Library Media Specialist Praxis
September 2011
Praxis Test series
• Licensure – assuring the public that the person
holding the license has demonstrated level of
competence in their profession
• Money grab
School Library Media Specialist Test
• Library Media Specialist (0311)
• Covers key concepts that school librarians
need to know to do their job
• Comprehensive exam – covers all you have
learned during the program (and beyond)
• Score above the state required minimum
score to pass (140)
For SLMA Endorsement
• Submit your score to USU (Terri Gass)
• Submit your score to State Office of Education
• Put it on there now (doing this later may cost
you $40)
Resources
• SLMA course notes
• ALA Website!!
• Teaching course notes, and …
Another resource: Praxis Wiki
• This Wiki was started by us last year
• Students have contributed
• If you end up using it please spend some time
contributing links that you found
• Share the love! 
• http://schoollibrarianpraxis.wikispaces.com/
CONTENT AREAS
Content areas
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Program Administration (18%)
Collection Development (21%)
Information Access and Delivery (21%)
Learning and Teaching (28%)
Professional Development, Leadership, and
advocacy (12%)
Program Administration
• Organization, administration, and evaluation
of the library media center
• Management
• Policies and procedures
Collection Development
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Selecting and maintaining resources
Acquiring resources
Organizing resources
Circulating resources
Information Access and Delivery
• Knowledge of information resources and their
uses
Learning and Teaching
• Knowledge of literature
• Curriculum development and integration
• Instructional design
Professional Development
• Professional organizations
• Leadership and advocacy
QUESTIONS
The questions
• 120 questions – 2 hours = 1 minute per
question
• Multiple choice – 5 answer choices
• Question types
Type: Which of the following…
Type: NOT; LEAST; EXCEPT
Type: Complete the statement
Type: Roman numeral choices
Type: Unknown or new formats
• Read the question very carefully and make
sure you understand its purpose
Answering Strategies
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Read the question very carefully
Underline the important parts
Do not panic
Think logically
Make best guess
Skip harder questions to come back to later
PREPARING FOR AND SCHEDULING
YOUR TEST
Educational Testing Service
• http://www.ets.org/praxis/prepare/materials/
0311
– Test at a Glance
– Reducing Test Anxiety
– General Information and Study Tips
EEJCEHS Contact
• Terri Gass
From those who went before you…
• I really appreciated the wiki links you had for
study aids. I used the one that had the
flashcards that someone had created. I
printed them all out and took them wherever I
went. I studied them at softball games,
meetings and whenever I had the chance. In
retrospect, that was the best thing to study.
• It was a little frustrating because so many of
the questions seemed to be more opinion
based. A good portion of them were like, "all
of the answers are correct. However, choose,
the answer that is MOST correct." I felt like
even if I had the test and the internet handy, I
wouldn't have even been able to look up the
answer.
• The actual test was worded more difficult than
I had anticipated. I thought since they were all
multiple choice, I would be able to pull apart
the question and be able to somewhat come
up with the answer using the deductive
reasoning but I was wrong. I did however pass
so I was glad I studied sufficiently.
• There were things I was hoping wouldn't be
on the test but were such as court cases,
authors and a few scenarios about slm
management.
• I have taken two Praxis tests, the English and the
SLM and both were very different. Where the
English one consisted of fact-based answers (e.g.,
they would have grammar questions, things
about poetic meters and devices, a passage from
a novel, then ask who the author was, etc.), the
SLM test seemed based more on questions such
as: Collaboration is a good thing. Out of the
answers below, choose the way a librarian can
best connect with colleagues. Kind of a vague
example, but the whole point is that there were
many things that were not cut and dry (all of the
answers could technically be correct, one is just
more correct than the others). So, my
recommendation is that you study and discuss
with somebody else and just do a lot of talking.
• Overall, the Praxis is not necessarily
something to stress about, but it is definitely
something that should be studied for.
In short…
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Nothing to fear
Do your homework, read class materials
Take good notes
Use resources to prepare for the test
Study together
• And you should be all set!
• Good luck!