Question 1Reading
The primary purpose of the passage is to
Praxis Core Reading practice
The Reading test has 56 selected-response questions in 85 minutes. Each passage or statement is followed by questions you answer from what it states or implies.
| Material | Length | Questions each |
|---|---|---|
| Paired passages | About 200 words in total | 4 to 7 |
| Long passages | About 200 words | 4 to 7 |
| Short passages | About 100 words | 2 or 3 |
| Brief statements | A sentence or two | 1 |
| Time | 85 minutes |
|---|---|
| Questions | 56 selected-response |
| Visuals | Charts, graphs, diagrams, maps and similar |
The three content categories
- Key Ideas and Details (about 35%): main ideas, supporting details and inferences.
- Craft, Structure, and Language Skills (about 30%): tone and attitude, organization, words in context, fact and opinion.
- Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (about 35%): visual information, evaluating arguments, and comparing texts.
How to work a passage
Read for the main point first, then go back to the lines each question names. Pick the answer you can point to in the passage, not the one that sounds most true.
Try 2 questions
The Pony Express
In April 1860, a rider carrying a leather pouch of mail galloped west out of St. Joseph, Missouri. He was the first rider of the Pony Express, a relay service that promised to carry letters nearly 2,000 miles to Sacramento, California, in about ten days. At the time, mail sent by stagecoach or by ship could take three weeks or more.
The system depended on speed at every step. Stations stood about every 10 to 15 miles along the route, and at each one a fresh horse waited, saddled and ready. A rider could change horses in a couple of minutes and, after covering a set distance, hand the mail pouch to the next rider. Riders were chosen in part for being light, since every extra pound slowed the horses.
Yet the Pony Express lasted only about a year and a half. In October 1861, the transcontinental telegraph was completed, and a message that once needed ten days on horseback could now cross the country almost instantly. The service closed within days, having lost money for its owners throughout its short life. Its fame, however, has outlasted it by more than a century and a half.
Question 2Reading
Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?
Next step
Questions people ask
Do I need outside knowledge for Praxis Core Reading?
No. ETS says every question can be answered from the passage.
Are there charts on the Reading test?
Yes. Some material is a visual representation such as a chart, graph, diagram or map.
What score do I need to pass?
Each state or program that uses the tests sets its own passing score. Check the requirement with your state's educator licensing office or your program, or on the ETS Praxis website.