Every teacher needs to pass Praxis core exams before they can earn their teaching credentials. According to the ETS, these tests are written by fellow educators in order to ensure all new teachers understand the concepts that they’re expected to teach their students.

It can be tough to reach this stage in your education, but this last step doesn’t have to be a difficult one. There are many online Praxis prep courses that can help increase your chances of passing without spending a lot of money.

I’ve researched what’s currently available and found the best and most affordable Praxis practice tests, study guides, and other online materials.

The following Praxis prep courses are the best of the best. Each of them offers a great set of study materials that can dramatically increase your chances of passing on your first try.

See our course comparisons and study guide reviews below!

1. Magoosh Praxis Study Guide Materials

Magoosh best praxis study guide

Magoosh offers a great blend of video lessons and practice problems to create an effective self study course.

Magoosh Praxis Course Details

Magoosh’s course consists of several self study materials intended to prepare you for the Praxis core test. Most of your study time will be taken up by the video lessons and interactive practice tests. 

How Do You Magoosh?

Each video lesson covers a major course concept by breaking them down into smaller lessons. Those are then reinforced with a series of practice quizzes. On top of that, each practice question comes with a detailed video explanation for the answer.

There are 2 options when choosing a Magoosh course. The first is to take the math only option for $79. Doing so grants you access to 80 video lessons and 120 practice questions. Bear in mind that this option only prepares you for the math Praxis exam. Alternatively, you can pay for the $99 premium course and gain access to everything this course has to offer— which is what we recommend!

Magoosh Praxis Course Features

  • 6 Months of Access
  • 175 Video Lessons
  • 350 Practice Questions
  • Personalized Dashboard
  • Email Assistance From Tutors

Magoosh Pros & Cons

  • Video Lessons: Magoosh offers up to 175 video lessons. Each lesson makes complicated concepts easier to understand and approach through an engaging and easy to understand visual teaching style. Plus, they are available on demand, so you can watch and rewatch them whenever you like.
  • High Quality Questions: Every video lesson is reinforced by a set of practice test prep questions. Completing these helps you understand important concepts and is a great way to get used to the exam format ahead of time. That way, you can hit the ground running when it’s time to take the real thing!
  • Affordable:  One of Magoosh’s best points is how affordable their course is. Full access to all the materials only costs $99, which gives you 6 months of access to hundreds of practice problems. It’s the best Praxis prep course to prepare for the Praxis exam without having to break the bank.
Bottom Line: Magoosh is the best self study course on this list. Their blend of practice problems and video lessons will be more than enough to ensure you pass the test!

2. Kaplan Praxis Practice Tests Review

Kaplan praxis test prep

Kaplan helps their students learn test taking skills by giving them almost 20 full length practice tests.

Kaplan Course Details

Kaplan prepares you for the Praxis exam by asking you to complete a series of practice exams. These resources make it easy to get used to the format and content of the exam. You’re able to build test taking strategies ahead of time and test them on practice Praxis tests. Plus, you’ll easily identify and focus on areas you need additional help in.

Kaplan currently has 2 paid prep course options. The first is the standard Praxis test prep course for $399. Purchasing this gives you the online practice tests and video instruction. If you want a little more, the prep course plus option costs $499 and gives you an additional 7.5 hours of instruction based around the math foundations course. This is the best option if you struggle with math— it could even mean the difference between passing on your first try or having to retake the exam later.

Kaplan Praxis Course Features

  • 2,000+ Practice Questions
  • 19 Full Length Practice Exams
  • Kaplan Praxis Prep Book
  • Detailed Video Explanations
  • Hours of Praxis Video Instruction

Kaplan Pros & Cons

  • Practice Exams: Kaplan believes that the best way to learn is by doing. That’s why they give you 19 different practice tests to complete. Doing so ensures that you learn the test format and test concepts at the same time. That way you can enter the Praxis exams experienced and confident in your knowledge.
  • Bonus Prep Book: This course also comes with a bonus Praxis prep book. This book is a good self study resource for when you’re in between practice exams. Plus, it takes much less time to read a chapter, so you can easily fit study sessions into any breaks you have in your day.
  • No Live Content: Unfortunately, Kaplan doesn’t have any live course content included in their Praxis courses. That may not be a deal breaker if you prefer self study courses, but it’s still good to know before signing up.
Bottom Line: Kaplan is the best course for hands on testing experience. Check this one out if you want to learn extra test-taking strategies!

3. Teacher’s Test Prep Praxis Online Course

Teacher's Test Prep Praxis

Teacher’s Test Prep Praxis Course Details

First, Teacher’s Test Prep gives you a series of video tutoring sessions that walk through a practice exam. You’re then asked to complete written response sections that will be graded by professional graders. At the same time, you can access content summaries that will help you quickly learn and apply the knowledge of each course section.

Praxis, CSET, CBEST, and RICA Test Prep

Prices for this course are based on which practice test you plan on taking— but you’ll typically need to pay about $225 for a full course. Alternatively, you could pay extra for tutoring sessions, but availability for those is once again based on which test you take.

Teacher’s Test Prep Course Features

  • Core Videos & Slideshows
  • Test Tutoring Videos
  • Advanced Diagnostics
  • Written Response Feedback

Teacher’s Test Prep Pros & Cons

  • Free Tests: Teacher’s Test Prep offers a series of free practice tests for anyone uninterested in a full prep course. These are a great source of “extra credit” to supplement another course; you could also use them for last-minute study sessions.
  • Written Response Grading and Feedback: With this course, your work is reviewed and graded by an expert instructor. This is especially helpful when grading your written response questions; each one comes with excellent feedback from your professor about how to improve. That personal touch makes learning much easier here compared to programs that use automatic grading.
  • Limited Tutoring: Tutoring for this course is only available for the highest payment tier and is fairly limited. You’ll only receive 2 hours of tutoring per sub-test. In light of that, I’d recommend Magoosh or a different course if you feel you really need tutoring.
Bottom Line: Teacher’s Test Prep is a great resource for anyone who wants a more guided study experience.

4. Khan Academy Best Praxis Study Guides

Khan Academy praxis study guide

Khan Academy Praxis Course Details

Khan Academy is the first free course on this list. They prepare you for the exam by creating a personalized practice plan for you. Following this will ensure that you learn every aspect of the exam at a pace that’s comfortable for you. You’ll mainly learn via instructional videos and practice questions, and each question gives you immediate feedback after being completed.

Khan Academy accepts donations, but they don’t require them for access to their course. This makes them a decent supplement to one of the full-length courses lissted above.

Khan Academy Prep Course Features

  • Personal Practice Plan
  • Instructional Videos
  • Practice Exams
  • Immediate Feedback
  • Guaranteed Score Increase

Khan Academy Pros & Cons

  • Personalized Study Schedule: Each Khan Academy course starts by asking you to complete a quick diagnostic test. Doing so shows your instructors what areas you know and where you need some extra help. They can then use that information to build a study schedule tailored to your specific needs.
  • Video Answer Explanations: After each lesson, you’ll be able to watch an additional video where your instructor works through a few practice problems related to the lesson. They’ll explain what they’re doing during every step of the process and ensure that all information is conveyed visually. It’s a great way to improve your understanding of each problem type on the actual exam!
  • No Live Content: This is entirely a self study course— there’s no live content and no way to contact your professors for additional help. That’s understandable considering the free nature of the program, but still a little disappointing.
Bottom Line: Since this course doesn’t cost anything, it’s highly recommended that you try it out. However, you shouldn’t expect something as robust as Magoosh so it might be smarter to use both if you want the best test prep experience.

5. Urban Teachers Praxis Practice Exams

Urban Teachers praxis study guide

Urban Teachers Praxis Course Details

Just like Khan Academy, Urban Teachers offers a free Praxis course. However, it’s only based on the Praxis Core Math exam. To start, they ask you to participate in a personalized assessment. From there, they can focus on the content areas where you need the most help. Thanks to that, you’re always working on shoring up your weaknesses.

As stated before, this course is completely free. However, if you feel helped by this course you can donate to the site.

Urban Teachers Praxis Course Features

  • Video and Text Lessons
  • Practice Exams
  • Free Course Content
  • Personalized Assessment

Urban Teachers Pros & Cons

  • Qualified Instructors: All the instructors at Urban Teachers have a Master’s degree at minimum. Additionally, they have several years of experience as a teacher, making them experts in education that are uniquely qualified to teach you these concepts.
  • State Specific Course: Unlike other courses, Urban Teachers actually provide course info related to state specific teaching requirements. That way you don’t need to try and fit more general knowledge into your Praxis test; you’ll be learning exactly what you need to know at all times.
  • Math Only: Urban Teachers currently only provides Math prep for the Praxis Core exam. Anyone interested in other subjects will need to look elsewhere for the training that they need. Still, this is a good course if you’re focused on a career in math.
Bottom Line: Urban Teachers is a good resource if you’re looking for some extra help on the math section of the Praxis exam. I wouldn’t recommend solely using this course unless you only need extra help on that specific portion of the test.

Praxis Exam FAQs

Q: What happens if I fail the Praxis exam?

A: If you fail the test, you are welcome to retake it 21 days later. There is no limit to the number of attempts you can take.

Q: How much does the Praxis test cost?

A: The Praxis test costs $150. Individual subject assessments range from $50 to $199.

Kenneth W. Boyd is a former Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and the author of several of the popular "For Dummies" books published by John Wiley & Sons including 'CPA Exam for Dummies' and 'Cost Accounting for Dummies'.

Ken has gained a wealth of business experience through his previous employment as a CPA, Auditor, Tax Preparer and College Professor. Today, Ken continues to use those finely tuned skills to educate students as a professional writer and teacher.