What I write about
The Para Exam
How the Praxis ParaPathways is built, how its two subtests are scored, and what actually moves a score. Written from the blueprint.
4 postsThe Para Career
Getting hired, doing the work well, and using the role as a route into teaching. Written for people already in the building.
6 postsDistrict Hiring
Why districts lose paras, what retention actually costs, and how to qualify the people already on your payroll.
9 posts
More posts
- 02
Can a Paraprofessional Teach a Lesson?
The teacher steps out and twenty six kids look at you. Whether you can run the lesson is not about skill, and the answer is more useful than yes or no.
- 03
Does HIPAA Apply to School Staff?
Paras get told to be careful because of HIPAA. In a public school that usually is not the law covering you, and the real one is stricter about your day.
- 04
How Texas Districts Hire Paraprofessionals at Scale
Texas publishes no statewide para exam score. Each district sets its own, so hiring at scale means deciding that standard once instead of campus by campus.
- 05
Is It Burnout, or Is It the Job?
Not every hard week is burnout, and treating the two the same is why the advice never helps. How to tell which one you are in, and what each one needs.
- 06
What Do You Do When the Teacher Says No?
You raised something about a student, carefully, and the answer was no. What happens next is the part nobody prepares paraprofessionals for.
- 07
Which Part of an IEP Is the Para Responsible For?
A student's plan can run thirty pages. Almost none of it is yours to carry, and knowing which part is changes how useful you are by Tuesday.
- 08
Why Does My Small Group Fall Apart?
Six kids, twelve minutes, one of you. When a group comes apart it is almost never about control, and the fix is structural rather than personal.
- 09
ParaPathways 5758 and 5759: What Each One Tests
ParaPathways is two separately scored subtests, not one exam, and most candidates never see what each one actually measures until game day.
- 10
Georgia's Para Exam Isn't a Praxis Test at All
Georgia qualifies paraprofessionals on the GACE Paraprofessional Assessment, not Praxis, and that changes how a multi-state employer should recruit.
- 11
Why Para Exam Results Vary School by School
The same district can see one building's paraprofessionals qualify at a very different rate than another's, and the gap is usually about access, not aptitude.
- 12
How to Study for the Para Exam When You Work All Day
A study plan built for a full-time student will not survive your actual schedule. Here is one built for a tired evening instead.
- 13
Transcript Verification Versus an Afternoon of Testing
Verifying transcripts for the credit-hour route can take weeks of registrar back and forth. A qualifying exam closes the same question in an afternoon.
- 14
An Acceptance Deadline Isn't the Exam Retiring
A state "acceptance deadline" decides which old test scores that state will still take, not whether an exam is ending, and the two get confused constantly.
- 15
Where Paras Actually Lose the Math Section
The math section isn't where most paras lack ability. It's where a ticking clock and procedures nobody has touched since school cost the points.
- 16
Which Para Exam Does Your State Actually Use?
There is no single para exam. Here is the ten minute check that tells you which one your state and your district actually require.
- 17
Why Candidates Ghost After a Conditional Offer
A conditional offer that hinges on a qualifying exam is where recruiting ends and the real risk to your hiring timeline begins.
- 18
Your Para Exam Requirement Isn't a State Mandate
A state can publish a cut score or publish nothing, but the decision to actually test a candidate is made at the district level, not the state's.
- 19
Your State May Not Use ParaPathways at All
HR teams plan around one para exam. There are five different things a state can require, and knowing which one yours uses changes your hiring timeline.
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