Should You Guess on the Praxis 5331? Yes — Here's How

Short answer: yes, always guess. The Praxis 5331 has no penalty for wrong answers. A blank question is a guaranteed zero; a random guess on a four-option item is a 25% chance at a raw point. Leaving anything unanswered is the only strictly irrational choice on this exam.

Educated guessing raises the odds fast

• Four plausible options: 25%.
• Eliminate one: 33%.
• Eliminate two: 50%.

Across a dozen flagged items, moving from blind to two-option guessing is worth roughly three raw points — often the margin between 158 and 162.

Eliminate with rules, not vibes

Cross out any option that is outside the SLP scope of practice, violates informed consent or the ASHA Code of Ethics, jumps to treatment before assessment, or applies a technique to the wrong population or age. These four rules eliminate at least one option on most clinical scenario items.

Absolutes are usually wrong

Options containing "always," "never," "all," or "only" rarely survive on a clinical exam that rewards individualized, evidence-based judgment. Options that include the family, the team, or the client's own priorities tend to survive.

Two options that say the same thing

If two choices are functionally identical, neither can be uniquely correct — the answer is one of the other two. Conversely, when two options are exact opposites, the correct answer is frequently one of that pair.

Multiple-select questions

Some 5331 items ask you to select all that apply, and partial credit is generally not awarded. Treat each option as its own true/false question rather than looking for a pattern in how many should be selected.

The last two minutes

Reserve the final 120 seconds to sweep the review screen for any item marked unanswered. Fill every one, even with the same letter for all of them. Points you leave on the table this way are the cheapest points on the entire exam.