Exam Overview

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The Praxis Special Education: Teaching Students with Intellectual Disabilities (5322) test is a computer-delivered certification test from ETS for teachers who will work with students with intellectual disabilities. States and licensing agencies use it as part of special education licensure, so check your own state's requirement before you register.

The test is built around applied decisions: identifying a student's needs, choosing an evidence-based strategy, interpreting assessment data, and following federal requirements in realistic classroom situations.

120

Selected-response questions

2 hrs

Testing time

Content categories

100–200

Score scale

Test at a Glance

Component	Details
Test name and code	Special Education: Teaching Students with Intellectual Disabilities (5322)
Questions	120 selected-response questions; some are pretest items that do not count toward your score
Question format	Select one answer, or select one or more answers when the question says so
Time	2 hours (about 1 minute per question)
Delivery	Computer delivered, at a test center or at home with remote proctoring
Test fee	$130 (check the ETS site when you register, as fees can change)
Score scale	100–200; the passing score is set by each state or agency

Content Categories

ETS groups the test content into five categories. The approximate number of questions shows where to spend your study time.

Content Category	Approx. Questions	Approx. % of Test
I. Development and Characteristics of Students with Intellectual Disabilities	22	18%
II. Planning and Managing the Learning Environment	31	26%
III. Instruction	31	26%
IV. Assessment	19	16%
V. Foundations and Professional Responsibilities	17	14%

Share of the test by content category (%)

18%

26%

16%

14%

I. Development

II. Planning & Environment

III. Instruction

IV. Assessment

V. Foundations

How This Guide Maps to the Test

The eight content-review sections in this guide cover every topic in the official outline. Use this map to connect each section to the category it supports.

ETS Category	Guide Sections
I. Development and Characteristics	Section 1 (development, etiology, characteristics, theories of learning and motivation)
II. Planning and Managing the Learning Environment	Sections 3 and 4 (curriculum planning, environment, behavior support, crisis prevention), Section 5 (communication and social skills)
III. Instruction	Section 3 (instructional strategies, prompting, generalization, self-regulation), Section 5 (self-advocacy)
IV. Assessment	Section 2 (terminology, eligibility, FBA, alternate assessment, records)
V. Foundations and Professional Responsibilities	Sections 6, 7 and 8 (IEPs and IFSPs, law and safeguards, collaboration, transition, professional growth)

Scoring

Scaled score

Your raw score (number of scored questions answered correctly) is converted to a scaled score from 100 to 200.

No guessing penalty

Wrong answers do not lower your score, so answer every question.

Passing score

Each state or licensing agency sets its own passing score; look up your state's requirement on the ETS website.

Pretest questions

A small number of questions are being tried out and do not count. You cannot tell which ones, so treat every question seriously.

Exam Tip

The test rewards choosing the best next step for a specific student. When two answers both sound reasonable, prefer the one that is individualized, function-based, evidence-based, least restrictive, supported by data, and consistent with IDEA, Section 504, FERPA and ESSA. Answers that remove the student, punish without teaching, or skip required procedures are almost always wrong.

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