The Praxis is an outdated test for future South Dakota teachers
As an education major, we are taught how to teach our future students to learn and retain the information they are learning.
We rarely take traditional tests in education classes because tests should not be the sole focus of education. Assessments will be necessary when we are teachers, but the goal of education should be learning, not passing high-stakes tests.
Ironically, the Praxis test is an exam that students who are studying education to become teachers need to pass in order to be certified to teach in South Dakota and graduate from Augustana University.
However, this exam is not just a South Dakota concept. Every state, besides Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Michigan, requires the Praxis in some form for teaching licensure.
I recently took the two tests I need to pass, as I am graduating next year, and it only further reinforced my belief that standardized testing cannot prove what students are capable of accomplishing. It only shows how well they are at taking tests.
The first issue I have with this exam is in the way it is administered: online. I’m sure there are accommodations for those who need it on paper or in another format, but nobody should be required to stare at a white computer screen with black type-writer font for over two hours. To prepare for this exam, I took many practice tests to get used to staring at a screen for that long without blue-light glasses.
The exam is also very particular about what participants are wearing when they take the test and what they are allowed during the test.
For example, test-takers cannot wear any type of watches or jewelry, and they are highly discouraged from wearing accessories. Those taking the exam are allowed to go to the restroom or get a drink of water during it, but their time continues going. I was given scratch paper, which I surprisingly used at some points, as I was unable to highlight the text on the screen.
As someone who usually does not get too anxious for testing, I was a little nervous when I was at the testing center, as the test proctor swiped a metal detector around me to make sure I was not going to cheat in any way.
They also examined my ID and signature so carefully I was worried they weren’t going to let me test, even though I knew everything was accurate. I cannot imagine going through this process if I had testing anxiety.
Another issue I have with the exam is the content.
The first test I took focused on pedagogy, theories and psychology that teachers should know, which makes sense. I had no issues with that test and felt very confident in my answers overall.
However, the second test was on English content because I am going to be an English teacher. Some of the questions were scenario-based with student responses to a reading, which, understandably, a future teacher should be able to answer and know. However, some of the questions simply had nothing to do with teaching.
The very first question I answered asked me to read an excerpt from a poem I have never heard of and answer the question,“Who wrote this poem?” I only recognized two of the poets’ names. When and why would a teacher ever need to know this?
I also got a couple of questions asking about the names of different English dialects, which I had never come across during my studying for the exam or any of my English classes. How does knowing English dialects prove I am qualified to teach?
The short answer is that none of those questions are relevant to proving if someone is qualified to teach. A standardized, timed test that is all multiple-choice questions simply sees how fast you can select the correct answer. There’s no critical thinking nor creativity involved.
Luckily for us South Dakotans, a passing Praxis score is only about a 75%, so there is a little hope for those who are not good test takers but are going to make great teachers.
