Product Description
Practice for the PRAXIS and Get Teaching! First Edition! REA’s new PRAXIS II English Subject Assessments test prep helps teacher candidates master the information and excel on any of the four English Language, Literature, and Composition tests (0041, 0042, 0043, 0049). A comprehensive review guides middle and secondary teacher candidates through all the content and process categories on the official Praxis II tests, which are required for certif… More >>
Praxis II English Subject Assessments 0041, 0042, 0043, 0049
#1 by C. Mcphail on February 10, 2010 - 1:05 pm
I was glad that this book had 2 practice exams for the 0041 test I was going to take. After taking practice tests from other books and finally taking the actual exam this weekend, I noticed that these practice tests were not at all representative of the actual test. I only ended up doing one of the 2 practice exams because I looked at the test book by ETS, and realized those tests were not going to help me that much.
The rest of the book has some really good overall review information on terms and literature, but I did find a few errors which I think is inexcusable.
I was not impressed with this book, except to review terms — however all of that information is available online for free.
Good luck!
Rating: 2 / 5
#2 by phoebe on February 10, 2010 - 4:04 pm
Pretty good book – but (1) there are only two practice tests for each of the tests it is supposed to prepare one for, and (2) there is some flat-out INCORRECT information, errors! Editing anyone? Worth it for the two practice tests, but I don’t quite trust the information because there are errors.
Rating: 3 / 5
#3 by Sharon R. Tjaden-glass on February 10, 2010 - 4:42 pm
I took the 0041 English subject assessment (English Content Knowledge) three weeks ago and used this book as my primary means of study. While the first 150 pages provide a decent overview of literature, composition, and language, it is simply that–an overview. I think the measure of a good practice book for a standardized test is in how authentic the tests are. In this case, the tests were only vaguely similar to the actual Praxis. Too many of this book’s test questions focused on pedagogy while the bulk of the actual Praxis test that I took were focused on reading, identifying, and interpreting literature. (Yes, actually choosing which author had written a specific passage, though the passages were usually very widely known.) There were even some strange questions like: “Consider the following: “Everyone should bring their paper to the front of the room and begin working on the new assignment.” Which of the following statements about the sentence is true? A. The sentence is an example of diction. B. The sentence foreshadows what is to come. C. The setting of the writing is clearly a classroom for future police officers. D. The sentence is an analogy.” The blend of pedagogical purpose and literary devices in this question is totally confusing to me and no questions on the actual version of my Praxis test came close to this.
Fortunately, I invested $15 to obtain a retired version of this test through the ETS website. This test was MUCH more helpful because it was authentic. When I took this version, I realized that I needed to adjust my pacing more because the retired test had more reading passages than this REA Praxis book. On both of the REA tests, I finished with 25 minutes to spare. On the retired test, I used every moment that I had. In the testing setting, I was actually behind on my time.
In short, if you want an overview of these topics, this book could be helpful, but the retired Praxis tests on the ETS website are much more helpful and worth the cost.
Rating: 2 / 5