Praxis® Elementary Education: Content Knowledge for Teaching (7811) Scoring Guide
If you plan to teach elementary school, your state may require you to pass the Praxis® Elementary Education Content Knowledge for Teaching (7811) exam. This test is a key part of becoming a classroom teacher.
The Praxis® Elementary Ed CKT (7811) test assesses your basic knowledge of elementary-level ELA, math, social studies, and science, ensuring you’re ready to teach these subjects to young students. To prepare for the exam, it’s crucial to understand its scoring system. This article delves into everything you need to know about Elementary Education CKT exam scores.
Overview of the Praxis® Elementary Education CKT Exam
The Elementary Education CKT exam will evaluate your knowledge of essential elementary-level topics via these four subtests:
- Praxis® Elementary Education CKT: Reading and Language Arts (7812)
- Praxis® Elementary Education CKT: Mathematics (7813)
- Praxis® Elementary Education CKT: Science (7814)
- Praxis® Elementary Education CKT: Social Studies (7815)
The Reading and Language Arts subtest has a time limit of 1 hour and 30 minutes; the Mathematics subtest has a time limit of 1 hour and 25 minutes; the Science subtest has a time limit of 1 hour; and the Social Studies subtest has a time limit of 50 minutes. This adds up to a total testing time of 4 hours and 45 minutes.
Our Praxis® Elementary Education CKT exam overview can give you more information about the structure of this test.
How the Exam is Scored
The Praxis® Elementary Education CKT exam is scored by taking the sum of your correct answers and converting this into a scaled score that takes test difficulty into account. The exam is scored via computer.
Passing Score
To pass the Elementary Education CKT exam, you must pass all four subtests. The minimum passing score may vary, so you should check what the passing score is in your state.
Understanding Your Score Report
Your Praxis® Elementary Education CKT score report will include:
- Whether you passed
- Your score on each subtest
- The minimum passing score for each subtest
- A performance breakdown by content area and question type
To see an example of a score report, refer to this Praxis® score explainer.
At the top of your score report, you will see a section that reports the following:
- Your name
- The date of this score report
- Your ID number
- Personal information such as your date of birth
- The institution where you have received teacher training
- Information related to your education, such as your major and G.P.A.
Under this information, your score report will usually consist of three sections:
Section I will include:
- The date of the test(s) you took
- The name and code of each test
- Your score on each test
- A box plot showing how your score compares to the average performance range
- Whether you passed the tests
- Each institution that received your scores
Section II includes:
- Your highest test scores for each exam you’ve taken in the past decade
- The name and code of each exam
- The minimum passing score
- Whether you passed the test
- The date you took the test
- Whether your score was reported
- The state agency or institution(s) to which your score was sent
Section III includes:
- Each test you took
- Each content category that appeared on the test
- The number of questions you answered correctly in each content category
- The average performance range on each content category (so you can compare your performance to that of other test takers)
Retaking the Exam
If you don’t pass the Elementary Education CKT exam, you can retake it. You will need to re-register and submit a new payment. You must wait 28 days between attempts.
Before you re-register, it’s crucial to evaluate what went wrong on your previous attempt. Carefully analyze your score report to identify areas of weakness and develop a targeted study plan to improve your performance on those subtests, content domains, or question types.
Conclusion:
Your Praxis® Elementary Education CKT exam scores help gauge your basic readiness to instruct young students in reading and language arts, math, science, and social studies. Understanding how this test is scored and what is required to pass should help you prepare more effectively, maximizing your chances of success. If you don’t pass the exam on your first try, remember to take advantage of the detailed performance breakdown on your score report. It may provide helpful insights.
With diligent study and a clear understanding of the test, you will be prepared to excel on the Elementary Education CKT exam.
More Praxis® Elementary Education CKT Resources
