The Praxis Spanish: World Language exam is designed to test those interested in teaching Spanish to kindergarten students through high school seniors. It tests participants on the knowledge, aptitude, and skills necessary to have a successful career in teaching Spanish.
It is designed to cover every facet of Spanish education, including reading, writing, listening, cultural and linguistic knowledge and speaking skills. Every question and each answer choice is written in Spanish, based on various Spanish-speaking cultures from around the globe. A passing score on this exam is also required in order to teach Spanish.
How Is this World Language Exam Administered?
The Spanish: World Language exam is offered through Praxis’ international network of testing centers. Prospective participants can find the location that is most convenient for them and make an appointment to take the exam through the Educational Testing Service (ETS) website.
Like most Praxis tests, the Spanish: World Language exam is administered through a computer. Unlike many other standardized tests, this exam includes a listening section, which will ask participants to listen to audio provided by the computer in order to answer particular questions. Before beginning this listening section, participants will complete a practice exercise.
There is also a writing section on the exam that will require the use of a special character toolbar. Similar to the listening section, participants will be guided through a practice exercise in order to gain familiarity with this special character toolbar.
What Can I and Can I Not Bring to this Spanish Exam from Praxis?
Participants in the Praxis Spanish: World Language exam are prohibited from bringing certain items with them to the testing center and/or the exam room. These include handbags and backpacks, water bottles, books and notes, pens or pencils, calculators and photographic or recording devices.
Participants are required to bring with them an acceptable and valid form of identification.
How Is Content on the Praxis Spanish: World Language Exam Divided?
The Spanish: World Language exam consists of 81 total questions, 75 of which are selected response and six of which are constructed response. Participants are given about three total hours to take the full exam.
The specific content on the exam is divided into different topics and sections of the exam, each of which make up a different percentage of the full exam. Specifically, the exam content is broken down as follows:
- Interpretive listening and linguistic content: 30 selected-response questions, 26 percent of exam
- Interpretive reading and linguistic content: 30 selected-response questions, 26 percent of exam
- Cultural knowledge: 15 selected-response questions, 12 percent of exam
- Presentational and interpersonal writing: Three written-response questions, 18 percent of exam
- Interpersonal and presentational speaking: Three spoken-response questions, 18 percent of exam
When Will I Receive My Score on the Praxis Exam on Spanish: World Language?
Every state and association may have different specific requirements regarding a passing score on the Praxis Spanish: World Language exam. Participants whose states allow for automatic score reporting will be given an indication of whether or not their score counts as “passing” in their identified state immediately after completing the exam.
This score report will also include information on the range of possible scores on the exam, the total amount of points possible in each section of the exam and the range of the middle 50 percent of scores on the exam.
How Should I Strategize Studying for Praxis’ Spanish and World Language Exam?
ETS makes several recommendations to try and put participants in the Praxis Spanish: World Language exam in the best position to perform well on the test. Ultimately, it has seven key pieces of advice for those preparing for the exam.
Firstly, ETS recommends that participants become familiar with the subject matter that will be covered by the test. Prospective participants should also be honest with themselves about how well they already understand this material, to best identify the gaps in their knowledge and where they should focus their studying efforts. Next, prospective participants need to begin collecting the study materials that they plan to leverage as they prepare for the test.
Anyone preparing for the Praxis Spanish: World Language exam should also be sure to plan and organize their study time adequately, in order to best utilize the limited time they will have to prepare. In order to get a full grasp of the material on the exam, prospective participants should practice explaining the key concepts that it covers, to ensure that they have a real grasp on this material. Of course, an understanding of how the exam is scored, as described above is critical. And, finally, ETS recommends that prospective exam participants work to develop a study plan that is actionable.
How Can I Get a Passing Score on the Praxis Spanish: World Language Exam?
Given the above listed best practices, many participants in the Praxis Spanish: World Language exam have found success by leveraging a combination of flash cards and a proprietary study guide. For instance, the solutions offered by Mometrix Test Preparation in both its study guide and flashcard system has led many to a passing score on the test.
