape a predator and grow a new one later.
(4) Many also lick their own eyes to keep them clean because they have no eyelids.
Which topic sentence would best introduce this paragraph?
- A.Some geckos can lose their tails when they are frightened.
- B.Geckos are small lizards that many families keep as pets.
- C.I think geckos are the most interesting animals in the world.
- D.Geckos have several unusual features that help them survive.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Geckos have several unusual features that help them survive.
A topic sentence states the main idea that all the supporting sentences develop; each detail describes an unusual survival feature, so a sentence naming those features fits best. The pet sentence introduces an unrelated idea, the opinion sentence shifts the purpose away from informing, and the tail sentence is a detail that covers only sentence 3.
Question 5 · Language, Speaking and Listening
A student writes: "The class planted bean seeds on Monday, by Friday the first sprouts had appeared." Which revision best corrects the error while keeping the meaning?
- A.The class planted bean seeds on Monday by Friday the first sprouts had appeared.
- B.The class planted bean seeds on Monday, and, by Friday the first sprouts, had appeared.
- C.The class planted bean seeds on Monday, by Friday, the first sprouts had appeared.
- D.The class planted bean seeds on Monday; by Friday, the first sprouts had appeared.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. The class planted bean seeds on Monday; by Friday, the first sprouts had appeared.
The original is a comma splice: two independent clauses joined only by a comma. A semicolon correctly joins the clauses. Adding another comma keeps the splice, removing the comma creates a fused run-on, and the last choice wrongly places a comma between the subject "sprouts" and its verb.
Question 6 · Reading: Foundational Knowledge
A first-grade teacher is preparing a set of Elkonin box cards on which every word needs exactly four sound boxes. Which word belongs in the set?
- A.though
- B.judge
- C.fright
- D.sixth
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. fright
Fright has four phonemes, /f/ /r/ /ī/ /t/, because "igh" spells one sound. Though has two (/th/ /ō/), judge has three (/j/ /u/ /j/), and sixth has five (/s/ /i/ /k/ /s/ /th/) because "x" spells two sounds.
Question 7 · Reading: Foundational Knowledge
A third-grade teacher has a group of five students who read grade-level text with 96-98% accuracy and near-benchmark rates. Their reading sounds flat and choppy, and they groan when asked to reread a passage a second or third time.
Which activity best builds these students' expressive reading while keeping them motivated to reread the same text?
- A.Timed silent reading, in which each student records how many pages were read in fifteen minutes
- B.Readers theater, in which each student rehearses a part in a script for a performance at week's end
- C.Word sorts, in which each student groups words from the passage by their spelling patterns
- D.Round-robin reading, in which each student reads one paragraph aloud while the others follow along
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Readers theater, in which each student rehearses a part in a script for a performance at week's end
Readers theater gives students an authentic reason, a performance, to reread a script many times, and the focus on conveying a character's feelings directly builds prosody. Round-robin reading gives each student very little practice and no repeated reading, and silent page counts and word sorts do not target expression.
Question 8 · Reading: Literature and Informational Text
Which structural element does the poet use most to emphasize the speaker's feelings?
- A.A refrain repeated as the last line of each stanza
- B.A fixed meter of iambic pentameter in every line
- C.A regular ABAB rhyme scheme within each stanza
- D.A rhyming couplet that closes the final stanza
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. A refrain repeated as the last line of each stanza
The line stay a little longer closes every stanza, and this refrain builds the speaker's wish to hold on to the moment, which sharpens when the coat appears by the door. The poem has no regular end rhyme, so it has neither an ABAB scheme nor a closing couplet, and its short lines are not iambic pentameter.
Question 9 · Writing
A third grader's informative paragraph reads:
(1) Recycling helps our planet in several ways.
(3) It saves trees because old paper becomes new paper.
(4) It also uses less energy than making things from scratch.
Which sentence would make the most effective conclusion for this paragraph?
- A.Plastic is made from oil, and some kinds of plastic take hundreds of years to break down in soil.
- B.My family recycles cans and bottles every week, and my brother puts out the blue bin.
- C.Because it saves space, trees, and energy, recycling is one easy way to protect the earth.
- D.Recycling was first started a long time ago, and many cities now collect it at the curb.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Because it saves space, trees, and energy, recycling is one easy way to protect the earth.
An effective conclusion restates the main idea and draws together the supporting points, here space, trees and energy. The other sentences introduce new, unrelated details (a family routine, plastic facts, history) rather than closing the paragraph.
Question 10 · Language, Speaking and Listening
A student writes: "Neither of the boys remembered to bring their permission slip." Which revision correctly fixes the pronoun-antecedent agreement for formal writing?
- A.Neither of the boys remember to bring their permission slip.
- B.Neither of the boys remembered to bring his permission slip.
- C.Neither of the boys remembered to bring them permission slips.
- D.Neither of the boys remembered to bring their permission slips.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Neither of the boys remembered to bring his permission slip.
The antecedent is "Neither," a singular indefinite pronoun, and the group is boys, so the singular "his" agrees. Changing "slip" to "slips" does not fix the plural pronoun, "them" is an object pronoun used incorrectly as a possessive, and "remember" creates a new subject-verb error.

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