Student reporters on a high school newspaper obtain the district's public budget records and compare them with minutes of school board meetings. They find that the board approved a $40,000 contract for athletic equipment without the competitive bidding that district policy requires, and they plan a story asking board members to explain the decision. Which function of journalism in a democracy does this story most directly serve?

Acting as a watchdog that monitors people who hold power

Providing a public forum for letters from readers

Serving as a gatekeeper that filters out minor news

Entertaining readers with human-interest content

A newspaper staff wants to reach more students with time- sensitive news such as weather closures and schedule changes. The adviser has the staff survey 300 students about where they get school news at least once a week. WHERE STUDENTS GET SCHOOL NEWS WEEKLY Source Students who use it weekly Staff Instagram account 78% Staff news website 34% Printed newspaper 22% Email newsletter 9% Based on the survey, which plan best fits this audience?

Post short updates on Instagram that link to fuller stories on the news website

Move breaking news to the printed paper so that it reaches students during class

Shut down the Instagram account so that students must visit the website for news

Launch a weekly email newsletter as the staff's main channel for breaking news

A student videographer covering the welding class has just recorded a 10-second wide shot of the whole shop from the doorway, showing several students at their stations. She plans to edit a standard sequence for the story. Which shot should she record next to build that sequence?

A medium shot of one student at her station, framed from a different angle than the doorway.

A second wide shot from the same doorway position, recorded a few seconds after the first one.

A wide shot of the school's exterior, so viewers know which building houses the welding shop.

A slow zoom from the doorway wide shot into one welder, kept as one continuous recording.

In a story about a proposed bond issue, a student reporter includes two paragraphs of background on the district's enrollment growth. The adviser discovers that the paragraphs closely follow a local daily's article, with a few words changed and no mention of the daily. What is the best explanation the adviser can give the reporter?

Rewording another outlet's sentences without credit is still plagiarism; credit the daily or report the facts yourself

The paragraphs are acceptable as long as the reporter adds the daily's article to a works-cited list online

Plagiarism applies only to direct quotations, so the reporter should simply remove any quotation marks used

Facts about enrollment cannot be copyrighted, so changing a few of the words makes both paragraphs acceptable to publish

An adviser earned the Certified Journalism Educator credential several years ago and now wants the next level of national certification for journalism teachers. What should the adviser pursue?

The Master Journalism Educator credential, which builds on the certified level and requires a project

A press pass from the local newspaper, which certifies the adviser as a professional journalist

A second Certified Journalism Educator credential, which doubles the adviser's level of national recognition

A state teaching license in English, which replaces the need for any journalism certification

A journalism teacher reviews the questions a student has drafted for an interview with the school's new food service director. Which question is most likely to produce a detailed, quotable answer?

"How did you decide which menu items to change this year?"

"Would you say the new menu is healthier than the old one?"

"Are students happier with this year's menu than last year's?"

"Did you decide to change most of the menu items this year?"

To make a sidebar "pop," a student sets 400 words of body copy in 8-point, light-weight serif type, reversed in white out of a dark navy box. At the printed proof, the thin strokes of the letters have filled in and many words are hard to read. Which revision best improves readability?

Set the copy as dark type on a light tint, or use larger, heavier type if the reverse stays.

Keep the reverse but add tighter kerning, so the letters sit closer and look more solid.

Keep the reverse but switch to italics, so the slanted strokes stand out against the navy.

Keep the reverse but shrink the type further, so the navy box covers less of the page area.

Before answering a question, an assistant principal says, "This is off the record," and the reporter agrees. The assistant principal then reveals that the district plans to close the school's auto shop program. The reporter wants to report it as "according to a school administrator." What should the reporter do?

Not use the information as it was given, and instead seek to confirm it on the record from other sources or documents

Use the information with the assistant principal's name, since administrators cannot place public program information off the record

Use the information without any attribution, since an agreement made orally with a source is not binding on the reporter

Use the information but attribute it to "a school administrator," since off the record only means not using names

A teacher's current "project" asks students to write a one-day article on the history of the school mascot using a single website. The teacher wants to redesign it to reflect project-based learning. Which revision BEST reflects the principles of project- based learning?

Extend it over several weeks with interviews, drafts, peer critique and revision, and publication

Have the teacher choose the angle and outline so that every student's article follows the same structure

Add a final multiple-choice test on the mascot's history after the article is turned in

Keep it as one day but require students to use two websites instead of one website

Praxis Journalism (5224)

Free Praxis Journalism (5224) Practice Questions

10 sample questions for the Praxis Journalism (5224), 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: Role, Foundations of Journalism, Priorities, Coverage, Website, Disorder, Decline, Journalist, News, Economics, Journalistic Practices, Platform, Structure, Visual Communication: Design and Photojournalism, Ethics Code Principles, Adviser'S Role In Decisions, Planning For Hard Calls, Ethical Decision Model, Photojournalism Code, From Sources, Advertiser Pressure, Altering A News Photo, Another Outlet'S Work, Source Asks To Be Unnamed, Coverage Involving Minors, Government Gag Orders, Journalistic Standards, Ethics, and Media Law, Student Expression Precedent, Speech At School Events, Federal Court Precedent, Administrator Review Demand, Disappearing Copies, Wording In Opinion, Using An Image From The Web, Publishing True Private Details, Student Records and Reporting, Planning Sequence, Supporting English Learners, Critique Climate, Reporter Safety, Building Adviser Expertise, National Adviser Certification, And Sequence, Teaching Lead Writing, Mentor Texts, Authentic Project Design, Project Reflection, Checking For Understanding, Reading Rubric Data, Honoring Accommodations, Backward Planning Deadlines, Chronic Missed Deadlines, Annual Publication Budget, Advertising Acceptance, Handling Collected Money, Choosing Student Editors, Editor Conflict, Parent Complaint Response, Communicating With A New Principal, Career Guidance, Multiplatform Skill Trends, Democracy, Accountability, Publication, Item, Chart, Newspapers, Migration, Desk, Landmark, Questions, News Gathering and Reporting, Formula, Writing, Editing, and Ap Style, Background, Advising Scholastic Media, Weighing Who Is Affected, Breaking News On Deadline, Offers To Reviewers, Balance In Sourcing, Invented Sources, Undercover Reporting, Editing News Photos, Honoring Source Agreements, Teaching Ethical Reasoning, Editorial Policy In Practice, National Security and The Press, Public and Private Schools, Personal Political Expression, Campus Student Speech, School-Sponsored Expression, Reasons For Editorial Control, Pressure To Unpublish, Avoiding Controversial Topics, Libel and Public Officials, Openly Licensed Images, Legal Test For Obscenity, Standards Connections, Aligning Activities To Outcomes, Newsroom Simulation, Writing Workshop Conference, Driving Question, Sustained Inquiry, Showing Growth Over Time, Critique Feedback, Universal Design For Learning, Accessible Published Media, Coverage Audit, Supporting A Targeted Reporter, Support For New Advisers, Targeted Professional Growth, Yearbook Planning Tools, Deadline Pace Check, Revenue Versus Costs, Yearbook Sales and Contract, Printer Contract Review, Recruitment and Retention, Clarifying Staff Roles, Faculty Relations, Career Exploration Options, National Convention Opportunities.

Question 1 · Role
Student reporters on a high school newspaper obtain the district's public budget records and compare them with minutes of school board meetings. They find that the board approved a $40,000 contract for athletic equipment without the competitive bidding that district policy requires, and they plan a story asking board members to explain the decision. Which function of journalism in a democracy does this story most directly serve?
- A.Providing a public forum for letters from readers
- B.Acting as a watchdog that monitors people who hold power
- C.Serving as a gatekeeper that filters out minor news
- D.Entertaining readers with human-interest content
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Acting as a watchdog that monitors people who hold power
Examining official records to hold a public body accountable for how it spends public money is the watchdog, or independent monitor of power, role. Gatekeeping describes how editors select which items become news, which happens in every story and is not the purpose of this one. A forum function involves publishing community views, such as letters, rather than original accountability reporting.
Question 2 · Journalistic Practices
A newspaper staff wants to reach more students with time- sensitive news such as weather closures and schedule changes. The adviser has the staff survey 300 students about where they get school news at least once a week. WHERE STUDENTS GET SCHOOL NEWS WEEKLY Source Students who use it weekly Staff Instagram account 78% Staff news website 34% Printed newspaper 22% Email newsletter 9% Based on the survey, which plan best fits this audience?
- A.Move breaking news to the printed paper so that it reaches students during class
- B.Shut down the Instagram account so that students must visit the website for news
- C.Launch a weekly email newsletter as the staff's main channel for breaking news
- D.Post short updates on Instagram that link to fuller stories on the news website
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Post short updates on Instagram that link to fuller stories on the news website
Audience analysis should drive platform choice: most students already check Instagram weekly, so quick updates there meet them where they are, and links drive traffic to the fuller reporting on the website. Print is too slow for weather closures and reaches fewer students. A newsletter used by 9% of students, or forcing readers off the platform they prefer, would shrink the audience rather than grow it.
Question 3 · Journalistic Practices
A student videographer covering the welding class has just recorded a 10-second wide shot of the whole shop from the doorway, showing several students at their stations. She plans to edit a standard sequence for the story. Which shot should she record next to build that sequence?
- A.A second wide shot from the same doorway position, recorded a few seconds after the first one.
- B.A wide shot of the school's exterior, so viewers know which building houses the welding shop.
- C.A medium shot of one student at her station, framed from a different angle than the doorway.
- D.A slow zoom from the doorway wide shot into one welder, kept as one continuous recording.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. A medium shot of one student at her station, framed from a different angle than the doorway.
A basic sequence moves from wide to medium to tight, changing both shot size and angle so the cuts feel natural and show more detail. A second wide shot from the same spot would create a jump cut when edited next to the first. Zooming in while recording is a common beginner habit that viewers find distracting, and another wide shot does not advance the sequence.
Question 4 · Another Outlet'S Work
In a story about a proposed bond issue, a student reporter includes two paragraphs of background on the district's enrollment growth. The adviser discovers that the paragraphs closely follow a local daily's article, with a few words changed and no mention of the daily. What is the best explanation the adviser can give the reporter?
- A.The paragraphs are acceptable as long as the reporter adds the daily's article to a works-cited list online
- B.Rewording another outlet's sentences without credit is still plagiarism; credit the daily or report the facts yourself
- C.Plagiarism applies only to direct quotations, so the reporter should simply remove any quotation marks used
- D.Facts about enrollment cannot be copyrighted, so changing a few of the words makes both paragraphs acceptable to publish
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Rewording another outlet's sentences without credit is still plagiarism; credit the daily or report the facts yourself
Plagiarism is presenting someone else's words or work as your own, and lightly rewording a passage does not change that. Although facts themselves are not copyrightable, journalistic honesty requires crediting the outlet whose reporting you used or verifying the facts yourself from primary sources such as district enrollment data. A works-cited list is an academic convention and is not how news stories attribute information.
Question 5 · National Adviser Certification
An adviser earned the Certified Journalism Educator credential several years ago and now wants the next level of national certification for journalism teachers. What should the adviser pursue?
- A.A press pass from the local newspaper, which certifies the adviser as a professional journalist
- B.A second Certified Journalism Educator credential, which doubles the adviser's level of national recognition
- C.A state teaching license in English, which replaces the need for any journalism certification
- D.The Master Journalism Educator credential, which builds on the certified level and requires a project
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. The Master Journalism Educator credential, which builds on the certified level and requires a project
The Journalism Education Association offers two levels of national certification: Certified Journalism Educator and Master Journalism Educator. The master level is open to those who already hold the certified credential and requires additional experience and a substantial project or contribution to the field. An English license or a press pass is not journalism-educator certification.
Question 6 · News
On deadline night, the editor in chief of a student newspaper has 31 possible stories and photos but room for only 14 on the news pages. She drops a club bake sale and a minor schedule change, keeps a story on a new graduation requirement, and decides which story will lead page one. Which concept best describes the editor's role in this process?
- A.Framing
- B.Gatekeeping
- C.Agenda setting
- D.Watchdog reporting
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Gatekeeping
Gatekeeping is the process by which editors and reporters decide which items pass through to the audience and which are left out. Agenda setting is a closely related but different concept: it describes the effect that prominence of coverage has on what the audience thinks is important. Framing concerns how a chosen story is presented, and watchdog reporting is a type of accountability coverage.
Question 7 · Questions
A journalism teacher reviews the questions a student has drafted for an interview with the school's new food service director. Which question is most likely to produce a detailed, quotable answer?
- A."Would you say the new menu is healthier than the old one?"
- B."Are students happier with this year's menu than last year's?"
- C."How did you decide which menu items to change this year?"
- D."Did you decide to change most of the menu items this year?"
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. "How did you decide which menu items to change this year?"
An open-ended how or why question asks the source to explain a process in her own words, which yields detail and usable quotations. The other three are closed questions that can be answered with yes or no, and the question about a healthier menu also hands the source a conclusion to agree with. Closed questions are useful for confirming facts but rarely produce strong quotes.
Question 8 · Background
To make a sidebar "pop," a student sets 400 words of body copy in 8-point, light-weight serif type, reversed in white out of a dark navy box. At the printed proof, the thin strokes of the letters have filled in and many words are hard to read. Which revision best improves readability?
- A.Keep the reverse but add tighter kerning, so the letters sit closer and look more solid.
- B.Keep the reverse but switch to italics, so the slanted strokes stand out against the navy.
- C.Set the copy as dark type on a light tint, or use larger, heavier type if the reverse stays.
- D.Keep the reverse but shrink the type further, so the navy box covers less of the page area.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Set the copy as dark type on a light tint, or use larger, heavier type if the reverse stays.
Reverse type is harder to read than dark on light, and thin serifs at small sizes can fill in when ink spreads, so long passages should not be reversed. If a reverse is kept, it should be short and set in larger, bolder type, often sans serif. Smaller type, italics or tighter kerning all make the thin strokes even harder to read.
Question 9 · Honoring Source Agreements
Before answering a question, an assistant principal says, "This is off the record," and the reporter agrees. The assistant principal then reveals that the district plans to close the school's auto shop program. The reporter wants to report it as "according to a school administrator." What should the reporter do?
- A.Use the information with the assistant principal's name, since administrators cannot place public program information off the record
- B.Use the information without any attribution, since an agreement made orally with a source is not binding on the reporter
- C.Not use the information as it was given, and instead seek to confirm it on the record from other sources or documents
- D.Use the information but attribute it to "a school administrator," since off the record only means not using names
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Not use the information as it was given, and instead seek to confirm it on the record from other sources or documents
In standard newsroom usage, off the record means the information may not be published at all; using it without a name describes on background or not for attribution. A reporter who agreed must honor the agreement but can use the tip to pursue other sources, such as board documents or other officials who will speak on the record. Breaking promises destroys source trust and the publication's credibility.
Question 10 · Sustained Inquiry
A teacher's current "project" asks students to write a one-day article on the history of the school mascot using a single website. The teacher wants to redesign it to reflect project-based learning. Which revision BEST reflects the principles of project- based learning?
- A.Have the teacher choose the angle and outline so that every student's article follows the same structure
- B.Add a final multiple-choice test on the mascot's history after the article is turned in
- C.Extend it over several weeks with interviews, drafts, peer critique and revision, and publication
- D.Keep it as one day but require students to use two websites instead of one website
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Extend it over several weeks with interviews, drafts, peer critique and revision, and publication
Project-based learning involves sustained inquiry, cycles of critique and revision, and a public product. Extending the work over several weeks with interviews and published results meets those principles. Adding a second website or a test does not create inquiry, and a teacher-chosen identical outline removes student voice and choice.

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