Praxis 5354 study guide
Praxis 5354 · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Praxis Special Education: Core Knowledge and Applications (5354) is a selected-response teacher certification test delivered by ETS as part of the Praxis® Subject Assessments. It is intended for candidates who are preparing for special education licensure or an endorsement, generally across kindergarten through grade 12, and it is typically taken near the end of an educator preparation program or after completing required coursework. The Praxis 5354 study guide has 4 sections and about 1,099 words.
01Foundations and Professional Responsibilities
IDEA rests on six principles: free appropriate public education (FAPE), appropriate evaluation, individualized education program (IEP), least restrictive environment (LRE), parent participation, and procedural safeguards. Know child find (districts must locate and evaluate children suspected of a disability), prior written notice, and informed parental consent.
290 words, about 1 min02Development and Characteristics of Learners
Candidates must distinguish typical developmental sequences (cognitive, language, motor, social-emotional, adaptive) from atypical patterns, and know the IDEA categories and their hallmark characteristics. Learning disabilities (including dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia) involve processing deficits and unexpected underachievement; intellectual disability combines significantly subaverage intellectual functioning with adaptive deficits and onset before 18; autism spectrum disorder involves social communication and restricted/repetitive behavior; emotional disturbance includes inability to learn unexplained by other factors, relationship problems, inappropriate behavior, unhappiness or depression, and physical symptoms or fears.
284 words, about 1 min03Planning, Managing, and Delivering Instruction
Present levels (PLAAFP) drive measurable annual goals, which drive specially designed instruction. Goals need a condition, observable behavior, and criterion-for example, "Given a graphic organizer, the student will write a paragraph with a topic sentence and three supporting details in 4 of 5 trials." Accommodations change how a student accesses content; modifications change what is expected.
243 words, about 1 min04Assessment and Data-Based Decision Making
Assessment serves screening, diagnosis, progress monitoring, and summative decisions. Norm-referenced tests compare students to a sample; criterion-referenced tests compare to a standard.
282 words, about 1 min