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

The numbers to remember

• Test fee: $180.00, covers all four subtests in one appointment.
• Total time: 4 hours 35 minutes (275 minutes) across four separately timed subtests.
• Total questions: 245 questions combined, all selected-response or numeric-entry — no essay, no constructed-response section.
• Delivery: computer-delivered, not paper-based.
• Retake wait: at least 28 days before you can sit the same test again.

Subtests and scores

• 5002 Reading and Language Arts: 90 minutes, 80 questions — the biggest chunk of the exam.
• 5003 Mathematics: 65 minutes, 50 questions; on-screen scientific calculator provided.
• 5004 Social Studies: 60 minutes, 60 questions.
• 5005 Science: 60 minutes, 55 questions; on-screen scientific calculator provided.

Passing scores are set state by state, not by ETS — there is no single universal cutoff. Look up your certifying state's minimum score for each subtest before test day, and aim above that minimum rather than exactly at it, since scaled scores account for question difficulty rather than mapping to a simple percentage correct.

High-yield review areas

• Reading and Language Arts: phonics/phonemic awareness, comprehension strategies, grammar/mechanics, children's literature — this subtest carries the most minutes and questions of the four.
• Mathematics: number sense, operations, fractions, basic geometry, data interpretation; practice typing numeric-entry answers precisely.
• Social Studies: U.S. history, civics/government, geography, economics fundamentals for elementary curricula.
• Science: life, earth/space, and physical science fundamentals plus basic scientific method.

Top traps

• Assuming there's one national passing score — it varies by state, so check yours specifically rather than studying to a generic target.
• Treating the four subtests as one continuous clock — each one is timed separately, so finishing early on one doesn't give you extra time on another.
• Skipping numeric-entry practice — these require a typed exact answer, not a multiple-choice guess, so partial-credit instincts don't apply.
• Under-preparing for Reading and Language Arts because it feels the most familiar — it's also the longest and most heavily weighted subtest, so treat it with matching study time.
• Scheduling a retake attempt without accounting for the mandatory 28-day wait before you can sit the same test again.
• Confusing the on-screen calculator with a substitute for knowing the underlying method — it helps with arithmetic once you've already identified the correct operation, not before.

Night-before checklist: confirm your appointment time and computer-delivered testing location, review this quick-reference sheet once rather than cramming new material, and get full rest so you have the stamina for all four subtests back to back within the single 275-minute session.