Praxis Core Cheat Sheet.
The night-before summary, built like the exam.
Download the PDFThe three subtests
- Reading (5713): 85 min · 56 questions · all selected-response on passages/statements
- Writing (5723): 100 min = 40-min 40-question selected-response + two 30-min essays
- Mathematics (5733): 90 min · 56 questions · selected-response + numeric entry
- Combined = 5752, all three in one session, $150 · at home or test center · 4 free score recipients
- Passing scores are set by each state — check yours first; unscored pretest items are unmarked, so answer everything
Reading anchors
- Every answer is in the passage — outside-knowledge choices are traps by design
- Main idea / best title must span the WHOLE passage, not one detail
- Inference = the most modest conclusion the text supports; beware always/never/entirely
- Vocabulary in context: substitute each choice into the sentence
- Fact vs opinion = verifiable vs evaluative · transition words reveal structure (however = pivot, indeed = intensifier, first/next = sequence)
- Weakening a causal claim = find the alternative explanation or exposed assumption
Writing anchors
- SR section parts: usage · sentence correction · revision-in-context · research skills
- Subject-verb: ignore the prepositional phrase — each/every = singular; neither…nor = agree with the nearer subject
- Opening participle must modify the main-clause subject (dangling modifier)
- Series must stay parallel in tense and form · 'only' modifies what it touches
- Comma alone between independent clauses = splice; semicolon or comma + conjunction joins legally
- Case: object of preposition = me ('between you and me'); who/whoever by role inside its own clause
- Plural possessive: coaches' · affect = verb, effect = noun · hardly/scarcely already negative
- Essays (30 min each): arguable thesis + one-job paragraphs + specific support; plan 5 / write 20 / revise 5
Math anchors
- Areas: Number & Quantity · Data/Stats/Probability · Algebra & Geometry
- PEMDAS: exponents before multiply before add · signed substitution in parentheses
- Percent change base = the earlier value · sale price ≠ discount amount
- Median needs sorted data · mean × count = total (work backward for missing values)
- Probability = favorable/total · NOT-event = 1 − P · area = l×w, perimeter = 2(l+w) · triangle angles sum 180°
- Slope = Δy/Δx · 'seven less than twice n' = 2n − 7 (English order reverses)
- Numeric entry has no choices: estimate first, then compute
Night before
- Re-run the grammar rules and math formula rows above — they are the whole selected-response game
- Confirm your state's cut scores and your named score recipients
- At-home testers: system check, quiet room, webcam ready
Frequently asked questions
What deserves the final pre-exam review?
The grammar rule list (agreement traps, dangling modifiers, parallelism, comma splices, pronoun case) and the math formula rows (percent-change base, median-vs-mean, slope, area versus perimeter, triangle angle sum, order of operations). These finite lists cover the bulk of the selected-response questions across both subtests.
What are the highest-value Writing rules to memorize?
Verb agrees past intervening phrases (each/every = singular; neither…nor = nearer subject), opening participles must modify the subject, series stay parallel, a comma alone cannot join independent clauses, objects of prepositions take 'me', and who/whoever is set by its role inside its own clause. Those six rules decide a large share of the usage and sentence-correction questions.
Any last logistics check before test day?
Three items: confirm your state's per-subtest cut scores, confirm your four free score recipients are named, and — if testing at home — run the system check in advance and clear a quiet room. During the test, answer everything: unscored pretest questions are mixed in without identification, so a blank can only cost you.
Sources
- 1.Praxis Core Combined (5752) — ETS — Educational Testing Service (ETS) (accessed Aug 7, 2026)
- 2.Praxis Core Reading (5713) — ETS — Educational Testing Service (ETS) (accessed Aug 7, 2026)
- 3.Praxis Core Writing (5723) — ETS — Educational Testing Service (ETS) (accessed Aug 7, 2026)
Official sources
Every exam fact on this page traces to a primary document published by the body that administers the exam.
- Praxis Core Combined (5752) — ETSEducational Testing Service (ETS)praxis.ets.org
- Praxis Core Reading (5713) — ETSEducational Testing Service (ETS)praxis.ets.org
- Praxis Core Writing (5723) — ETSEducational Testing Service (ETS)praxis.ets.org
- Praxis Core Mathematics (5733) — ETSEducational Testing Service (ETS)praxis.ets.org
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