Khan Academy (Praxis® Core) Reviewed

Disclaimer: 240 Tutoring is not affiliated with Khan Academy in any way.

Product Comparison

Overview

Pros

• Program is a collaboration with ETS
• Intuitive Study Plan
• Non-profit is well-recognized

Cons

• No Guarantee
• Limited Reading/Writing Question Bank
• Donation-based content updates
• Launched mid-2019

Quick Take

Khan Academy is a well-known leader in free online education. In fact, their video resources are used by Certify Teacher’s study program.

Khan Academy partnered with ETS in mid-2019 to launch a free study program for the Praxis Core exam. Khan is historically strong in mathematics and technology and this study resource stays consistent with that history.

One tech feature anyone will appreciate is the intuitive study plan. It outlines what content needs to be covered with a timeline based on the exam date and adjusts as content is completed. Other parts of the study guide aren’t as robust but can provide a helpful concept overview.

Teachers planning to take the Core exam may benefit from this, but will need to look for another study resource for all remaining exams.

Khan Academy (Praxis® Core) Full Review

The Full Scoop on Khan Academy (Praxis® Core)

Khan Academy, a well-known non-profit focused on education, partnered with ETS in 2019 to develop a free Praxis® Core study guide. All Praxis® certified teachers will need to take the Core exam, but will have to use another study resource to prepare for their remaining exams.

The Praxis® Core study guide, like all Khan Academy programs, is free. One potential drawback is that because Khan Academy is completely donation-dependent, there is no guarantee updates to their study guide will be regular and consistent.

The study guide program is vide-driven, with video examples and explanations included with the practice problems. The videos are presented in a very simple format – typically a white slide with the question or math problem with a narrator writing on the screen while talking through the concept. All of the study content is embedded in the practice questions and is not accessible individually.

There are practice questions in the “tasks” portion of the study guide and the study content is only accessible through the practice question links. One thing to note about the math questions is that they are algorithm-created, making the number of questions available essentially infinite.

One of the best features of the program is the intuitive study plan. It is created automatically after the initial diagnostic tests are taken and study dates and amounts can be altered based on the scheduled exam date. The study plan also self-adjusts after the content is completed in the program based on the overall score and time logged.

The study program is easily personalized. In addition to the study plan, users can set a target test score, set study reminders and even add accommodation time to the practice test if needed.

One drawback to the study program is the lack of support or help if needed. There are no contact options and a quick search of the help center only pulls up community content, but nothing directly from Khan Academy.

While Khan Academy is well-known and generally well-reviewed, there is limited feedback for the Praxis study guide specifically. One review credited the program with being similar to the exam, but another mentioned it didn’t reinforce the “why” enough for test concepts to be internalized.

As far as free resources go, Khan Academy is one of the better options because the content is not overwhelming or unmanageable. One thing they do well is present information clearly and in an accessible format. There may be a few things users find difficult to locate in the program (like the lesson links) but it is generally intuitive and easy to use. The main deterrent for teacher candidates is that a study guide is only available for the Core exam.