English (Grades 5–9). Reading, language and writing for teachers of English in the middle grades. The test is
computer delivered and runs for 3 hours: 75
selected-response — choose one answer.
Consistent with the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and the NCTE position statements.
IReading and Literature25 questions · 34%
Understand how the elements of fiction — plot, setting, character, conflict, theme and point of view — work together to produce meaning
Analyze how a writer's choices of words, sentences and images create meaning and effect in fiction and narrative nonfiction
Read poetry as poetry: analyze line, stanza, sound, meter, compression and ambiguity instead of paraphrasing the poem as prose
Read drama and film as written texts, using stage directions, dialogue, subtext and the visual and auditory elements of film
Analyze informational and expository texts — main idea, supporting details, text structure, author's purpose and text features
Evaluate the argument in an informational text — claims, evidence, reasoning, logical fallacies and source credibility
IILanguage18 questions · 24%
Identify parts of speech and grammatical function in context, and explain why the same word can change class
Analyze sentence structure — subjects and predicates, phrases and clauses, agreement, and combining sentences without fragments or run-ons
Apply the conventions of standard written English — capitalization, punctuation and usage — and separate real errors from stylistic preferences
Determine word meaning in context — literal and figurative senses, denotation and connotation, context clues, multiple meanings and specialized vocabulary
Analyze word structure and word relationships — roots, prefixes, suffixes, word families, and synonyms and antonyms including gradations
Identify and analyze figurative language — simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, understatement, oxymoron, pun and allusion — and explain the effect each creates
IIIWriting20 questions · 26%
Establish purpose, audience and task constraints before writing, and match the product to them
Organize ideas with an arguable thesis, logical claims and paragraph structures chosen to suit the purpose
Apply the recursive writing process — planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing — to produce a finished product
Select and integrate evidence that is relevant, reliable and sufficient, and explain what each piece shows
Conduct research, evaluate and synthesize sources, and credit them through citation and a works cited list
Distinguish revision from editing and proofreading, and apply revision strategies to meaning, structure and word choice
IVTeaching English Language Arts12 questions · 16%
Select and use core ELA instructional approaches, including explicit instruction, gradual release, balanced literacy and workshop structures
Plan and conduct academic discussion using higher-order questions, purposeful structures and accountable talk routines
Select and evaluate instructional materials for a purpose and a mixed group of readers, including scaffolds, media and multimodal texts
Distinguish diagnostic, formative, summative and benchmark assessment, and judge assessment by validity, reliability and fairness
Differentiate instruction for a mixed-ability middle-grades classroom while holding the learning target constant
Use formative results and feedback to regroup, reteach and support revision, and build student ownership of the process
About the outline above. These titles are
written against ETS's publicly documented content outline for the
5234; they are a faithful reconstruction, not ETS text. No ETS
sample questions are reproduced for this exam, and every item in the app is
labelled Authored. Verify the current test specification on ETS's own
page before you register.
What test day is actually like
If you have not sat a Middle Level English test before, the part that
unnerves people is usually not the content. It is not knowing what you are
walking into. Here is the actual shape of it.
75Questions
3 hoursTime limit
Computer DeliveredDelivery
Not permittedCalculator
Selected-response — choose one answerFormat
That works out to about 2 minutes 24 seconds per question.It is the pacing, not the difficulty, that catches people out. Most
candidates lose marks by grinding one hard item and running out of time
on easy ones later. Answer the ones you know first, mark the rest, and
come back with whatever is left.
The content is split into 4 sections, weighted
like this:
Reading and Literature25 questions, 34% of the test
Language18 questions, 24% of the test
Writing20 questions, 26% of the test
Teaching English Language Arts12 questions, 16% of the test
What Praxis Studio gives you for 5234
45 practice questions covering every competency on the outline, with explanations for right and wrong answers.
A worked curriculum for all 24 competencies: key terms, worked examples, and the traps the exam is known for.
A self-test that reports accuracy per competency, not one opaque number.
Progress you can actually see, broken down by content category so you know what to study next.
Offline and mobile. Install to your home screen; it works without a connection.
Open source under MIT, so the content and the scoring logic can be checked by anyone.
How to actually study for this
The research on how people learn is consistent on one point: the method
that works best is the one that feels least like studying. It is also the one
anxious test-takers skip, which is why the practice here is built to be easy
to start and impossible to fail.
Do not just reread.Reading over material feels like studying and is the weakest use of your time. Recognition is not recall, and the exam asks you to recall.
Answer questions from memory, then check.Retrieval practice, meaning self-testing, is one of the best-evidenced study methods there is. It beats rereading, restudying, and rereading your notes.
Read the explanation either way.Right or wrong, the explanation is where the learning happens. Wrong answers especially: those are the ones you got lucky on.
Come back tomorrow.Spacing beats cramming. The same hour split across five days is worth more than five hours on one night.
Sit one timed run before test day.Full length, timed, no pausing. Pacing is a skill and it is learned by doing, not by thinking about doing.
One reassurance worth having. Practice questions in this app are not the
real exam, and your score on them is not your Praxis score. Use them to find
the competencies you do not know yet. That is the whole job.
Praxis 5234 Middle Level English: questions and answers
How many questions are on the Praxis Middle Level English (5234) exam?
The official test is 75 questions in 3 hours. Selected-response — choose one answer. It is computer delivered, and a calculator is not permitted. Praxis Studio is built against that exact structure.
How many free practice questions does Praxis Studio have for 5234?
45 questions for this exam: 0 transcribed from ETS and 45 written against the official content outline, every one labelled in the app so you always know which is which. All 24 competencies on the outline have at least one question.
What content does the Praxis 5234 exam cover?
It is divided into 4 content categories: Reading and Literature (34%), Language (24%), Writing (26%), Teaching English Language Arts (16%). The full competency outline is listed on this page and is broken down, taught and quizzed inside the app.
Is Praxis Studio really free? Is there a paywall?
Yes, and permanently. There is no account, no trial, no card and no premium tier. Progress is stored in your own browser. Signing in is optional and only adds cross-device sync.
Is this official ETS material?
No. Praxis Studio is an independent, open-source project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by ETS. This exam’s outline is a reconstruction from ETS’s public content description, so no ETS text or sample questions are reproduced. Buy the official Study Companion and the free practice test you receive with test registration straight from ETS if you want the authoritative version.
Can I use it offline or on my phone?
Yes. It installs to the home screen on iOS and Android and runs offline via a service worker. Progress lives in local storage, so there is nothing to sign into and nothing to lose if you clear the app.
Can I see how I am doing by competency?
Yes. The Progress tab breaks your accuracy down by competency and content category, so it is clear which part of the outline to study next rather than just your overall percentage.
Does it use AI, and do I need an API key?
Ms. Kaya is an optional in-app tutor that is scoped to whichever competency you are reading, so it answers against the real outline instead of generic study advice. It is entirely optional: every question, explanation and self-test works without it. Bring your own key if you want to use it.