Strategy · 7 min read
Praxis 5331 in 4 Weeks: The Balanced SLP Study Plan
Four weeks is the sweet spot for most working candidates — enough time to cover every domain without burning out. Here's the week-by-week schedule.
Cross-checked against the current ETS Praxis 5331 Speech-Language Pathology Test at a Glance and ASHA CCC-SLP standards.
Four weeks is the sweet spot for most working SLP candidates — enough time to cover every domain without burning out, but tight enough to keep focus. This plan assumes ~1.5 hours per weekday and 3 hours per weekend day (about 45 hours total).
How this plan is structured
- Week 1: Diagnostic + Foundations (anatomy, cranial nerves, phonetics, research).
- Week 2: Assessment — dysphagia, aphasia, motor speech, voice, pediatric language.
- Week 3: Intervention + audiology + ethics.
- Week 4: Full-length practice, weak-spot targeting, taper.
Week 1 — Foundations
- Mon: 150-minute diagnostic. Record scaled score + 3 weakest topics.
- Tue: Cranial nerves — draw them, then 15 practice items.
- Wed: Neuroanatomy of speech + swallowing anatomy.
- Thu: Phonetics/transcription — narrow vs broad, diacritics.
- Fri: Research methods — reliability, validity, EBP levels.
- Sat: Ethics + ASHA scope of practice. 30-item mixed block.
- Sun: Rest or 45 min light flashcard review.
Week 2 — Assessment
- Mon: Dysphagia — 4 stages, instrumentals, IDDSI.
- Tue: Aphasia subtypes + right hemisphere disorder.
- Wed: Motor speech — apraxia vs dysarthria types.
- Thu: Voice + resonance — nodules, polyps, cleft, VPI.
- Fri: Pediatric language + articulation/phonology + phonological awareness.
- Sat: Fluency + AAC + autism assessment. 40-item block.
- Sun: Rest.
Week 3 — Intervention + audiology
- Mon: Stroke recovery + Parkinson's/LSVT.
- Tue: Voice therapy techniques + laryngectomy.
- Wed: Early intervention + literacy/reading.
- Thu: Audiology basics — pure tone, tympanograms, referral.
- Fri: Cochlear implants + hearing loss intervention.
- Sat: Full-length practice #2. Compare to Week 1 diagnostic.
- Sun: Review rationales from Saturday's practice.
Week 4 — Practice + taper
- Mon: Weak-topic drill #1 (40 items on your 2 lowest categories).
- Tue: Weak-topic drill #2.
- Wed: Full-length practice #3. Target: within 2 points of goal scaled score.
- Thu: Flashcards + review missed rationales only.
- Fri: Light review — 45 min max. No new content.
- Sat: Off. Follow the test-day checklist prep list.
- Sun — test day.
Guardrails
- Do at least 3 full-length practice tests. The 150-minute pacing is a skill of its own.
- Review every wrong answer's rationale. Missed items you don't review will show up again.
- Cap studying at 2.5 hours per day. Beyond that, retention drops off a cliff.
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