A fourth grader meets the word autograph and uses auto and graph to work out what it means. Which strategy is this?Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy, Language standards, grade 4, standard 4b. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), B. Instruction: language.
A kindergarten teacher is ordering her phonological awareness lessons from the largest units of sound to the smallest. Which order fits?IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in K-3 (2016), Recommendation 2 and glossary. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), A. Curriculum: sequencing lessons.
A second grader reads accurately but slowly, one word at a time. Which routine is aimed at oral reading fluency?IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in K-3 (2016), Recommendation 4 and glossary, repeated reading. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), B. Instruction: reading foundational skills, fluency.
Show all 60 questions (57 more)
Reading and language arts, continued
A teacher listens to a student read a passage of 100 words and marks 90 of them as read correctly. What has she measured?IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in K-3 (2016), glossary, oral reading accuracy. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), C. Assessment: selecting and using assessments.
A teacher says the sounds /m/ /a/ /p/ one at a time and asks the class to say the word. No letters are shown. Which skill is being practiced?Report of the National Reading Panel, Reports of the Subgroups (NICHD, 2000), Chapter 2, Part 1: Phonemic Awareness Instruction. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), B. Instruction: reading foundational skills, phonological awareness.
A teacher sorts words by their first two letters. Which word begins with a consonant blend and not a digraph?IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in K-3 (2016), glossary, consonant blend and digraph. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), B. Instruction: reading foundational skills, phonics and word analysis.
A teacher thinks aloud as she makes predictions, then has pairs try it with her help, then has students predict on their own. What is this approach called?IES practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in K-3 (2010), Recommendation 1. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), B. Instruction: reading literature and informational texts.
A teacher will listen to a student read aloud and give feedback as he reads. Which level of text does the practice guide recommend?IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in K-3 (2016), Recommendation 4 and glossary, text levels. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), B. Instruction: reading foundational skills, fluency.
After drafting, students read their pieces to a partner, note where the listener got lost, and rework those parts. Which components of the writing process are these?IES practice guide, Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers (2012, revised 2018), Recommendation 2a. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), B. Instruction: writing.
Each day of a unit, a teacher reads short exit tickets to decide what to reteach the next morning. What kind of assessment is this?IES practice guide, Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision Making (2009), glossary, formative assessment. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), C. Assessment: formative assessment.
Each student has a strip of three joined boxes and pushes one counter into a box for each sound in the word ship. What is this tool called?IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in K-3 (2016), glossary, Elkonin sound boxes. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), B. Instruction: reading foundational skills, phonological awareness.
Fourth graders read a soldier's diary entry about a battle and then a textbook paragraph about the same battle. Which skill does comparing the two build?Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy, Reading: Informational Text, grade 4, standard 6. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), B. Instruction: reading literature and informational texts.
How much time each day does the IES practice guide on elementary writing recommend for writing, beginning in first grade?IES practice guide, Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers (2012, revised 2018), Recommendation 1. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), B. Instruction: writing.
What are the onset and the rime of the one-syllable word stop?IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in K-3 (2016), glossary, onset-rime pairs. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), B. Instruction: reading foundational skills, phonological awareness.
Which behavior shows that a kindergartner understands a basic concept of print?Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy, Reading: Foundational Skills, kindergarten, standard 1. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), B. Instruction: reading foundational skills, concepts of print.
Which list names parts of a narrative text that young readers can be taught to find?IES practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in K-3 (2010), Recommendation 2, Table 5. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), B. Instruction: reading literature and informational texts.
Which of these is a summative assessment?IES practice guide, Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision Making (2009), glossary, summative assessment. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), C. Assessment: summative assessment.
Which statement about phonemic awareness is accurate?IES practice guide, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in K-3 (2016), glossary, phonemic awareness. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), B. Instruction: reading foundational skills, phonological awareness.
Which three types of writing do the Common Core writing standards name for the elementary grades?Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy, Writing standards K-5, Text Types and Purposes. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, I. Reading and Language Arts (31%), B. Instruction: writing.
Mathematics 16
A class collects the data 3, 7, 8, 12 and 40. Which measure of center is least affected by the value 40?Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, glossary, median. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), B. Instruction: data, statistics and probability, measures of center.
A kindergartner counts five blocks correctly, but when asked "How many are there?" she counts them all again. Which idea is not yet secure?Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, Kindergarten, Counting and Cardinality, standard 4b. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), B. Instruction: numbers and operations, counting.
A quick check shows that most of a class adds both tops and both bottoms: 1/2 + 1/3 = 2/5. Which next step fits the IES fractions guide?IES practice guide, Developing Effective Fractions Instruction for K-8 (2010), Recommendation 3. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), C. Assessment: recognizing misconceptions and reteaching.
A student says 1/8 is greater than 1/6 "because 8 is greater than 6." Which misconception is this?IES practice guide, Developing Effective Fractions Instruction for K-8 (2010), Recommendation 2. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), A. Curriculum: planning for common student misconceptions.
A teacher draws the amounts in a word problem as labeled bars of different lengths. What does the Common Core glossary call this drawing?Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, glossary, tape diagram. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), B. Instruction: algebraic thinking, representing a context.
A teacher posts prompts such as "What is the question asking?" and "Does my answer make sense?" for students to use as they work. What do the prompts support?IES practice guide, Improving Mathematical Problem Solving in Grades 4 Through 8 (2012), Recommendation 2. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), B. Instruction: problem solving.
According to the IES fractions practice guide, what should students have before they are shown cross-multiplication?IES practice guide, Developing Effective Fractions Instruction for K-8 (2010), Recommendation 4. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), B. Instruction: numbers and operations, proportional relationships.
Before regrouping students, a teacher compares a unit test, daily classwork and an interim assessment. What is this use of several data sources called?IES practice guide, Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision Making (2009), Recommendation 1 and glossary, triangulation. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), C. Assessment: selecting and using assessments.
By the end of which grade does the Common Core expect students to add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers fluently with the standard algorithm?Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, Grade 4, Number and Operations in Base Ten, standard 4. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), A. Curriculum: sequencing lessons within a curriculum.
In the Common Core, in which grade do students begin to develop an understanding of fractions, starting with unit fractions?Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, Grade 3 introduction. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), A. Curriculum: sequencing lessons within a curriculum.
Sam has 5 marbles and Tia has 8. How many more marbles does Tia have? In the Common Core table of addition and subtraction situations, which type is this?Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, glossary, Table 1. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), B. Instruction: numbers and operations, problem situations.
Students study two correct solutions to one problem side by side and discuss how they differ. Which recommended practice is this?IES practice guide, Improving Mathematical Problem Solving in Grades 4 Through 8 (2012), Recommendation 4. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), B. Instruction: problem solving.
Which mix of problems does the IES problem-solving practice guide advise for whole-class problem-solving activities?IES practice guide, Improving Mathematical Problem Solving in Grades 4 Through 8 (2012), Recommendation 1. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), B. Instruction: problem solving.
Which practice does the IES guide on using student achievement data recommend for the students themselves?IES practice guide, Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision Making (2009), Recommendation 2. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), C. Assessment: formative assessment.
Which representation does the IES fractions practice guide call a central tool for showing that fractions are numbers?IES practice guide, Developing Effective Fractions Instruction for K-8 (2010), Recommendation 2. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), B. Instruction: numbers and operations, fractions.
With which kind of activity does the IES fractions practice guide recommend introducing the concept of fractions?IES practice guide, Developing Effective Fractions Instruction for K-8 (2010), Recommendation 1. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, II. Mathematics (26%), B. Instruction: numbers and operations, fractions.
Science 10
A fifth-grade model of an ecosystem should show matter moving among which of these?Next Generation Science Standards, arranged by disciplinary core idea, performance expectation 5-LS2-1. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, III. Science (16%), B. Instruction: life science, organisms and their environment.
Each Next Generation Science Standards performance expectation follows the words "Students who demonstrate understanding can." What does a performance expectation describe?Next Generation Science Standards, arranged by disciplinary core idea, the form of every performance expectation. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, III. Science (16%), C. Assessment: selecting and using assessments.
Fifth graders weigh a sealed jar of water and sugar before and after the sugar dissolves. What should their measurements show?Next Generation Science Standards, arranged by disciplinary core idea, performance expectation 5-PS1-2. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, III. Science (16%), B. Instruction: physical science, matter.
Fourth graders build a circuit in which a battery lights a bulb, and they notice the bulb grows warm. Which idea does this give evidence for?Next Generation Science Standards, arranged by disciplinary core idea, performance expectation 4-PS3-2. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, III. Science (16%), B. Instruction: physical science, energy.
Fourth graders study a rock face in which a layer with marine shell fossils lies above a layer with plant fossils and no shells. What does this evidence support?Next Generation Science Standards, arranged by disciplinary core idea, performance expectation 4-ESS1-1. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, III. Science (16%), B. Instruction: Earth and space science, geology.
Kindergartners record the weather on a class chart every day for a month. Which goal does this serve?Next Generation Science Standards, arranged by disciplinary core idea, performance expectation K-ESS2-1. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, III. Science (16%), B. Instruction: Earth and space science, patterns and cycles.
Third graders build models of the life cycles of a frog, a bean plant and a butterfly. What should they conclude that all three have in common?Next Generation Science Standards, arranged by disciplinary core idea, performance expectation 3-LS1-1. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, III. Science (16%), B. Instruction: life science, life cycles of organisms.
To find out whether plants need sunlight, second graders keep one plant in a closet and one on a windowsill and give both the same water. Why keep the water the same?Next Generation Science Standards, arranged by disciplinary core idea, performance expectation 2-LS2-1. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, III. Science (16%), B. Instruction: science concepts, inquiry and processes.
Two students push on opposite sides of a box with equal strength, and the box does not move. Which word describes the forces on the box?Next Generation Science Standards, arranged by disciplinary core idea, performance expectation 3-PS2-1. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, III. Science (16%), B. Instruction: physical science, force and motion.
Which of these is one of the eight science and engineering practices of the Next Generation Science Standards?Next Generation Science Standards, Appendix F: Science and Engineering Practices, list of the eight practices. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, III. Science (16%), A. Curriculum: purposes of teaching science.
Social studies 8
A class has $20 for a party and cannot afford both pizza and decorations, so it must choose. Which economic concept does this teach?National Council for the Social Studies, C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards, glossary, scarcity. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, IV. Social Studies (14%), B. Instruction: government, civics and economics.
A note on a classroom map says that 1 inch stands for 10 miles. Which part of the map is this?National Council for the Social Studies, C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards, glossary, scale. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, IV. Social Studies (14%), B. Instruction: geography.
The C3 Framework arranges social studies inquiry in four dimensions. Which one comes first?National Council for the Social Studies, C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards, the four dimensions of the Inquiry Arc. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, IV. Social Studies (14%), A. Curriculum: purposes of teaching social studies.
Fifth graders match each branch of the federal government to the article of the Constitution that sets it up. Which match is correct?Constitution of the United States, transcription by the National Archives, Articles I, II and III, section 1 of each. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, IV. Social Studies (14%), B. Instruction: government, civics and economics.
Students group the states that share a dry climate and desert landforms and give the group a name. Which geographic concept are they using?National Council for the Social Studies, C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards, glossary, region. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, IV. Social Studies (14%), B. Instruction: geography.
To close an inquiry on local water use, students present their findings to the city council and propose a plan. Which C3 dimension does this reflect?National Council for the Social Studies, C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards, Dimension 4. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, IV. Social Studies (14%), C. Assessment: summative assessment.
Which of these is a primary source for a unit on the settlement of the West?National Archives, History in the Raw, opening paragraph. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, IV. Social Studies (14%), B. Instruction: history.
"Why do people move?" frames a third-grade unit, with smaller questions such as "Where did the families of our town come from?" under it. What does the C3 Framework call the framing question?National Council for the Social Studies, C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards, glossary, compelling question and supporting question. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, IV. Social Studies (14%), B. Instruction: information processing skills.
Art, music and physical education 7
A class sings a melody while the teacher plays chords on a guitar under it. Which musical texture is this?National Core Arts Standards, glossary for the music standards, glossary, homophonic. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, V. Art, Music, and Physical Education (13%), B. Instruction: elements of music, texture.
A student follows the rules of a game and works respectfully with teammates. Which SHAPE America national standard does this show?SHAPE America, Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education (2013), national standards 1 to 5. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, V. Art, Music, and Physical Education (13%), C. Assessment: selecting and using assessments.
A teacher asks the class to sing the verse softly and the chorus loudly. Which element of music is the lesson about?National Core Arts Standards, glossary for the music standards, glossary, dynamics and tempo. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, V. Art, Music, and Physical Education (13%), B. Instruction: elements of music.
In the National Core Arts Standards, students who interpret and evaluate a painting they are shown are working in which artistic process?National Core Arts Standards, glossary for the music standards, glossary, respond. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, V. Art, Music, and Physical Education (13%), A. Curriculum: purposes of teaching art, music and physical education.
Students mix pairs of primary colors. Which list gives the secondary colors they can make?J. Paul Getty Museum education sheet, Elements of Art, color. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, V. Art, Music, and Physical Education (13%), B. Instruction: art and design concepts, color.
Which element of art is a three-dimensional shape that has length, width and depth?J. Paul Getty Museum education sheet, Elements of Art, form. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, V. Art, Music, and Physical Education (13%), B. Instruction: art and design concepts, elements of art.
Which list names locomotor skills that are taught in elementary physical education?SHAPE America, Grade-Level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education (2013), Standard 1, outcome S1.E1. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5017, V. Art, Music, and Physical Education (13%), B. Instruction: physical education concepts, locomotor patterns.
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the content topics of the ETS Study Companion for Praxis Elementary Education: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (5017) (https://www.ets.org/pdfs/praxis/5017.pdf, read 2026-10-06; test page https://praxis.ets.org/test/5017.html): Reading and Language Arts 31%, Mathematics 26%, Science 16%, Social Studies 14%, Art, Music, and Physical Education 13%. The bank holds 19, 16, 10, 8 and 7 questions. Every fact was read on 2026-10-06 in the public document the question names: six What Works Clearinghouse practice guides of the Institute of Education Sciences (ies.ed.gov), the report of the National Reading Panel (nichd.nih.gov), the Common Core State Standards (thecorestandards.org), the Next Generation Science Standards (nextgenscience.org), the C3 Framework (socialstudies.org), the Constitution and an education page of the National Archives (archives.gov), the National Core Arts Standards music glossary (nationalartsstandards.org), a Getty Museum education sheet (getty.edu) and SHAPE America's grade-level outcomes (shapeamerica.org). Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
This free Praxis 5017 practice test has 60 questions of our own on how elementary subjects are taught and assessed, spread like the five ETS outline categories. It is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by ETS.
Read the full guide
What the test covers
Elementary Education: Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment (5017) has about 37 questions on reading and language arts (31%), 31 on mathematics (26%), 20 on science (16%), 17 on social studies (14%) and 15 on art, music and physical education (13%), by the Study Companion read October 6, 2026. This bank holds 19, 16, 10, 8 and 7.
Timing
Exam mode asks the 60 questions here in 65 minutes: half the length of the real test at the same pace.
Where the answers come from
Each explanation names the public document its fact was read in, such as a federal What Works Clearinghouse practice guide or a national standards document. The health topics of the science category are left out.
The real test allows just over a minute a question, so pass over a hard one and come back to it.
Most questions describe a classroom moment. Find what the student needs before you read the four choices.
Questions and answers
Is this practice test for Praxis 5017 the real exam?
No. All 60 questions were written for this site from the ETS content topics for test 5017. None repeats or rewords a real test question or an ETS sample question, and a result here is not a forecast of your real score.
How many questions are on the Praxis 5017?
120 selected-response questions in 130 minutes, delivered on a computer. ETS says the test may contain some questions that do not count toward your score.
What does this 5017 Praxis practice test cover?
ETS says 5017 tests content knowledge and teaching principles alike: planning curriculum, designing instruction and assessing student learning, mostly set in the subjects taught in elementary school. So most questions here ask how a subject is taught.
What is a passing score on Praxis 5017?
There is no single one. Passing scores are set by each state or licensing agency, not by ETS, so check the requirement where you will be licensed. This page reports the number right only.