What Level of Math is Tested on the Praxis?

If you are taking the Praxis Core, you are probably wondering about the level of math on the Praxis. The short answer is that the Math subtest of the Praxis Core tests you on all the math you should have learned before beginning college. Even though you may only be teaching elementary level math, you will still be tested on high school graduate level math.

Four Subsections of Praxis Core Math

There are four major content areas covered in the Praxis Core Math test. Thirty percent (30%) of the questions cover “Number and Quantity.” Thirty percent (30%) of the questions cover “Algebra and Functions.” Twenty percent (20%) of the questions cover “Geometry.” Twenty percent (20%) of the questions cover “Statistics and Probability.”

You might be a little worried if, say, you haven’t really thought about geometry since 9th grade. I understand! Remember, the level of math on the Praxis is high school graduate. If you learned and passed once, you just need to go back and refresh your memory. ETS has a completely free online guide to the Praxis Core, so you can read up on all the different math content areas to familiarize yourself. For now, I’ll give you the overview.

Level of Math on Praxis Core “Number and Quantity” Content Area

According to ETS, the content in Number and Quantity emphasizes, “the understanding of order among integers, representation of a number in more than one way, place value, properties of whole numbers, equivalent computational procedures, ratio, proportion, and percent.” So, this section includes ratios, fractions, multiplications and division and order of operations, radicals, and exponents, among other topics.

Level of Math on Praxis Core “Algebra and Functions” Content Area

Here is what ETS says about Algebra and Functions questions: “Algebra assesses the ability to handle equations and inequalities, recognition of various ways to solve a problem, relationship between verbal and symbolic expressions, and graphs. Functions questions test the knowledge of basic function definitions and the relationship between the domain and range of any given functions.” So this section contains questions on topics including algebraic equations and solving algebraic equations, linear equations, solving one-variable equations and inequalities, solving equations graphically, and building functions.

Level of Math on Praxis Core “Geometry” Content Area

ETS says, “Geometry assesses the understanding and application of the characteristics and properties of geometric shapes, the Pythagorean theorem, transformation, and use of symmetry to analyze mathematical situations. Knowledge of basic U.S. customary and metric systems of measurement is assumed.” So, you’ll need to know about circles, right triangles, congruence and similarity, geometric measurement and dimension, and modeling with geometry.

Level of Math on Praxis Core “Statistics and Probability” Content Area

According to ETS, “Statistics and Probability assesses the ability to read and interpret visual display of quantitative information, understand the correspondence between data and graph, make inferences from a given data display, determine mean, median, and mode, and assign a probability to an outcome.” So, make sure you know how to interpret a graph, calculate mean, median and mode for a data set, and determine probability. You should also know the basics of statistical variability and distributions.

Check out our archive of Praxis Math resources while you brush up. Your knowledge will be up to the level of math on the Praxis in no time!