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CHEAT SHEET · PRAXIS CORE

Praxis Core Cheat Sheet.
The night-before summary, built like the exam.

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Weighted to the current exam outline·15-minute scanVerified against the official content outline
By Vincent Ruan, EA, CFP®Published August 7, 2026
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The 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. 1.Praxis Core Combined (5752) — ETSEducational Testing Service (ETS) (accessed Aug 7, 2026)
  2. 2.Praxis Core Reading (5713) — ETSEducational Testing Service (ETS) (accessed Aug 7, 2026)
  3. 3.Praxis Core Writing (5723) — ETSEducational Testing Service (ETS) (accessed Aug 7, 2026)

Official sources

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Last verified against the official exam content outline: