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100+ Free Praxis Special Education: Severe to Profound Practice Questions

Pass your Praxis Special Education: Core Knowledge and Severe to Profound Applications (5545) exam on the first try — instant access, no signup required.

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Discrete trial training (DTT) consists of which sequence?

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2026 Statistics

Key Facts: Praxis Special Education: Severe to Profound Exam

90 + 3

Selected-Response + Integrated Constructed-Response Questions

ETS Praxis 5545 test page

2 hours

Total Testing Time

ETS Praxis 5545 test page

$146

Praxis 5545 Test Fee

ETS Praxis fees

~177

ETS Median Score (states set the cut score)

ETS Praxis score data

100

Free Practice Questions In This Bank

OpenExamPrep

CEC

Largely Based On CEC Professional Preparation Standards

ETS Praxis 5545 test page

ETS lists Praxis 5545 as a 2-hour test with 90 selected-response questions plus 3 integrated constructed-response questions, largely based on the CEC Professional Preparation Standards. ETS does not set a single qualifying score; states set their own cut scores, and the ETS median is about 177. This free bank provides 100 selected-response practice items across all six content areas, with the integrated constructed-response section represented as applied scenario and case items.

Sample Praxis Special Education: Severe to Profound Practice Questions

Try these sample questions to test your Praxis Special Education: Severe to Profound exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.

1A profound intellectual disability is generally associated with adaptive functioning that requires which level of support?
A.Pervasive support across most or all daily living domains
B.Intermittent support during transitions only
C.Limited support in a few life-skill areas
D.No ongoing support once skills are taught
Explanation: Profound intellectual disability is characterized by very significant limitations in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills, so the AAIDD support model indicates pervasive supports—high-intensity assistance across nearly all life domains and settings, often lifelong.
2Deaf-blindness as a disability category under IDEA is best described as:
A.Total absence of both vision and hearing in all cases
B.Concomitant hearing and visual impairments causing severe communication and developmental needs
C.A hearing impairment that develops after a visual impairment
D.A processing disorder affecting auditory and visual memory
Explanation: Under IDEA, deaf-blindness means concomitant hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which causes such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that the student cannot be appropriately served in programs for deafness or blindness alone. Most individuals have some residual vision or hearing.
3A student with severe autism demonstrates limited joint attention and few spontaneous communicative initiations. This profile most directly indicates a need for:
A.Acceleration into grade-level academic content
B.Removal of all visual supports to encourage speech
C.Systematic communication intervention, including AAC consideration
D.A focus solely on reducing stereotypic behavior
Explanation: Limited joint attention and few spontaneous initiations signal complex communication needs. Best practice is systematic communication intervention paired with consideration of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) so the student has an effective means to express wants, needs, and ideas.
4Cerebral palsy is most accurately classified as which type of impairment for educational eligibility purposes?
A.A specific learning disability
B.An emotional disturbance
C.A speech-language impairment only
D.An orthopedic (physical) impairment affecting movement and posture
Explanation: Cerebral palsy is a group of permanent disorders of movement and posture caused by non-progressive injury to the developing brain. It is generally served under the orthopedic (physical) impairment category, though associated needs (communication, cognition) may also be present.
5Which statement best reflects current understanding of presuming competence in students with severe and profound disabilities?
A.Assume the student can learn and provide access to communication and instruction accordingly
B.Assume the least until tested capacity is documented
C.Limit instruction to self-care until cognitive testing improves
D.Withhold AAC until the student demonstrates intent through speech
Explanation: Presuming competence (the least dangerous assumption) means educators assume the student is capable of learning and provide robust access to communication, instruction, and the general curriculum. Acting on low assumptions can deny opportunities and become a self-fulfilling limitation.
6A student with a profound disability has a g-tube and requires repositioning every two hours. These are best described as:
A.Disciplinary considerations
B.Health and physical-management needs requiring related services and a care plan
C.Reasons to exclude the student from general education
D.Optional supports the family may decline without documentation
Explanation: Gastrostomy-tube feeding and scheduled repositioning are health and physical-management needs. They typically require related services (e.g., school nursing), staff training, and an individualized health/care plan integrated with the IEP to ensure safety and access.
7Cortical visual impairment (CVI) differs from ocular visual impairment primarily because CVI:
A.Is caused by damage to the eye structures themselves
B.Cannot improve with intervention
C.Results from brain-based processing of visual information rather than eye damage
D.Always co-occurs with total blindness
Explanation: Cortical (cerebral) visual impairment results from damage to or atypical development of the visual pathways and visual processing areas of the brain, not the eyes. Functional vision often varies by environment and can improve with systematic intervention.
8Which of the following is the most common cause of intellectual disability in the severe-to-profound range that is also preventable?
A.Down syndrome
B.Fragile X syndrome
C.Phenylketonuria with treatment
D.Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
Explanation: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder results from prenatal alcohol exposure and is fully preventable by avoiding alcohol during pregnancy. It is a leading preventable cause of intellectual and developmental disability with effects ranging across the severity spectrum.
9A learner with multiple disabilities exhibits sensorimotor-stage cognitive behaviors. The most appropriate instructional emphasis is:
A.Contingency awareness, cause-effect, and object permanence within functional routines
B.Abstract symbolic reasoning tasks
C.Independent silent reading comprehension
D.Algebraic problem solving with manipulatives
Explanation: When a learner functions at the sensorimotor level, instruction should build foundational cognitive behaviors—contingency awareness, cause-and-effect, anticipation, and object permanence—embedded in motivating, functional routines and activities the student can act on.
10Self-determination for students with severe disabilities is best supported when teachers:
A.Make all decisions to protect the student
B.Embed choice-making and preference expression into daily routines
C.Postpone self-determination instruction until after high school
D.Limit choices to avoid challenging behavior
Explanation: Self-determination begins early and at all ability levels. Embedding frequent, meaningful choice-making and preference expression into daily routines builds autonomy, communication, and engagement and is associated with better post-school outcomes.

About the Praxis Special Education: Severe to Profound Exam

Praxis Special Education: Core Knowledge and Severe to Profound Applications (5545) is the ETS subject assessment used by many states to license special educators who serve students with significant, low-incidence disabilities. It targets severe-to-profound intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, severe autism, deaf-blindness, and orthopedic/physical and health impairments, emphasizing AAC, systematic instruction, functional and community-based curriculum, alternate assessment, and IDEA/CEC professional foundations.

Assessment

90 selected-response + 3 integrated constructed-response (official ETS); this practice bank is 100 selected-response items

Time Limit

2 hours

Passing Score

Varies by state (ETS median ~177)

Exam Fee

$146 (ETS (Educational Testing Service))

Praxis Special Education: Severe to Profound Exam Content Outline

~17%

Development and Characteristics of Learners

Characteristics and etiology of severe-to-profound and low-incidence disabilities, presuming competence, presymbolic communication, sensory/motor needs, and self-determination.

~18%

Planning and the Learning Environment

IEP and PLAAFP, measurable goals, LRE and placement, UDL, ecological inventories, functional curriculum, accessible/positioned environments, and transition and person-centered planning.

~18%

Instruction

Task analysis, prompting and fading, time delay, discrete trial training, errorless learning, chaining, shaping, naturalistic and community-based instruction, AAC, and generalization.

~15%

Assessment

Alternate assessment and achievement standards, criterion-referenced and authentic assessment, adaptive behavior, FBA, task-analytic data, and progress monitoring.

~14%

Foundations and Professional Responsibilities

IDEA (FAPE, LRE, related services, safeguards, ESY), CEC ethics, evidence-based practice, confidentiality, and family and interprofessional collaboration.

~18%

Integrated Application

Scenario and case-based items integrating communication, behavior, instruction, assessment, and collaboration for severe-to-profound caseloads.

How to Pass the Praxis Special Education: Severe to Profound Exam

What You Need to Know

  • Passing score: Varies by state (ETS median ~177)
  • Assessment: 90 selected-response + 3 integrated constructed-response (official ETS); this practice bank is 100 selected-response items
  • Time limit: 2 hours
  • Exam fee: $146

Keys to Passing

  • Complete 500+ practice questions
  • Score 80%+ consistently before scheduling
  • Focus on highest-weighted sections
  • Use our AI tutor for tough concepts

Praxis Special Education: Severe to Profound Study Tips from Top Performers

1Master systematic instruction terminology precisely: task analysis, most-to-least vs. least-to-most prompting, time delay, errorless learning, chaining, and shaping are frequently contrasted.
2Know AAC implementation deeply, including feature matching, aided language modeling, and providing the system across all settings and partners rather than only in therapy.
3Anchor answers in IDEA principles (FAPE, LRE, related services, procedural safeguards, transition) and the CEC Code of Ethics, since the test is largely standards-based.
4Treat integrated scenario items as function-based reasoning: identify the communication or behavior function, then choose the proactive, evidence-based, least-restrictive option.
5Default to presuming competence, partial participation, generalization programming, and standards-linked alternate achievement when an answer choice conflicts with these principles.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is on the Praxis 5545 exam?

ETS lists Praxis Special Education: Core Knowledge and Severe to Profound Applications (5545) as a 2-hour test with 90 selected-response questions and 3 integrated constructed-response questions. It is largely based on the CEC Professional Preparation Standards and focuses on serving students with severe-to-profound and low-incidence disabilities.

How is Praxis 5545 different from the Special Education Core Knowledge 5354 exam?

Praxis 5354 (Core Knowledge and Applications) is a broad foundational special education test covering all disability categories. Praxis 5545 is a specialized applications test that adds a severe-to-profound emphasis, drilling deep into low-incidence disabilities, AAC, systematic instruction, functional and community-based curriculum, and alternate assessment for students with the most significant support needs.

How is Praxis 5545 different from the 5543 Mild to Moderate exam?

Both 5543 and 5545 share the same special education core knowledge, but they differ in the applications half. Praxis 5543 (Mild to Moderate Applications) targets high-incidence disabilities such as learning disabilities and mild intellectual or behavioral needs, while Praxis 5545 (Severe to Profound Applications) targets significant/profound intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, severe autism, deaf-blindness, and physical and health impairments.

What passing score do I need on Praxis 5545?

ETS does not set a single national qualifying score for Praxis 5545. States and licensing agencies set their own cut scores; the ETS median performance is about 177 within an approximate range of 169 to 183. Confirm the exact required score with your state before registering.

How much does Praxis 5545 cost and how long is it?

ETS lists the Praxis 5545 test fee at $146 and a total testing time of about 2 hours. Your final checkout total can vary with optional services, so confirm the amount in your ETS account before payment.

How many practice questions are in this free bank?

This free bank includes 100 selected-response practice questions with detailed explanations across all six content areas. Because the official exam includes 3 integrated constructed-response questions, that applied section is represented here as scenario and case-based selected-response items for severe-to-profound caseloads.