This free Praxis 5857 study guide teaches to ETS’s test — every content category the exam measures, organized the way the test is built.[1] The 5857 is for prospective K–12 health and physical education teachers and was developed using standards, so it spans two subjects: health education and physical education.[3]
The test is 130 selected-response questions in 130 minutes, split into 58 health and 72 physical education questions across five categories. This guide is interactive, not a wall of text: every category has a built-in checkpoint quiz, hover-able glossary terms, labeled diagrams, and concept questions, so you learn by doing.
Read this guide category by category, test yourself at each checkpoint, then round out your free Praxis 5857 prep with our practice questions and flashcards.
Praxis 5857 is one of the Praxis Subject Assessments — explore our Praxis study guides to compare and prep across the whole family.
Praxis 5857 Exam Snapshot
| Detail | Praxis Health & PE (5857) |
|---|---|
| Questions | 130 selected-response (58 health, 72 physical education) |
| Time | 130 minutes of testing time |
| Content | 5 ETS categories: Health Ed. as a Discipline (~20%), Health Ed. Content (~25%), Content Knowledge & Growth (~17%), Management/Motivation/Tech (~22%), Planning/Instruction/Assessment (~16%) |
| Score scale | 100–200 scaled; passing score set by each state (commonly ~150–160) |
| Standards | Developed with SHAPE America and the National Health Education Standards |
| Fee | 130 after a 28-day wait) |
| Guessing penalty | None — answer every question |
| Delivery | Computer-delivered, at a test center or online with proctoring |
| Publisher | ETS (Educational Testing Service) |
One computer-delivered test of 130 selected-response questions in 130 minutes. The items split into two halves — 58 health and 72 physical education — drawn from five official content categories. Some questions are unscored pretest items, but all 130 are administered.
- Health Studies — 58 questionsCategories I–II. Health education as a discipline and health instruction (≈ 20%), plus health education content — dimensions of health, nutrition, disease prevention, mental/emotional and sexual health, safety and first aid (≈ 25%).
- Physical Education Studies — 72 questionsCategories III–V. Content knowledge and student growth and development (≈ 17%); management, motivation, communication, collaboration, reflection and technology (≈ 22%); and planning, instruction and student assessment (≈ 16%).
130 questions · 130 minutes · 58 health + 72 PE. Developed with SHAPE America (Society of Health and Physical Educators) standards for K–12 teaching.
Because the test is split into a health half (58 questions) and a physical-education half (72 questions), you must be solid in both subjects. Health Education Content is the single heaviest category at 25%, but the three PE categories together make up 55% of the test:
ETS groups the test into five scored categories.[1] This guide teaches all five as study modules, in the official 5857 order, with the core skill clusters of each as checkable subsections.
1 · Health Education as a Discipline & Health Instruction
About 20% of the test (~26 questions). The foundations of health education, coordinated school health, how to plan and deliver health instruction, and the standards and skills-based philosophy behind it.[1]
Foundations & Coordinated School Health
Health education is a planned, sequential discipline that helps students adopt healthy behaviors. The coordinates ten school and community components around the student, and behavior-change theories — the , the transtheoretical/stages-of-change model, and the social-ecological model — explain why students adopt or resist healthy choices.
Health-Instruction Approaches
Effective instruction starts from a needs assessment and valid data sources (the CDC, WHO,, the YRBSS, and peer-reviewed journals), then sets measurable, performance-based objectives aligned to standards. Use varied methods — direct instruction, cooperative learning, guided discovery — and reflective teaching to keep improving.
Standards & Skills-Based Education
pairs functional knowledge with transferable skills. The name them: Standard 1 is core concepts, then accessing valid information, analyzing influences, communication, decision-making, goal-setting, self-management, and advocacy.
Checkpoint · Category · Health Education as a Discipline
Question 1 of 10
What is the primary objective of 'Advocacy' in health education?
2 · Health Education Content
About 25% of the test (~32 questions) — the largest category. The substantive health content: the dimensions of health, nutrition, disease prevention, substance abuse, mental and sexual health, and safety, first aid, and consumer and environmental health.[1]
Dimensions of Health & Nutrition
Health is multidimensional — the are physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual, and environmental, and they are interconnected. For nutrition, know the food groups and the six essential nutrient classes, including the three .
Wellness is multidimensional and interconnected — a strain in one dimension (chronic stress, social isolation) affects the others. Health education teaches all of them, not just the body.
MyPlate divides a meal into fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy. Fill half the plate with fruits and vegetables; make half your grains whole grains.
Disease Prevention & Substance Abuse
Distinguish (infectious) from diseases, and know that lifestyle factors drive most noncommunicable disease risk. Teach the short- and long-term effects of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs, and the refusal and decision-making skills that prevent substance abuse.
Mental, Emotional & Sexual Health
Cover stress management, healthy coping, recognizing the signs of mental-health concerns, and building healthy relationships and communication. Human sexuality and abuse- and violence-prevention content are taught in developmentally and age-appropriate ways.
Safety, First Aid, Consumer & Environmental Health
Know basic first aid, the steps of CPR, and how to respond to choking, bleeding, and emergencies. Consumer health covers evaluating products and valid health information; environmental health covers air, water, and community factors that affect wellness.
Checkpoint · Category · Health Education Content
Question 1 of 10
Which strategy is most effective for improving the overall nutritional habits of a community?
3 · Content Knowledge & Student Growth and Development
About 17% of the test (~22 questions) — the first PE category. The movement sciences: motor development and learning, exercise physiology and fitness, movement concepts and skill themes, and biomechanics.[1]
Motor Development & Learning
Children develop , nonlocomotor, and skills as building blocks for sports. Skill acquisition follows the — cognitive, associative, and autonomous — and your feedback and practice design should match the stage.
- 1. Cognitive stageThe learner understands the task and makes many large errors. Needs clear demonstrations, cues, and lots of feedback.
- 2. Associative stageMovements become more consistent and refined; errors are smaller. The learner self-detects and corrects mistakes with practice.
- 3. Autonomous stageThe skill is automatic and fluid, freeing attention for strategy and the game situation. Errors are rare.
Learners move from cognitive (figuring it out) to associative (refining) to autonomous (automatic). Match your feedback and practice design to the stage.
Exercise Physiology & Fitness
Know the body systems, the three , and the difference between and fitness. Use the and the to design activity that improves fitness safely. Maximum heart rate is often estimated as .
5 health-related components
- Cardiorespiratory endurance
- Muscular strength
- Muscular endurance
- Flexibility
- Body composition
6 skill-related components
- Agility
- Balance
- Coordination
- Power
- Reaction time
- Speed
Health-related fitness supports everyday wellness; skill-related fitness supports athletic performance. The FitnessGram battery assesses the five health-related components.
Apply the overload principle by gradually adjusting Frequency, Intensity, Time, or Type to keep improving fitness without injury.
Effort moves from the ATP–PC system (seconds) to glycolysis (up to ~2 min) to the aerobic system (longer) — though all three contribute at once.
Movement Concepts, Skills & Biomechanics
Movement concepts — body, space, effort, and relationships — describe how the body moves. Basic applies physics: a lower center of gravity and wider base of support add stability, and the summation of forces (sequencing body segments) maximizes the force of a throw or strike.
Checkpoint · Category · Content Knowledge & Growth
Question 1 of 10
Which factor most significantly influences the development of motor skills in early childhood?
4 · Management, Motivation, Communication, Collaboration, Reflection & Technology
About 22% of the test (~29 questions) — the second PE category. The pedagogy of running an effective program: managing the gym, motivating students, communicating and collaborating, reflecting on practice, and using technology.[1]
Class & Gym Management
Effective PE management maximizes moderate-to-vigorous activity time: short lines, ample equipment, small-sided games, efficient routines and signals, and smooth transitions. Clear rules, established protocols, and consistent expectations keep students safe and on task, and supervision and safety reduce liability.
Motivation & Communication
— enjoyment, mastery, autonomy — sustains lifelong activity better than rewards. Build it with choice, appropriate challenge, and a that rewards personal improvement over winning. Clear cues and feedback drive learning.
Collaboration, Reflection & Technology
Collaborate with colleagues, families, and the community, and integrate movement across the curriculum. Reflective practice means analyzing your own teaching to improve it. Technology — heart- rate monitors, pedometers and accelerometers, video analysis, and fitness apps — individualizes activity and gives objective evidence, but should enhance, not replace, movement time.
Checkpoint · Category · Management, Motivation & Technology
Question 1 of 10
When integrating technology into a physical education curriculum, what is the primary consideration to ensure its effectiveness?
5 · Planning, Instruction & Student Assessment
About 16% of the test (~21 questions) — the final PE category. Designing curriculum and lessons, choosing instructional strategies, differentiating for all learners, and assessing learning in both health and physical education.[1]
Curriculum & Lesson Planning
Plan developmentally appropriate, -aligned curriculum with clear, measurable objectives, logical progressions, and appropriate scope and sequence. A good lesson moves from warm-up through skill development and practice to closure.
Instructional Strategies & Differentiation
Choose strategies along — from command and practice to reciprocal and guided discovery — and use to build tactics through modified games. Differentiate and include all learners, accommodating IEPs and varied abilities.
Assessment in Health & PE
Use checks during learning and assessment at the end of a unit. Authentic, performance-based assessments with rubrics judge skills in game-like settings, and assesses health-related fitness — then use the data to guide instruction.
| Type | When & purpose |
|---|---|
| Formative | During learning — exit slips, observation, peer/self-checks — to guide teaching |
| Summative | End of unit — skills test, written test, project — to judge learning |
| Authentic / performance | Skills judged with a rubric in a game-like, real setting |
| FitnessGram | Criterion-referenced health-related fitness battery (Healthy Fitness Zones) |
| Self / peer | Students assess themselves or each other to build reflection and responsibility |
Checkpoint · Category · Planning, Instruction & Assessment
Question 1 of 10
In the context of differentiated instruction in physical education, what is the primary objective when adapting activities for diverse learners?
How to Use This Study Guide
A study guide is a map, not the whole territory — use it alongside the official ETS study companion and full-length practice. Because the test is split into a 58-question health half and a 72-question PE half, give both subjects real time: lead with whichever is weaker for you. Spaced, mixed practice beats one long cram.
Raw correct answers convert to a scaled score from 100 to 200. There is no penalty for wrong answers, so answer every question. Each state or agency sets its own passing score — commonly around 150–160 — so verify your state requirement at ets.org/praxis.
Health Education Content is the single largest slice at 25%, but the physical-education categories (III–V) together make up 55% of the test — study both subjects.
- 1
Read a category here
Work through one ETS content category at a time — the two health categories, then the three PE categories.
- 2
Take the checkpoint
The quick check at the end of each category exposes what didn't stick.
- 3
Drill the gaps
Send your weak area straight into the free practice questions and flashcards.
- 4
Take full, timed practice
Sit a full 130-question, 130-minute set to build pacing across both subjects, then review every miss.
Praxis 5857 Concept Questions
Common Praxis 5857 health and physical-education concepts the test actually measures — at least two per content category, spanning both subjects. Tap any card for a short, exam-ready answer backed by the official ETS study companion or SHAPE America standards, then test yourself on them as flashcards.
Praxis 5857 Glossary
Quick definitions for the terms you’ll see most across the Praxis Health and Physical Education (5857):
- Biomechanics
- The study of forces and movement in the body — center of gravity, base of support, levers, torque, and the summation of forces.
- Communicable disease
- An infectious disease spread by a pathogen — bacteria, virus, or fungus — from person to person or a source, such as influenza or strep throat.
- Developmentally appropriate practice
- Instruction matched to students' age, ability, and readiness — the through-line behind most correct answers on the 5857's pedagogy items.
- Dimensions of health
- The interconnected facets of wellness — physical, mental/intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, and environmental. A strain in one affects the others.
- Energy systems
- The three pathways that supply ATP for activity: ATP–PC (phosphagen, seconds), glycolytic (anaerobic, up to ~2 minutes), and oxidative (aerobic, longer).
- Extrinsic motivation
- Motivation that comes from outside rewards or pressure, such as grades, stickers, praise, or trophies.
- FitnessGram
- A criterion-referenced fitness assessment battery (including the PACER run) that measures the five health-related fitness components against Healthy Fitness Zones.
- FITT principle
- A framework for exercise prescription: Frequency (how often), Intensity (how hard), Time (how long), and Type (what kind) of activity.
- Formative assessment
- Low-stakes assessment during learning — exit slips, observation, peer and self-checks — used to guide and adjust instruction.
- Health Belief Model
- A behavior-change theory explaining health choices by perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, and perceived barriers, plus cues to action.
- Health-related fitness
- The five fitness components that support everyday wellness: cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition.
- Intrinsic motivation
- Motivation that comes from within — enjoyment, mastery, and a sense of competence and autonomy; the kind that best sustains lifelong activity.
- Locomotor skills
- Fundamental movement skills that move the body through space — walking, running, hopping, skipping, galloping, and leaping.
- Macronutrients
- The energy-providing nutrient classes — carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. With vitamins, minerals, and water they make up the six essential nutrient groups.
- Manipulative skills
- Fundamental skills that control an object — throwing, catching, kicking, striking, and dribbling.
- Mastery climate
- A motivational environment that emphasizes personal improvement and effort over winning or comparison; it supports persistence and intrinsic motivation.
- Mosston's spectrum
- A continuum of teaching styles from teacher-centered (command, practice) to student-centered (reciprocal, guided discovery, problem-solving) based on who makes decisions.
- MyPlate
- The USDA visual guide that divides a meal into five food groups — fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy — with half the plate fruits and vegetables.
- National Health Education Standards
- Eight standards for health education: core concepts, accessing valid information, analyzing influences, communication, decision-making, goal-setting, self-management, and advocacy. Standards 2–8 are the skills.
- Noncommunicable disease
- A non-contagious disease that develops from genetics, lifestyle, or environment — such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or many cancers; often preventable.
- Overload principle
- The rule that the body adapts and improves only when a system is challenged beyond its usual demand; apply it by progressively adjusting FITT variables.
- Praxis 5857
- ETS's Health and Physical Education: Content Knowledge test — 130 selected-response questions in 130 minutes (58 health, 72 PE) for prospective K–12 health and PE teachers, built on SHAPE America standards.
- SHAPE America
- The Society of Health and Physical Educators — the professional body whose national standards for health education and physical education shape the 5857 blueprint and grade-level outcomes.
- Skill-related fitness
- The six components that support athletic performance: agility, balance, coordination, power, reaction time, and speed.
- Skills-based health education
- An approach that teaches functional health knowledge together with transferable skills (decision-making, communication, advocacy) so students change behavior, not just memorize facts.
- Stages of motor learning
- Fitts and Posner's three phases of skill acquisition: cognitive (large errors), associative (refining), and autonomous (automatic).
- Summative assessment
- End-of-unit assessment — a skills test, written test, or project — used to judge what was learned.
- TGfU
- Teaching Games for Understanding — an approach that develops tactics and game sense through modified games before drilling isolated skills.
- WSCC model
- Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child — the CDC/ASCD framework for coordinated school health that places the child at the center of ten interacting school and community components.
Free Praxis 5857 Study Materials & Resources
Everything you need to prepare for the Praxis 5857 is free here — no paywall, no sign-up. This guide is the foundation; pair it with the rest of our free Praxis 5857 study materials for active recall, timed practice, and last-minute review:
- Praxis 5857 Practice Test — exam-style questions across all five content categories, with explanations.
- Praxis 5857 Flashcards — active-recall decks for the high-yield health and PE concepts, terms, and standards.
Praxis 5857 Study Guide FAQ
The Praxis Health and Physical Education: Content Knowledge (5857) has 130 selected-response questions. They split into 58 questions on health studies and 72 on physical education studies. Some items are unscored pretest questions, but all 130 are administered. There is no penalty for wrong answers, so answer every one.
You have 130 minutes for the 130 questions — about one minute per question. The test is computer-delivered at a test center or with online proctoring.
Five ETS content categories: Health Education as a Discipline/Health Instruction (~20%), Health Education Content (~25%), Content Knowledge and Student Growth and Development (~17%), Management/Motivation/Communication/Collaboration/Reflection/Technology (~22%), and Planning, Instruction and Student Assessment (~16%). Categories I–II are the 58 health questions; III–V are the 72 PE questions.
Raw correct answers convert to a scaled score from 100 to 200. There is no single national passing score — each state or licensing agency sets its own cut score, commonly around 150–160. Always confirm the requirement for the state where you plan to teach at ets.org/praxis.
The 5857 was developed using SHAPE America (Society of Health and Physical Educators) standards, along with the National Health Education Standards. Expect questions tied to fundamental movement skills, the components of fitness, skills-based health education, and developmentally appropriate, standards-aligned instruction.
The test fee is $130. You may retake it after a 28-day wait, paying the full $130 again. Rescheduling at least three days before your appointment costs $40; canceling at least three days out earns a 50% refund.
Work through the five content categories in order — the two health categories first, then the three PE categories. After each module take the checkpoint quiz to find gaps, then drill that area with our free practice questions and flashcards, and revisit flagged sections before test day.
Yes — the full guide, the checkpoints, the glossary, the practice questions, and the flashcards are 100% free, with no account required.
References
- 1.ETS. “The Praxis Study Companion: Health and Physical Education: Content Knowledge (5857).” ETS. ↑
- 2.ETS. “Health and Physical Education: Content Knowledge (5857) Test Overview.” ETS. ↑
- 3.SHAPE America. “National Standards & Guidelines for K–12 Health and Physical Education.” SHAPE America. ↑
- 4.ETS. “Praxis Test Scores — Understanding Your Scores.” ETS. ↑
- 5.ETS. “Praxis State Requirements and Passing Scores.” ETS. ↑
Sources for the concept answers
Every answer in the Praxis 5857 concept questions above is drawn from an official primary source:
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