Praxis II Teaching Foundations: English Exam
This exam is designed to assess your knowledge of teaching foundations of English for grade 7 through 12, in the State of California. Individuals who take this exam are expected to be familiar with the California public schools teaching performance expectations. You will be given four hours to complete the 50 multiple-choice and two written response questions that comprise this exam. One written response question will cover English teaching methodology at the high school level. The other written response question will cover English teaching methodology at the junior high school level. There will be nine questions regarding each of the following topics: classroom management, student assessment, reading instruction, English learners, special needs, learning differences, and human development.
English Teaching Methodology at the High School and Junior High School Level
These written response questions will cover student progress before during and after instruction, development of reading skills when teaching mathematics and, strategies for teaching English learners a particular subject. Questions regarding adaptation of instruction for special need students, resources, activities, and instructional strategies to facilitate student learning, and, the ability to sequence and prioritize content and skills for instruction will be included in this section of the exam.
Classroom Management
This section of the exam will cover maximizing instructional time, establishment of procedures for routine tasks, writing student discipline plans and, developing expectations for student’s social and academic behavior. Questions regarding the establishment of rapport with students and their families, utilizing social environments to maximize academic accomplishments, and strategies for obtaining participation from all students will be included in this section of the exam.
Student Assessment
Questions regarding student assessment will cover basic types of informal and formal student assessments, communication of student behavioral and academic strengths, interpretation of student assessments, modification of instruction and, the purposes of various types of student assessments.
Reading Instruction
This section of the exam will cover instructional strategies to enhance reading appreciation, reading comprehension, written and oral English language skills, organizational patterns and, literary response and analysis of various written texts and media. Vocabulary development, fluency, word analysis, and student mastery of foundational skills for utilization of language forms will also be included in this section of the exam.
Teaching English Learners
This section of the exam will cover evaluation of student writing, comprehension and development of academic language, English-language development, and cultural, cognitive, and individual influences on student language acquisition.
Special Needs and Learning Differences
This section of the exam will cover instructional strategies for special needs students, the impact of student’s health on learning and behavior, learning styles, cultural expectations, and gender differences. Questions regarding learning disabilities, behavioral and emotional disabilities, mental retardation, talented and gifted students, sensory, medical and physical challenges will be included in this section of the exam. Your knowledge of visual and perceptual challenges of the exceptional student will be assessed in this section of the exam.
Human Development
This section of the exam will cover social, emotional, physical, moral, cognitive, and physical development of adolescents. Questions regarding academic challenges, developments of abstract thinking skills, and instructional activities that relate to life after high school graduation will be included in this section of the exam.
