Praxis Review Tips
General Thoughts
Take the PLT after completing Multicultural Education and Exceptional Children. Take the PLT exam while that material is still fresh.
Keep your notebooks from Study of the School, Exceptional Children and Educational Psychology; Pay special attention to the common professional vocabulary used in education;
Take the PTL and Music content exams on different days.
Do spend time reviewing and preparing to take the exam. Our library has study guides for use in preparing for the exam. Use them. You can also find free study materials on the ETS website (see LibGuides); Review over a two month period. Do not cram.
When reviewing, focus on your weak areas first. Perhaps brass fingerings are not crystal clear for you.
Not everything will be covered in class; Be resourceful; Think like a professional in your field.
When taking the test, remember that unanswered questions are considered wrong. It is helpful to take a watch (not a phone, a watch!) to keep track of time and pace yourself.
Specific Topic Suggestions
Methods class materials: Fingerings, slide positions. Know the material from your methods courses;
Styles review: Know your eras of music history (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, etc); Be able to sort a listening example into an era of music history; Be able to identify the era of a work from a score example; Know the pivotal performers in Jazz history, i.e. the most influential drummers, sax players, band leaders, piano players etc; There will be some analysis of chords;
Error detection: Listen and find the error while reading a score; select the correct chord being played; figure out the type of bowing being used by a string player; Know your transpositions and be able to transpose parts to the correct sounding pitch while reading a score;
Technology: Be able to determine the best file choice for a video file or for an audio file or MIDI files; facts about tuners; Best techniques for amplifying or recording an ensemble and what equipment to use;
Professional organizations: MENC, ACDA, ASTA
Legal Issues: Information concerning copyright; Fair use rules
Literature review: Know the most important publishers in each area of music education; Know the important arrangers and the arrangers that specialize in styles of music such as marching band, gospel, alternative styles of string music; Go to major publishing websites, such as Hal Leonard and look at the newest releases to see who the important names are for each area;