Can you pass the praxis test?

Warning: This contains some statistical information which many people find boring. If you did not pass the praxis this could be discouraging.

I have taken and passed all the Praxis tests that have been required by WGU. I wondered how well did I really do. Some of the tests I thought were easy and some were hard.

So I was spelunking around the web and found some interesting data from the state of PA.

http://www.teaching.state.pa.us/teaching/cwp/view.asp?a=302&q=122566&teachingNav=|93|87|&teachingNav=|1904|

The bottom line is really interesting for PA and for all students.

All of these passing rates are for the state of Pennsylvania only.

Reading PPST - 91% of students received a 172 or greater
Writing PPST - 84% of students received a 173 or greater
Math PPST - 82% of students received a 173 or higher


Now we compare those numbers in PA to the state of VA which has the highest requirements for passing. (Note: CT also requires a 176 in writing)

Reading PPST - 67.3% of students received a 178 or greater
Writing PPST - 52.5% of students received a 176 or greater
Math PPST - 63% of students received a 178 or higher

To me these numbers are staggering. I thought the PPST was an easy test and the only one I really did not worry about passing.

The really odd numbers are that of the Praxis 81 which is Social Studies Content Test which is required by 32 states with an average required score of 153.6.

For Pennsylvania students over the past three years 82% of students passed the test with a score of 157.

The states with the highest required score are CT, VT, WV with a score of 162 and 161 for VA. In the state of PA only 66% of the 3,853 students reached the 162 level.