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Exam Overview
Exam Overview
The Pennsylvania Grades 4–8 Core Assessment: English Language Arts and Social Studies (5154) is an ETS Praxis test. It is one of three core subtests for Pennsylvania's Grades 4–8 certificate, alongside Pedagogy (5153) and Mathematics and Science (5155). You can take it on its own or as part of the combined Grades 4–8 Core Assessment (5152).
80
Selected-response questions
80 min
Testing time
2
Content categories, about 40 questions each
100–200
Score scale
Test Structure
| Category | Approx. questions | Approx. share | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. English Language Arts | 40 | 50% | Reading informational text and literature; types, quality and process of writing; conventions; research |
| II. Social Studies | 40 | 50% | U.S. history (with Pennsylvania history), world history, government/political science, economics, geography |
What Each Category Includes
| Area | Key skills |
|---|---|
| Reading informational text | Literal meaning, inference, main idea and summary, comparing texts, text features, organization patterns |
| Critical reading | Fact and opinion; bias, fallacies, stereotypes and assumptions; propaganda techniques |
| Literature | Themes, literary elements, comparing texts within and across genres, major genres, figurative language in context |
| Writing | Narrative, persuasive and informational writing; purpose, audience and formality; organization, thesis and support |
| Conventions and process | Capitalization, punctuation, agreement, tense consistency, complete sentences; writing stages and revision |
| Research | Finding relevant information, judging credibility, primary and secondary sources, avoiding plagiarism, citations |
| Area | Key topics |
|---|---|
| United States history | Native North America, colonies, Revolution, early Republic, sectionalism and Civil War, Reconstruction, industrialization, reform, the New Deal, the modern era, immigration, landmark cases |
| Pennsylvania history | William Penn, Benjamin Franklin, historic sites such as Gettysburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, ethnic groups, economic development |
| World history | Early and classical civilizations, global interactions, world wars and the Cold War, globalization, technology, world religions, demographic change |
| Government and political science | Founding principles, federalism, the three branches, elections and the Electoral College, citizenship, political systems, Pennsylvania government |
| Economics | Scarcity, choice, supply and demand, factors of production, personal finance |
| Geography | Spatial patterns, regions, human–environment interaction, absolute and relative location, major world features |
Question Types
- Selected response, one answer: choose the single best of four choices. Many questions are built on a short passage, poem, student draft, quotation, chart or table.
- Some questions may be pretest items that do not count toward your score. You cannot tell which ones they are, so answer every question seriously.
Scoring and Passing
- Scores are reported on a scale of 100 to 200.
- Pennsylvania sets the qualifying score for this subtest. Confirm the current figure on the ETS Praxis score requirements page for Pennsylvania or with the Pennsylvania Department of Education before you test.
- There is no penalty for wrong answers, so answer every question.
Registration, Fees and Test Day
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Testing body | ETS (Educational Testing Service), Praxis program |
| Fee | $50 when registered on its own (the combined 5152 test costs more) |
| Delivery | Computer-delivered at a test center or online at home with a remote proctor |
| Calculator | Not needed; questions are reading, writing and social studies items |
| Retakes | Under ETS policy you may retake a Praxis test after 28 days |
| Score recipients | Four free score recipients are included when you register |
Pacing
You have 80 minutes for 80 questions, an average of one minute per question. Short knowledge items take less; passage sets and draft-revision items take more. Bank time on quick items, flag anything that needs more than about 90 seconds, and come back to it.
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