Praxis Middle School ELA 5047

Thepraxismiddleschoolenglishlanguagearts(5047)Test

The Praxis Middle School English Language Arts (5047) test, developed and administered by ETS, measures whether prospective middle school teachers have the English language arts knowledge and skills needed for beginning practice. Many states require it for licensure to teach English language arts at the middle school level. The test is aligned with the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and with national standards for teaching adolescent literacy.

Exam Format and Structure

The computer-delivered test has two separately timed sections. The selected-response section contains 110 questions in 130 minutes. Most are single-answer multiple-choice questions, and some use other formats: selecting more than one answer, ordering or matching, table and grid items, and selecting a sentence within a passage. The constructed- response section contains two short essay questions in 30 minutes, about 15 minutes each.

Section	Questions	Time	WhatItMeasures
Selectedresponse	110	130min	Allfourcontentcategories
Constructedresponse	2shortessays	30min	Literaryinterpretation:analyzealiteraryorliterarynonfictiontext
			andexplainhowspecificdevicesdevelopitsmeaning Teaching .
			readingorwriting:analyzestudentworkoraclassroomsituation ,
			identifystrengthsorweaknesses anddescribeaninstructional ,
			activitythataddressesthem .

The Four Content Categories

The test outline organizes the content into four categories. Reading carries nearly half of the total score.

	Reading 46% 50 selected-response + 1 constructed-response
5047 SHARE OF SCORE	English Language Arts Instruction 25% 18 selected-response + 1 constructed-response Writing Speaking and Listening , , 18% 26 selected-response
	Language Use and Vocabulary 11% 16 selected-response

ContentCategory	TopicsontheTestOutline
I Reading .	Majorworks authors genres andsubgenresofliteratureforadolescents;interpretingliterature , , ,
	(theme literaryelements wordchoice poeticdevices);interpretinginformationaltexts organizational , , , ,
	patterns andrhetoric ,
II LanguageUseand .	ConventionsofstandardEnglishgrammar usage syntax andmechanics;usingaffixes context and , , , , ,
Vocabulary	syntaxtodeterminewordmeaning;referencematerials;variationindialectanddiction
III Writing Speaking and . , ,	Argumentative informative/explanatory andnarrativewriting;writingfortask purpose and , , , ,
Listening	audience;researchandsourcecredibility;speechesandpresentations;appealstoaudiencesand
	writtenarguments
IV EnglishLanguageArts .	Languageacquisitionandvocabularydevelopment;collaborativediscussion;groupingand
Instruction	differentiation;choosingtexts;teachingadolescentreadingandwriting;formativeandsummative
	assessment

Scoring and Passing Requirements

Your raw points are converted to a scaled score from 100 to 200. The two constructed-response questions are weighted equally and together make up about 25 percent of the total score. Each response is scored on a 0–3 scale by English language arts educators: a 3 shows a successful, well-supported response; a 2 shows limited understanding; a 1 is seriously flawed; and a 0 does not answer the question. There is no penalty for incorrect answers on the selected- response section, so answer every question.

Each state sets its own qualifying score, so check your state's requirement on the ETS website before you register. A score of 164 is commonly required.

Test Administration

Praxis5047Ataglance

ExamAspect	Details
Administeredby	ETS(EducationalTestingService)
Delivery	Computer-delivered at a test center or at home with a remote proctor
Testfee	$156
Scorescale	100–200;thequalifyingscoreissetbyeachstate
Scorereports	Registrationincludesfreescorereportstouptofourrecipients

Why the Test Matters

Passing the test is often a prerequisite for a license to teach English language arts at the middle school level. It measures command of literature, writing, grammar, and reading comprehension, the knowledge that effective ELA teaching depends on and that translates directly into classroom practice with adolescent readers and writers.