THANK YOU all so much for taking the time to respond. I appreciate it!
There were quite a few requests for a HIT, so here they are.
Original question:
I am preparing to take the PRAXIS exam for school library science
certification next week. I am currently a library media specialist working
in a k-7 school. If you have taken the PRAXIS recently, I'd love some
advice on what to study or areas I should read more about. I have a copy of
Information Power, but in the short amount of time I have to prepare I
probably won't have time to re-read the whole thing. Is there an online
study guide? I searched the ETS site and couldn't find one. How specific
are the questions? Should I brush up on my cataloging? I'd appreciate any
and all ideas. If there is interest, I'll post a HIT.
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This is a site that I used when I studied for the Praxis in Sept. I found
that many of the items listed were on the exam. There wasn't really a lot
from Information power, the items that were on mine were fairly specific:
http://attila.net.ecu.edu/talk/lsit/comments/praxis/thread.cfm?threadid=27#79-0
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I took it a couple of years ago and recall that there
were a lot of court cases on it. I am attaching the
notes I made AFTER taking it on the cases mentioned
then. I did pass with flying colors even though I was unsure
of a couple of them. {note: this attachment didn't come through, but I am
working on it :-) }
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Get the ETS review book- there is one book with all the exams in it- for
administrators-principals, guidance and library-all in one- look on their
web site- it isn't specifically called Library Media but rather something
like Administration-sorry I forget the exact name but you will see it. You
can also take a 10 question practice test on the web site which is also
similar to the exam. I don't remember any detailed questions on cataloging
besides maybe knowing what MARC stands for. I do remember questions asking
what is found in the ALA Freedom to Read and the Library Bill of Rights (see
the appendix of Library Power)- since the test is multiple choice and it
included both as choices, it is a good idea to know the difference. I
remember it is a pretty straight forward test and it asked the same
questions multiple times- a quick review of Information Power is helpful and
probably all you need to do. Just remember the basic ideas- like open,
flexible access to the library; collaboration; the nine general information
literacy standards. You don't need to memorize since it is a multiple choice
test. Good luck- when in doubt-just use common sense to get the answer.
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Things I remember from the Praxis:
ALA Award Questions such as what award fits what reading age and genre
Landmark Lawsuits pertaining to Freedom of Speech/Right to Read
Absolutely re-read Info Power-Many questions are situations that you would
solve by using the concepts from Info Power.
I only had one cataloging question pertaining to a form of cataloging.
Specific Author Questions
A few reference questions pertaining to what source to use in a specific
situation
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Here is the url to the praxis information for Tennessee. You will find
example
questions for the school media part of the test.
http://www.ets.org/praxis/prxtn.html#whomust
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I took the praxis this summer, but here is what I can remember:
1. KNOW info power. If it is the only thing you do between now and the
test, read it again.
2. I had very few cataloging questions - maybe 2. One was knowing what
MARC stands for
3. I had a lot of questions about collection development
4. I had about 10 questions that were like this: a question with four
answers. You had to choose (multi choice): A. 1 and 2, B. 1, 2, and 3, C. 2
and 3, etc. Those were awful! My suggestion is to pick the best answer, not
the most realistic. These questions seemed to be idealistic more than
anything else.
5. I also had a few general questions about computers. One I remember was if
you turn on your computer and get a disk error (not the exact term) what is
the problem? Answer: there is a floppy in the drive.
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I took the PRAXIS last March and got a good score on it. I've taught for 25
years, none of them as a librarian, most of them as an elementary reading
specialist, and at the time I took the test I had completed only 5 courses
toward my MLS. I didn't find the test to be that difficult. Don't waste
your time worrying about cataloging - I hadn't even had a cataloging course
yet and had absolutely no experience in cataloging at all, any questions
they may ask in that area are very, very basic. Nothing as specific as what
Dewey numbers go with what subjects or anything. You need to know something
about legal cases affecting patron privacy issues and censorship, but just
the basic ones. There were several fairly easy questions about learning
styles and Bloom's Taxonomy, where you'd find certain information in a book,
etc. If you've completed your coursework with relative success, I doubt
you'll have much trouble with the test. Experience in your job will help as
well. It's been awhile, so I'm sorry I don't remember more specifics.
The scoring is broken into 5 areas - program administration, collection
development, information access and delivery, learning and teaching, and
professional development, leadership, and advocacy. They like to give you
scenarios and ask what the best decision or action would be - some of the
questions are tricky, so think about them carefully, but they're not really
that hard.
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took the Praxis last year. When I took the test, it seemed like Information
Power was the biggest focus for the test, especially the materials in the
appendices. Almost everyone I knew taking the test walked out of the test
feeling like it was pretty difficult because it does ask some pretty
specific questions (I remember some questions specific to court cases,
etc.), but when results were sent out, everyone was pleasantly surprised,
passing well beyond the score required in our state (MN).
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I would advise that you check the LM_NET archives. There are some excellent
study guides where LM_NET members have previously posted the answer to your
question.
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Again, thanks so much for the help and GOOD LUCK to all who will be taking
it soon!
~Carrie
Carrie R. Higgins, LMS
Wissahickon Charter School
Philadelphia, PA
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