Praxis®️ ParaPro (1755) Practice Test and Prep

Welcome to the Praxis® ParaPro Practice Test and Prep Guide! We’ve created this free resource to prepare you specifically for the 1755 exam. We’ll go over the key concepts you’ll need to know to pass your test.

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In this article, we will cover:

• ParaPro Test Information
• Reading
• Mathematics
• Writing

ParaPro Study Guide and Practice Questions Video

Praxis® ParaPro Test Information

Overview:

The Praxis® ParaPro exam assesses reading, writing, and math skills. It also assesses the application of those skills in the classroom. School paraprofessionals include teaching assistants, teaching aides, translators, and library and media center assistants.

Format:

The Praxis® Parapro test is made up of three content categories:

Each content category has about 30 selected-response questions. There are 90 total questions in all on the exam. Approximately two-thirds of the questions in each content category focus on basic skills and knowledge, and approximately one-third of the questions in each content category focus on the application of those skills and knowledge in a classroom setting.

Cost: $55

Time Limit: 2.5 hours

Scoring: The score range for the Praxis® 1755 is 420-480. A passing score is set by each district or state.

Praxis® ParaPro Category 1: Reading

The reading portion of the exam covers two areas of reading, reading skills and knowledge and application of reading skills and knowledge to classroom instruction. The reading skills and knowledge questions will be skills needed to be able to read. The application of reading skills and knowledge to classroom instruction questions will be ways to help students read.

Let’s look at some of the skills you will see in category 1 on the exam.

Two important concepts you will need to be able to define are the main idea and the primary purpose. Each time you read a text you will need to identify the main idea and primary purpose to answer the question.

So, let’s look at the differences between the main idea and the primary purpose.

Some tips to identify the main idea and primary purpose of a text include:

• Reading the passage
• Summarizing it for a friend
• Checking the bookends (first and last sentences)
• Picking a complete description, not just one idea

We have mentioned needing to be able to infer when finding supporting ideas in the text and when finding the primary purpose, so let’s look at what it means to draw inferences in more depth.

An inference is an educated guess. It is based on two things: supporting ideas from the text and background knowledge. When you are answering an inference question, you should be able to find details in the text to support your answer. Also, your background about the topic will come into play when answering the question.

The words “inference” or “infer” may or may not be included in a test question, but there are other keywords in inference questions, including “suggests” or “what would happen if.”

Other reading skills that could show up in this section of the exam include:

• Identifying supporting ideas in a text.
• Analyzing organization by identifying how a reading passage is organized.
• Determining the meaning of words or phrases in context.
• Drawing implications from direct content.
• Determining if the information presented is fact or opinion.
• Interpreting information from charts, graphs, tables and diagrams.

Now we are going to look at the other half of the reading portion that covers skills to help students read.

There are two parts to this section of reading, building foundational skills and building comprehension skills. Comprehension skills will look a lot like they did in the first section of reading but instead of asking you the main idea directly, the question will ask you what a student should say.

Foundational reading skills are the knowledge and skills students need when they are learning the basic features of words and written text. You will be tested on your ability to help students learn to read by assisting them with the following:

• Sounding out words (long and short vowels, consonant sounds, rhymes)
• Breaking down words into parts (syllables, root words, prefixes, suffixes)
• Decoding words or phrases using context clues
• Distinguishing between synonyms, antonyms and homonyms
• Alphabetizing words

You need to be able to help students read words containing long and short vowels. Long vowels sound like their names. Short vowels have special sounds. Let’s take a look at words containing long and short vowels:

Also, take a look at the symbols that represent the short and long vowel sounds. The short vowel is coded with a breve and the long vowel is coded with a macron.

Another important skill you will need to know to help students read is identifying prefixes, suffixes and root words. A prefix and a suffix both modify a root word but the difference between the two is that a prefix comes at the beginning and a suffix comes at the end. When a prefix or a suffix is added to  a root word it changes the meaning of the word.

Other questions you will see in the reading section will test your knowledge on the reading process. Common strategies used before, during and after reading to help students read involve:

• Prereading (skimming or making predictions)
• Asking questions about a text
• Observing how students understand and interpret a text
• Teaching students how to use a dictionary
• Helping students with written directions

Praxis® ParaPro Category 2: Mathematics

The mathematics portion of the exam covers two areas of mathematics, mathematics skills and knowledge and application of mathematics skills and knowledge to classroom instruction. The mathematics skills and knowledge questions consist of three categories:

1. Number Sense and Basic Algebra
2. Geometry and Measurement
3. Data Analysis

Let’s start with number sense and basic algebra. You will need to know the basic principles of algebra to help you rearrange numbers to solve for a missing variable.

Number sense is how numbers relate to one another and covers a variety of concepts. You will need to make sure you know how to:

• Perform basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems
• Use basic mathematical symbols (+, <, >, ≤, ≥)

Understand the definitions of basic mathematical terms (sum, difference, product, quotient, numerator, and denominator)

• Recognize multiplication as repeated addition and division as repeated subtraction
• Arrange positive and negative numbers, fractions, and decimals from smallest to largest
• Recognize equivalent forms of a number
• Place value
• Basic knowledge of exponents
• Order of operations (parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction)
• Identify what comes next in a sequence of numbers
• Solve word problems using mental math and estimation
• Calculate percentages

On the test, you may come across a problem like this:

8 + (6 – 2)4 – 3 =

Do not work this problem from left to right! You will have to follow the order of operations. Here are the steps to solving this problem:

1. First, solve the subtraction problem within the parentheses: 6 – 2 = 4.
2. Then, multiply by 4: 4 x 4 = 16.
3. Next, add 8: 16 + 8 = 24.
4. Finally, subtract 3: 24 – 3 = 21.

Here’s the order to follow when solving problems (PEMDAS- Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally):

You must work the operations in parentheses first. Then, solve the operations with exponents. Next, work multiplication and/or division operations. Finally, solve the addition and/or subtraction operations.

Note: Multiplication and division operations are considered equal, so you solve them from left to right. The same goes for addition and subtraction operations.

Geometry and measurement is the next category of the mathematics section. In this section you will need to be able to represent time and money, convert units of measurement within the same system, identify basic shapes, graph data on an xy-coordinate plane and calculate the perimeter, area and volume of basic shapes.

The perimeter is the total distance around an enclosed shape.

The area of a 2-dimensional shape is the enclosed space within the shape.

You will want to memorize the formulas below to calculate the perimeter and area of basic shapes.

You will definitely see a coordinate plane on the test. Take a look at the coordinate plane below. Pay special attention to the x-axis (horizontal) and the y-axis (vertical).

You will be asked to graph a point on the coordinate plane. A set of coordinates will be given to you, like this:

(2,3)

The first number, 2, represents the x-axis. The second number, 3, represents the y-axis. To graph a point, you always begin at the origin (0,0).

Let’s graph the point at (2,3). Begin at the origin. Then, move along the x-axis two spots to the right. Now, move along the y-axis three spots up. Your point will look like this:

The next section of the mathematics portion is data analysis. You will be required to calculate the mean, median, mode and range, interpret data from a graph or chart and choose the best graph or chart to represent data.

Below is an example of a bar graph. You will need to be able to read graphs and interpret the data presented. For example, on this bar graph the data shows the favorite movie genres between adults and children. From the data, you can see that 15 adults chose romance as their favorite movie genre, while 10 children chose action as their favorite genre.

Mean is the fancy word for average. To find the mean, or average, of a set of numbers, there is a really simple set of steps to follow:

1. Add all of the numbers together.
2. Divide the sum of those numbers by the number of values in the set.

The median is the middle value in a set of numbers. To find the median of a set of numbers, follow these steps:

1. Order the numbers from least to greatest.
2. Find the number in the middle.

If you have a data set with an odd amount of numbers, finding the middle value is super easy; however, if you have a data set with an even amount of numbers, there will be two values in the middle. In this case, find the mean, or average, of those two numbers. That average is the median.

In a data set, the mode is the number or numbers that appear the most. Unlike the mean and median, the mode can have more than one answer.

The application of mathematics skills and knowledge to classroom instruction section assesses your ability to apply the above three categories of mathematics in a classroom or instructional support setting. You are not required to know advanced mathematical vocabulary and will not be allowed to use a calculator on any section of the math exam.

Praxis® ParaPro Category 3: Writing

The writing portion of the exam covers two areas of writing, writing skills and knowledge and application of writing skills and knowledge to classroom instruction. The writing skills and knowledge questions will be skills needed to be able to write. The application of writing skills and knowledge to classroom instruction questions will be ways to help students write.

Let’s take a look at what you will be assessed on in the writing skills and knowledge portion of category 3. You will need to be able to identify:

• Basic grammatical errors
• Errors in word usage (your and you’re; its and it’s)
• Errors in punctuation
• Parts of a sentence (subject, verb/predicate)
• Parts of speech (nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions)
• Errors in spelling

Errors in word usage are commonly used, but often misused words. Make sure you understand the different uses of these words. Here are a few examples:

Spelling questions can also be asked directly. Questions like the one below will appear on the ParaPro practice test to help you prepare for your exam.

Take a look at the parts of speech:

• Noun – a person, place, or thing
• Verb – shows action
• Pronoun – replaces a noun
• Adjective – describes a noun
• Adverb – describes a verb, adjective, or other adverb
• Preposition – shows the relation to another word
• Pronoun – used instead of a noun or phrase and can function by itself
• Article – modifies a noun or anything that acts like a noun (the, a/an)
• Conjunction – a word used to connect sentences or clauses (but, and, if)

Below are common adverbs and the questions they answer.

The second part of this category is how to help students write. You will be asked about the writing process or writing applications.

There are 6 steps in the writing process that begin with prewriting and end with publishing.

You will need to be able to help students:

• Prewrite to generate and organize ideas (including freewriting and using outlines)
• Identify and use appropriate reference materials
• Draft and revise (including composing or refining a thesis statement, writing focused and organized paragraphs, and writing a conclusion)
• Edit written documents for clarity, grammar, sentence integrity (run-ons and sentence fragments), word usage, punctuation and spelling

The questions in this section of the writing section will ask you the best way for the student to improve their writing. For example, you might need to choose an answer choice that suggests that the student needs to change, add, or delete a specific word.

Some questions will be concerned with writing applications. The ETS Praxis® ParaPro exam defines writing applications as writing for different purposes and audiences. You will need to make sure you are able to help students understand the different types of writing and what each of them are used for.

• Narrative –  a story with characters that includes events in a plot; may include dialogue
• Persuasive Essay – is written using logic and arguments with the intent to persuade a reader a certain way
• Descriptive Essay – has an introduction, body and conclusion that describes something; appeals to the senses
• Informative – educates the reader on a topic; it does not contain opinions, only facts
• Letter – includes a heading, greeting, body, closing and signature; includes personal information

Helping students understand what language is appropriate to use in each type of writing and how to take a position for or against something are both ways you will need to be able to help students write.

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