Praxis Mathematics Content Knowledge 5161 Study Guide 2018-2019: Praxis II Math 5161 Exam Prep and Practice Test Questions

I haven't yet taken the praxis test for this subject. I plan to take it in July 2018. Based on what I've seen, the content is very good. It seems very comprehensive, sometimes more than I hoped for. LOL. However, that is what this exam is about and testing one's competency and breadth on this subject. I have perused the ets website, which details the content and subjects covered on the exam, and this study guide seems to cover all that is listed. Lots of examples and good explanation (most important) on how to solve these problems and understanding them, which is the point. I have discovered minor errors or mistakes, just minor. For example, when I tried to graph a quadratic equation (parabola), and plugged the values in, parts of the illustration (their solution), were slightly off, causing me to doubt my answer or solution. However, other parts of the graph were consistent with mine. I think it's just a simple graphing mistake and things may have been drawn very quickly not to scale, it was close though. However, if you're new or rusty to this material, it may cause one to doubt themselves. That being said, pretty minor. You can always ask questions. It does appear that this is first release of this guide. We're all human and even computers make mistakes, if they're not programmed correctly or with the right algorithms. This material overall seems to be fairly rigorous for most, considering the content. But, wouldn't you want it that way if you really want to teach by caring about your students and their success and understanding,and not just get a pay check. My reasons right now for not five stars (although I think the content is deserving): I haven't taken the exam yet, so I don't know for sure how appropriate this guide is (although I believe it will be. I bought it and am using it as the main source for my study, although I use other material (online) as well. Secondly, small errors (just small) in the guide like some graphs not completely accurate (which is ok, but can be confusing for those of us who are rusty or new to this causing one to doubt themselves. I plan to repost sometime after I take the exam and receive my test scores. The rating very well could change as well.I recommend buying this guide. I think it's very thorough and comprehensive.

I do recommend getting a practice book before you take PRAXIS, as it does cover many topics you might have forgotten. Reading through this book and doing the sample problems were helpful. The questions were not necessarily similar to the test, but it did remind me about several formulas and theorems I had forgotten. If you're going to be a math teacher, the topics should come back to you easily and you can work through the book fairly quickly. With that being said, I found many typos and some mathematical errors in this book. Either coding or printing went wrong because several mathematical symbols were also just boxes with X's instead of the actual symbol. Luckily, I know math so it wasn't too big of an issue. However, due to this and the errors I found, it is clear that these problems could be fixed with some basic editing and proofreading. The 60 question test in the back will help you recall the formulas and theorems you need to know, but it will not give you an adequate representation of PRAXIS. So, I recommend you buy this book, work through it, but buy the actual practice tests from ETS and take those for a more adequate representation of the test.

I am using the materials now to study for the Exam. I like the explanation on the answer key how they got the answer.

5 for content: this book covers what it is supposed to.2 for typesetting of mathematical text: basic fraction and exponent text us correctly displayed. There was a Glock in the printing for matrix and complex fraction text, so these don't display properly. The reader has to figure out what it is supposed to be. 3 for strategies. This book outlines common US standard algorithms and does not include strategic ways of reasoning through problems. This is not a bad thing. However, it promotes algorithm following as opposed to sense making and reasoning. One would hope people studying to be high school math teachers can reason well about ideas, so this shouldn't trip anyone up. However, the book as written does not foster the development of strategic reasoning.

I feel like this book has a lot of content, but what it's lacking is explanation. I think the practice test is on par with the actual Praxis test too, but without the understanding of why something was the way it was I was left not understanding a lot of the material. More explanations of what was going on and why and I would have given more stars. If you know all the content already and just need practice, this book is for you. If you need understanding and guidance, seek out some other source.

Even though I failed this test....needed about 4 more correct questions, this was a good study guide. In fact, I bought the same guide for both the middle school math Praxis and the English general knowledge one, both of which I passed on the first attempt. I would supplement with some other study aid though, as this exam is a bear!! Good luck everyone!

This book was nearly useless. I read every word of this book and failed the exam by 12 points - So much for passing the first time!The test is very theoretical and this book is very concrete. In other words the book gives you examples to complete while the test asks you questions about unknown examples. It will say “a function has this and this component, what is kind of function.” And the this book has you practice solving these functions.The only reason I’m not giving it 1 star is because there were some helpful hints in the book. But I would not recommend this book to anyone studying for this exam.

A few errors and character problems, but I found it to have information that is easier to understand than the black and yellow book I have previously used.