So you’re taking the Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) exam and you’re asking some of the following questions:

  • Where do I find a free practice test?
  • An exam breakdown?
  • How do I register for the test?

Those are all great questions, and you’ve found the right place to get them answered!

My name is Meaghan Flaherty, and at Best in Class we are here to help you get familiar with everything you need to know about the Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) exam!

Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 Video Overviews

This video from NavaED covers the structure and question format of all levels of the Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching exams, but the information is useful and applicable to this specific exam.

Looking for some additional testing strategies and tips that will help you feel confident and successful? 240 Tutoring has created a video that will help you get even more prepared for your exam!

NavaED offers helpful strategies and overviews of the Praxis® exams in these videos. Both include practice questions, explanations of the answers, and brief overviews of what the exam covers.

This video is a recorded NavaED webinar that covers exam content, practice questions, and strategies for all levels of the Praxis® exams. It is a bit long, but the information is helpful.

First Thing to Know

The term praxis means the application of knowledge in any branch of learning. The Praxis® exams assess just that. This is your opportunity to demonstrate that you are able to apply the skills and strategies you have learned from your teacher certification program in classroom scenarios.

This specific test, Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623), assesses your understanding and application of foundational educational practices. This test focuses on the foundational practices for professional educators interested in teaching grades 5-9.

The identification number for the Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 is 5623. Why “5623”? What does it mean? This number is used by states and administrators. It’s easier for them to refer to the test using the four digit number instead of the longer official name.

Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 Exam Breakdown

The Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) exam is made up of five content categories. The exam includes multiple-choice questions and constructed-response, or short answer, questions. The constructed-response questions will provide you with a potential classroom scenario and will require you to respond with a short answer. There is a two-hour limit on this test unless you qualify for accommodations. You will need to manage your time throughout the test because the content categories are not individually timed.

Content Categories Approximate Number of Multiple Choice Questions Approximate Number of Constructed-response Questions Approximate Percentage of Exam
Students as Learners 21 0 22.5%
Instructional Process 21 0 22.5%
Assessment 14 0 15%
Professional Development, Leadership, and Community 14 0 15%
Analysis of Instructional Scenarios: 0 4 25%
  1. Students as Learners
0 1-2
  1. Instructional Process
0 1-2
  1. Assessment
0 0-1
  1. Professional Development, Leadership, and Community
0 0-1

The entire test must be completed in one session. If you do not earn a passing score and want to retake it, you will need to retake the entire exam.

What is a Passing Score

Praxis® exams are graded using scaled scores. Your score will be a number between 100 and 200, so don’t expect a traditional percentage when you receive your score.

States individually determine their passing score for the Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) exam. You can find more information about your state’s passing score here.

How to Register for the Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 Exam

New to Teaching?

If you are completely new to teaching, you must complete a certification program before you register for any exams. Each state has their own processes and requirements for becoming a certified teacher. Start by visiting the Praxis® State Requirements page. On this page, you can click the link for your state and view specific resources to find out what you will need to do to become certified.

Once you have completed a certification program and have approval, you can register using the ETS Praxis® Registration Page.

  1. Find the “New User” box. Click the blue “Create Account” button.
  2. Enter your information. Make sure to use the same name on the primary identification document that you plan to present at the testing center. ETS will not require you to submit your Social Security number, but some states will. If you do not provide it and later find out your state requires it, you might experience a delay in the processing of your application.
  3. Now that you have created an account and logged in, you will be directed to a home page with several links. On the left-hand side under “Registrations and Orders,” you should see “Register for a Praxis® Test.” Click this link.
  4. The next page contains some optional questions about your experience and education. These questions are not required by ETS, but it is possible they may be required by your state.
  5. You are almost done! Next, use the drop-down menus to select your state and agency.
  6. Select PLT: Grades 5-9, designate your score recipients, and pay for your test.
  7. Print your test ticket. It might not be needed at the testing location, but it is best to have it in case it is required.

Already Certified?

If you are already certified, registering for another test should be relatively easy!

  1. Log in on the Praxis® Registration Page. If you have forgotten your user name or password, use the “Forgot User Name” or “Forgot Password” link to recover your information.
  2. After you log in, you will be directed to a home page with several links. Under “Registrations and Orders,” you will see a link to “Register for a Praxis® Test.” Click this link.
  3. Review your personal information and background questions. Make any necessary changes.
  4. You are almost done registering! Use the drop-down menus to select your state and agency.
  5. Select PLT: Grades 5-9, designate your score recipients, and pay for your test.
  6. Print your test ticket. It might not be required at your testing location, but it is best to have it just in case you need it.

Congrats! You are successfully registered for your exam! You will arrive to take your test on the day you selected. Once you pass the exam and meet all of your state’s other requirements, you will be qualified to teach grades 5-9!

Yay!

Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) Free Practice Test

You’ve signed up for the Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) exam and you’re wondering what you should study to best prepare for it.

If you’re not feeling confident in your abilities to pass this exam quite yet, it’s okay! You have come to the right place. We’ve collected some of the best practice tests for you. These practice tests are a great starting point and will help you assess which content categories you need to focus on when studying for your exam.

Best Free Practice Test

240 Tutoring’s Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) Diagnostic Practice Test

240 Tutoring has been helping teachers pass their exams since 2011. They offer a completely free, online practice test for the Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) exam. Each practice test will give you a free score breakdown, so you can see exactly what you need to study.

Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) Paid Practice Test

Best Paid Practice Test

240 Tutoring’s Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) Online Study Guide

240 Tutoring’s free diagnostic test is a great resource, but they also offer a paid practice test and complete study guide. Although it’s listed under the practice test heading, it includes many other helpful resources. The 240 Tutoring study guide for Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) exam offers 269 practice questions, more than 150 pages of study material, and flash cards.

One of the best things about this guide is that it comes with a money-back guarantee!

BONUS: 240 Tutoring is a month-to-month subscription. By purchasing the study guide for the Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) exam, you will also have access to all of the Praxis® study guides for just $39.99 per month. You gain access to all study guides when you purchase just one.

Runner-Up for Practice Test

The ETS Praxis® Study Companion

The ETS website provides study companions for each test. Within the study companion for the Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) exam, there are practice questions. The company that creates the test provides these questions, so it is a very reliable practice test. This practice test also provides explanations for the correct answers, which is helpful. One of the drawbacks of this practice test is that it’s quite a bit shorter than the actual test. The actual test has around 70 questions, but the ETS study companion only includes 19 sample questions (17 multiple-choice and 2 constructed-response). So it is significantly shorter than what you will experience on the day of your test.

The Praxis® Study Companion: Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623)

Honorable Mention

Mometrix

Mometrix Test Preparation offers a free practice test. One of the pros of this practice test is that it offers explanations on the correct answers. Although this practice test covers content you will see on the exam, there are only 10 questions. You’ll most likely need a longer practice test to feel prepared for the 70-question exam.

Mometrix Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) Practice Test

Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) Free Study Guide

Now that you have completed some practice tests and have an idea of which content areas you need to spend the most time studying, you are probably wondering where you can find the best study guides.

Feeling unsure where to start? You are in the right place! Some of the best study guides are organized below. These guides will help you focus your studying on the concepts you need to review in preparation for the Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 exam.

Best Free Study Guide

240 Tutoring’s Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 Ultimate Guide

240 Tutoring offers another great free resource: The Free Ultimate Guide for the Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623). This is a great guide to help you get started studying.

The Ultimate Guide provides a detailed overview of each section of the exam. It breaks down the content categories that will be covered. It also provides you with classroom examples to help you better understand the material. The Ultimate Guide provides some beneficial testing tips as well!

Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) Paid Study Guide

Best Paid Study Guide

240 Tutoring’s Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) Online Study Guide 

240 Tutoring also offers a full study guide. The 240 Tutoring study guide for Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) exam offers 269 practice questions, more than 150 pages of study material, and flash cards.

Worried about paying for a study guide but not passing? One of the best things about this guide is that it comes with a money-back guarantee!

BONUS: 240 Tutoring is a month-to-month subscription. When you purchase the study guide for the Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) exam, you will also gain access to all of the Praxis® study guides for just $39.99 per month. You gain access to all study guides just by purchasing one!

Runner-Up for Study Guide

Study.com

Study.com offers a thorough course that covers content from the exam. You can take a free practice test before you get started. The amount of information they provide can feel almost overwhelming: 24 chapters and 237 lessons! However, they provide self-assessment tools to guide your studying as you move through the course. This is a paid course and costs $59.99 per month with a 30-day money back guarantee.

Study.com Praxis® Principles of Learning and Teaching: Grades 5-9 (5623) 

Honorable Mention

Mometrix

Mometrix Test Preparation provides a comprehensive study guide for $39.99 and it comes with a money-back guarantee. You can purchase this guide as a printed book or an ebook, whichever works better for you. This guide also includes study tips and practice questions.

Mometrix Praxis® Secrets Study Guide

About the Author

Maegan Flaherty

Meaghan Flaherty

Meaghan is a former educator with six years of experience working with 2nd and 3rd graders. She has spent time volunteering in Costa Rica, Chile, and Peru, where she studied Spanish and tutored children at local schools. Meaghan has a master’s degree in education with a focus in literacy from UTSA. In her free time she enjoys traveling, hiking, camping, reading, and knitting.

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