Praxis Teaching Reading: Elementary (5205) Study Guide
Science of Reading Review, Written-Task Workshops with Scored Responses, and Full-Length Practice Tests
What is inside
- 1,173 practice questions, each with the reason for the right choice and every wrong one
- Four full-length practice tests, each with 90 questions at the official category counts of 14, 18, 21, 21, and 16, plus three written tasks
- Three written-task workshops with responses scored 3, 2, and 1 and the reason each one earned or lost its points
- A 45-question diagnostic test that sends each missed question to its chapter
- Running records, spelling inventories, and writing samples to analyze, as the test presents them
- Quick reference, glossary, coverage map, answer key at a glance, score tracker, and wrong-answer log
For the 2027–2028 testing year: the Praxis 5205 taught one ETS statement at a time, with four full-length practice tests and 21 written tasks.
The Praxis Teaching Reading: Elementary test (5205) gives you 150 minutes for 90 selected-response questions and three short written responses. The written part is worth about a quarter of your score, and it is the part most candidates practice last. The 90 questions cover five categories: phonological and phonemic awareness and emergent literacy (about 14), phonics and decoding (18), vocabulary and fluency (21), comprehension of literary and informational text (21), and written expression (16). This book follows the ETS outline in that order.
Built around the decision a teacher makes next. The 5205 rarely asks for a definition on its own. It describes a child, a running record, a spelling sample, or a fluency score and asks what to teach. Each of the 64 teaching chapters shows how to read that kind of evidence: which phonemic awareness task comes before which, why a student who reads "cap" for "cape" needs work on final e, when a low words-correct-per-minute score points to decoding rather than speed, and how to choose a vocabulary word worth a week of teaching. Every teaching chapter ends with 12 practice questions.
What is inside
- 1,173 practice questions, each with the reason the right answer is right and a line on every wrong choice
- Four full-length practice tests, each with 90 questions at the official category counts of 14, 18, 21, 21, and 16, plus three written tasks
- Three written-task workshops (emergent readers, independent readers, diverse learners) with responses scored 3, 2, and 1 and the reason each one earned or lost its points
- A 45-question diagnostic test that sends each missed question to the chapter that teaches it
- The reading models in plain words: the Simple View of Reading, Scarborough's Reading Rope, Ehri's phases of word reading, and the Simple View of Writing
- Assessment throughout: screening, diagnostic, formative, and summative tools; spelling inventories; nonsense-word and fluency measures; retells; writing rubrics; and grouping decisions for students with dyslexia, English learners, and gifted readers
- Review tools: a quick reference, commonly confused terms, a glossary, a topic coverage map, an answer key at a glance, a score tracker, and a wrong-answer log
Know your target. In October 2026, all 17 states and territories that listed a 5205 passing score with ETS set it at 159 on the 100 to 200 scale. Chapter 2 lists them and shows how to confirm what your own license requires.
Checked at the source. The question count, timing, category counts, scoring guide for the written tasks, $156 fee, 28-day retake rule, and passing scores were read from the ETS Study Companion for the 5205, the ETS test page, the passing-score table, and the Praxis Information Bulletin 2026–27 in October 2026.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by ETS. Praxis is a registered trademark of ETS (Educational Testing Service), which does not sponsor or endorse this product.
