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Exam Overview
Exam Overview
The Pennsylvania Grades 4–8 Core Assessment: Pedagogy (5153) is an ETS Praxis test required for Pennsylvania's Grades 4–8 certificate. It is one of the three subtests of the Pennsylvania Grades 4–8 Core Assessment (5152); the others are English Language Arts and Social Studies (5154) and Mathematics and Science (5155). You can register for this subtest on its own or take all three together as test 5152.
80
Selected-response questions
80 min
Testing time
4
Content categories
100–200
Score scale
Test Structure
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Test name and code | Pennsylvania Grades 4–8 Core Assessment: Pedagogy (5153) |
| Questions | 80 selected-response questions; some are unscored pretest items |
| Time | 80 minutes (about 1 minute per question) |
| Format | Computer delivered; most questions have one best answer of four choices, and a few may ask you to select more than one |
| Fee | $50 when registered on its own |
| Delivery | At a test center or online at home with a remote proctor |
Content Categories
| Category | Approx. questions | Approx. share |
|---|---|---|
| I. Adolescents as Learners | 18–20 | 25% |
| II. Curriculum and Instruction | 21–24 | 30% |
| III. Assessment | 14–16 | 20% |
| IV. Professionalism | 17–20 | 25% |
Approximate Weighting
Curriculum and Instruction — 30%
Adolescents as Learners — 25%
Professionalism — 25%
Assessment — 20%
| Guide section | ETS category |
|---|---|
| Adolescents as Learners | I. Adolescents as Learners |
| Curriculum Planning and Instruction | II. Curriculum and Instruction |
| Assessment and Data Use | III. Assessment |
| Classroom Environment and Management | I. Adolescents as Learners (motivation and learning environment) |
| Professional Responsibilities and Collaboration | IV. Professionalism |
| Instruction for Diverse Learners | I. Adolescents as Learners (diverse learners) |
| Instructional Technology and Literacy Integration | II. Curriculum and Instruction (communication and literacy) |
Question Style
- Most questions present a short classroom scenario and ask for the best or first action, the theory or concept the scenario shows, or the legal or ethical requirement that applies.
- Some questions include student work, a score report or a small data table to interpret.
- Pretest questions do not count toward your score, but 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 its own 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 and Test Day
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Testing body | ETS (Educational Testing Service), Praxis program |
| Registration | Online through your Praxis account |
| Retakes | Under ETS policy you may retake a Praxis test after 28 days |
| Score recipients | Four free score recipients are included when you register |
| Rest of the certificate | Pennsylvania's Grades 4–8 certificate also requires the other two Core subtests and a subject concentration test |
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