This free SLP Praxis (5331) study guide covers everything the Praxis Speech-Language Pathology test measures, organized to the three official ETS content categories and the ASHA “big nine” disorder areas.[1] A passing score of 162 is required for the credential, so this is one of the most consequential exams of your SLP career.[3]
It’s interactive, not a wall of text: every content-category module has built-in checkpoint quizzes, flashcards, and practice questions, so you learn by doing differential diagnosis and treatment decisions — not just reading about them.
The 5331 is a 132-question, 150-minute selected-response exam. The three content categories carry equal weight, and each tests the same nine disorder areas applied to foundations, assessment, or treatment.
Read a module, test yourself at each checkpoint, then drill gaps with our free practice test and flashcards. This guide is a high-yield overview of what the exam tests — not a replacement for your graduate coursework.
SLP Praxis (5331) Exam Snapshot
| Detail | Praxis 5331 |
|---|---|
| Test name | Speech-Language Pathology (5331) |
| Questions | 132 selected-response (multiple-choice); some unscored field-test items |
| Time | 150 minutes (2.5 hours) |
| Format | Computer-delivered at a test center or via at-home proctoring |
| Content categories | 3 categories, each ≈33⅓% (≈44 questions): Foundations · Assessment · Treatment |
| Score scale | 100–200 scaled score |
| Passing score (ASHA) | 162 for the CCC-SLP; states may set their own cut scores |
| Score validity | 5 years from the test date for certification |
| What it covers | The ASHA 'big nine' disorder areas across the lifespan |
| Used for | ASHA CCC-SLP certification, state SLP licensure, and school credentials |
Foundations & Professional Practice
44 questions · 33⅓%
Typical development, the Big Nine, ethics, scope of practice, EBP, documentation, and advocacy.
Screening, Assessment, Evaluation & Diagnosis
44 questions · 33⅓%
Case history, standardized vs. criterion-referenced tools, differential diagnosis across all disorder areas, etiology.
Planning, Implementation & Evaluation of Treatment
44 questions · 33⅓%
Goal writing, prognosis, evidence-based treatment for each disorder area, progress monitoring, and discharge.
You won’t see a category labeled on test day — the questions are interleaved. But knowing the blueprint tells you where to spend study time: differential diagnosis and treatment selection together make up two thirds of the exam.[2]
I · Foundations & Professional Practice
≈44 questions (33⅓%). This category sets the base every clinical decision rests on: typical development, the disorder areas you serve, professional ethics, scope of practice, and how you apply evidence.[2] Master it and the assessment and treatment categories become far easier, because they all draw on the same nine areas.
Speech sound production
Articulation & phonology — how sounds are formed and patterned.
Fluency
Stuttering and cluttering — the rhythm and flow of speech.
Voice & resonance
Vocal quality, pitch, loudness, and nasal (oral/nasal) resonance.
Receptive & expressive language
Understanding and using spoken/written language — form, content, use.
Social communication
Pragmatics — using language appropriately in social contexts.
Cognitive aspects of communication
Attention, memory, problem solving, executive function.
Augmentative & alternative communication (AAC)
Aided and unaided supports for those with little/no speech.
Hearing
Screening, aural rehabilitation, and the impact of hearing loss.
Feeding & swallowing
Dysphagia across the oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal phases.
1.1 Development & Disorder Characteristics
The exam expects you to know typical development across the lifespan so you can recognize what is atypical. That includes the rough order and ages of speech-sound acquisition, the milestones of , and the factors — medical, environmental, cultural, and linguistic — that influence communication, feeding, and swallowing.[4]
| Domain | Typical pattern (high-level) |
|---|---|
| Speech sounds | Early sounds (p, b, m, n, h, w) emerge first; later sounds (r, l, s, z, th) develop into school age |
| Receptive language | Comprehension generally precedes expression; vocabulary and sentence understanding grow steadily |
| Expressive language | First words ≈12 months; two-word combinations ≈18–24 months; sentence complexity rises through preschool |
| Pragmatics / social | Eye contact, joint attention, and turn-taking emerge in infancy; topic maintenance and perspective-taking later |
| Feeding / swallowing | Progress from suckling to spoon and cup; oral-motor skills mature alongside texture advancement |
1.2 The ASHA Big Nine
The are the heart of the exam — the nine areas of clinical competence that every 5331 question maps to. Memorize them and what each covers, because the test phrases the same disorder many ways across foundations, assessment, and treatment.[1]
| Big Nine area | What it addresses |
|---|---|
| Speech sound production | Articulation and phonology — forming and patterning speech sounds |
| Fluency | Stuttering and cluttering — the rhythm and flow of speech |
| Voice & resonance | Vocal quality, pitch, loudness, and oral/nasal resonance |
| Receptive & expressive language | Understanding and using spoken and written language |
| Social communication | Pragmatics — using language appropriately in social contexts |
| Cognitive aspects of communication | Attention, memory, problem solving, and executive function |
| AAC | Aided and unaided supports for limited or absent speech |
| Hearing | Screening, aural rehabilitation, and the impact of hearing loss |
| Feeding & swallowing | Dysphagia across the oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal phases |
1.3 The ASHA Code of Ethics
Ethics questions are reliably on the exam and are usually scenario-based. The is organized around four principles: responsibility to persons served (welfare held paramount), professional competence, public statements and integrity, and responsibility to the profession.[5]
| Principle | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Welfare of persons served | Hold the client's welfare paramount; provide services without discrimination |
| Competence | Practice only within your competence; gain training/supervision before new areas (e.g., dysphagia) |
| Accurate representation | Never claim a credential (like CCC-SLP) you don't yet hold; represent qualifications truthfully |
| Truthful documentation | Keep accurate records; correct (don't hide or delete) a known documentation error |
| Confidentiality | Release protected client information only with authorization or a legitimate professional need |
| Avoid conflicts of interest | Don't let personal/financial gain compromise client-centered judgment |
| Supervision responsibility | The supervising certified SLP retains responsibility for delegated tasks and client welfare |
1.4 Professional Practice & EBP
Beyond ethics, the exam tests how an SLP works: wellness and prevention, culturally and linguistically appropriate service delivery, counseling and interprofessional collaboration, documentation, legislation and advocacy (e.g., IDEA, HIPAA, FERPA), and research methodology with .[4]
| Topic | Key idea |
|---|---|
| Evidence-based practice | Integrate research evidence + clinical expertise + client values/preferences |
| Collaboration & teaming | Work with families, teachers, and an interprofessional team; counsel within SLP scope |
| Cultural responsiveness | Adapt assessment and intervention to the client's language and culture |
| Documentation | Accurate, timely records that support clinical reasoning and billing |
| Legislation | IDEA (special education), HIPAA/FERPA (privacy), and client advocacy |
| Research methodology | Read evidence critically: validity, reliability, and levels of evidence |
Checkpoint · Foundations & Professional Practice
Question 1 of 8
The ASHA Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology organizes professional activity around several overarching domains. Which of the following is one of the recognized domains of practice?
II · Screening, Assessment, Evaluation & Diagnosis
≈44 questions (33⅓%). This is the diagnostic heart of the exam: how you screen, take a case history, choose and interpret assessments, and reach a across every disorder area.[2] Most of these questions are clinical vignettes — read the symptom profile, then pick the diagnosis or the right next step.
2.1 Screening, Case History & Test Types
A screening is a quick pass/refer check to decide whether a full evaluation is needed — it does not diagnose. A full evaluation starts with a case history and then selects appropriate tools. Know the difference between a and a , plus language sampling and dynamic assessment.
| Tool | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Screening | Pass or refer — is a full evaluation warranted? (not a diagnosis) |
| Norm-referenced (standardized) | How a client compares to peers — identifies a disorder (percentiles, standard scores) |
| Criterion-referenced | What specific skills a client has or lacks — guides goal selection |
| Language sample | Real, spontaneous language use (MLU, structures, pragmatics) |
| Dynamic assessment | How well a client learns with support (test–teach–retest); reduces bias |
| Instrumental swallow (MBSS/FEES) | Direct view of swallow physiology and aspiration |
2.2 Speech Sound & Language Assessment
For speech sounds, the exam wants you to distinguish an (motor errors on individual sounds) from a (rule-based error patterns like fronting or cluster reduction). For language, you assess receptive vs. expressive skills and the three components — form, content, and use.
| Process | Example | Typically resolves by |
|---|---|---|
| Fronting | 'key' → 'tea' (velars become alveolars) | ≈3½ years |
| Stopping | 'sun' → 'tun' (fricatives become stops) | ≈3–5 years (varies by sound) |
| Cluster reduction | 'spot' → 'pot' (a cluster loses a sound) | ≈4 years |
| Final consonant deletion | 'cat' → 'ca' | ≈3 years |
| Gliding | 'rabbit' → 'wabbit' (liquids become glides) | ≈5+ years |
2.3 Aphasia & Motor Speech Diagnosis
Acquired neurogenic disorders are heavily tested. Classify by three features — fluency, comprehension, and repetition — and separate it from the motor speech disorders (execution/weakness) and (planning/sequencing).[8]
| Aphasia type | Fluency | Comprehension | Repetition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broca's | Nonfluent | Good | Poor |
| Transcortical motor | Nonfluent | Good | Good |
| Global | Nonfluent | Poor | Poor |
| Wernicke's | Fluent | Poor | Poor |
| Conduction | Fluent | Good | Poor |
| Anomic | Fluent | Good | Good |
| Disorder | Core problem | Hallmark |
|---|---|---|
| Aphasia | Language (words & meaning) | Trouble with comprehension, naming, repetition, reading/writing |
| Dysarthria | Motor execution (weak/abnormal tone) | Slurred, imprecise, CONSISTENT errors; may have hypernasality |
| Apraxia of speech | Motor planning/programming | INCONSISTENT errors, groping, worse with longer words; no weakness |
2.4 Voice, Fluency & Hearing
Voice questions test the causes of disorders — from misuse, polyps, paralysis, and resonance problems (hyper/hyponasality). Fluency questions distinguish from . Hearing questions cover screening, conductive vs. sensorineural loss, and reading an .
| Topic | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Vocal nodules | Bilateral, callous-like lesions from chronic misuse/abuse; treat with voice therapy first |
| Vocal fold paralysis | Often CN X (vagus/recurrent laryngeal) injury; breathy voice, possible aspiration |
| Hypernasality | Too much nasal resonance — think velopharyngeal insufficiency (e.g., cleft palate) |
| Stuttering vs. cluttering | Stuttering = repetitions/prolongations/blocks; cluttering = rapid/irregular rate, reduced clarity |
| Conductive vs. sensorineural | Conductive = outer/middle ear; sensorineural = cochlea/auditory nerve |
| Audiogram convention | Right ear = red circles; left ear = blue X's (air conduction) |
2.5 Swallowing Evaluation & Etiology
evaluation requires knowing the normal swallow so you can localize the breakdown. A clinical/bedside exam screens, while instrumental studies — and — directly visualize physiology and .[7] The exam also asks about etiology: genetic, developmental, neurological, structural, and psychogenic causes.
Oral phase
Voluntary. The bolus is chewed, formed, and propelled back by the tongue toward the pharynx.
Cranial nerves: CN V, VII, XII
Pharyngeal phase
Reflexive. The swallow triggers; the airway closes (larynx elevates, epiglottis inverts) and the bolus passes the pharynx.
Cranial nerves: CN IX, X
Esophageal phase
Involuntary. Peristalsis carries the bolus through the upper esophageal sphincter to the stomach.
Cranial nerves: CN X
| Element | What it checks |
|---|---|
| Oral mechanism exam | Structure and function of lips, tongue, palate, and cranial nerves |
| CN V, VII | Jaw and lip/face movement for the oral phase |
| CN IX, X | Pharyngeal sensation/movement and palate elevation ('ah') |
| CN XII | Tongue movement; deviation toward the weak side signals damage |
| MBSS (modified barium swallow) | Fluoroscopic view of all phases — gold standard for aspiration & physiology |
| FEES | Endoscopic view of the pharyngeal swallow; portable, no radiation |
Checkpoint · Screening, Assessment & Diagnosis
Question 1 of 8
A 64-year-old adult presents after a left frontal stroke with halting, effortful, telegraphic speech but relatively preserved auditory comprehension and clear awareness of his errors. Which diagnosis best fits this presentation?
III · Planning, Implementation & Evaluation of Treatment
≈44 questions (33⅓%). Once you’ve diagnosed, this category tests how you treat: writing measurable goals, generating a , selecting evidence-based approaches for each disorder area, monitoring progress, and deciding on discharge.[2] It rewards data-based decision making at every step.
- 1
Screen & evaluate
Take a case history, screen, then assess with standardized and criterion-referenced tools to reach a differential diagnosis.
- 2
Plan & set goals
Write measurable goals (behavior + condition + criterion), set a prognosis, and choose an evidence-based approach.
- 3
Deliver treatment
Implement therapy for the targeted disorder area, applying principles of motor learning and family/partner involvement.
- 4
Monitor & evaluate
Collect session data, graph it against the criterion, and adjust targets or approach when progress plateaus.
- 5
Generalize & discharge
Confirm the skill carries over to untrained contexts and is maintained, then discharge with follow-up recommendations.
3.1 Goals, Prognosis & Planning
A states three things: the behavior, the condition, and the criterion for mastery. Long-term goals break into short-term objectives that build toward them. A predicts the likely degree and rate of improvement — distinct from the diagnosis.
| Part | Question it answers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Behavior | What will the client do? | Produce /r/ in spontaneous speech |
| Condition | Under what circumstances / support? | During structured conversation, given a visual cue |
| Criterion | How well = mastery? | With 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive sessions |
| Better prognosis | Poorer prognosis |
|---|---|
| High motivation and self-awareness | Low awareness and limited stimulability |
| Strong family/social support | Multiple or progressive conditions |
| Single, stable lesion (e.g., one stroke) | Diffuse or worsening neurological disease |
| Earlier intervention | Long-standing, untreated patterns |
3.2 Speech Sound & Motor Speech Treatment
For phonological disorders, know the (rotating patterns with auditory bombardment) and (meaningful contrasts). For motor speech, apply principles of motor learning — high-frequency, meaningful practice — using approaches like PROMPT for apraxia.
| Approach | Best for | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Cycles | Multiple error patterns, low intelligibility | Targets patterns in rotating cycles; auditory bombardment + stimulable productions |
| Minimal pairs | A specific contrast the child collapses | Contrasts two words differing by one sound so the difference becomes meaningful |
| Maximal/multiple oppositions | Widespread phonological errors | Contrasts sounds differing by several features for broad system change |
| Traditional (motor) artic | Distortions of individual sounds | Sound-by-sound: establish, then generalize the production |
| PROMPT | Apraxia / motor planning | Tactile-kinesthetic cues guide articulator placement and movement |
3.3 Fluency, Voice & Language Treatment
Stuttering treatment splits into two philosophies — and — often blended. Voice treatment usually starts with vocal hygiene and behavioral therapy. Language/aphasia treatment is functional and may use scripts, semantic feature analysis, or naturalistic approaches.
Fluency shaping
Goal: replace stuttered speech with a new, fluent way of talking.
- Easy / gentle voice onset
- Prolonged or stretched speech
- Light articulatory contact
- Continuous airflow & slowed rate
Can sound unnaturally slow at first — later work targets naturalness.
Stuttering modification (Van Riper)
Goal: stutter more easily and reduce fear & avoidance.
- Cancellations (after the stutter)
- Pull-outs (during the stutter)
- Preparatory sets (before the word)
- Desensitization to fear & avoidance
Addresses the affective/attitudinal side many clinicians blend with shaping.
| Area | Common evidence-based approaches |
|---|---|
| Stuttering | Fluency shaping, stuttering modification, integrated; indirect (parent-coached) for young children |
| Voice | Vocal hygiene, resonant voice therapy, behavioral voice therapy (e.g., for nodules) |
| Aphasia | Functional/conversational therapy, semantic feature analysis, scripts, melodic intonation therapy |
| Child language | Naturalistic/milieu teaching, focused stimulation, embedding targets in play |
| Social communication | Explicit pragmatics instruction, video modeling, peer-mediated practice |
3.4 AAC & Dysphagia Treatment
intervention rests on feature matching (aligning the system to the client), distinguishing aided vs. unaided, and prioritizing . Dysphagia treatment separates compensations (make one swallow safer now) from rehabilitative techniques (change physiology over time).[7]
| Strategy | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Chin tuck | Compensatory | Narrows airway entrance, widens valleculae — safer single swallow |
| Diet/texture modification (IDDSI) | Compensatory | Slows bolus flow (thickened liquids) or eases chewing |
| Head turn to weak side | Compensatory | Directs the bolus down the stronger side |
| Effortful swallow | Rehabilitative | Strengthens pharyngeal contraction to clear residue |
| Mendelsohn maneuver | Rehabilitative | Prolongs laryngeal elevation to widen the UES opening |
| Shaker (head-lift) exercise | Rehabilitative | Strengthens suprahyoids to improve UES opening |
3.5 Hearing, Generalization & Evaluation
Aural rehabilitation builds functional communication for clients with hearing loss — auditory training, speechreading, communication strategies, and counseling. Throughout treatment, you monitor progress with data and confirm and before discharge.
| Concept | What it means / what to do |
|---|---|
| Aural rehabilitation | Auditory training, speechreading, communication strategies, and counseling for hearing loss |
| Progress monitoring | Collect session data, graph against the criterion, and make data-based decisions |
| Plateau response | Re-examine and modify the target or approach when data flatten despite consistent therapy |
| Generalization | Skill carries over to untrained words, partners, and settings |
| Maintenance | Skill persists after therapy ends; confirm with follow-up checks |
| Discharge readiness | Goals met AND skills generalized and maintained in daily life |
Checkpoint · Planning & Treatment
Question 1 of 8
A clinician teaches a client who stutters to gently begin voicing with relaxed vocal fold onset, stretch the first sounds of words, and keep articulatory contacts light throughout speech. These targets describe the core techniques of:
How to Use This SLP Praxis (5331) Study Guide
The 5331 rewards clinical reasoning across the big nine, not memorized trivia. A plan that works:
- Learn the big nine cold. Almost every question maps to one of the nine areas — know what each covers before anything else.
- Drill differential diagnosis. Broca’s vs. Wernicke’s, dysarthria vs. apraxia, articulation vs. phonological — these vignettes are worth a lot of points.
- Read each module, then check yourself. Take the end-of-module checkpoint to see exactly which areas need another pass.
- Check off as you go. Mark each section done in the Study Guide Contents — it raises your exam-readiness score.
- Drill weak areas. Send shaky topics into the flashcards and a practice test until you’re comfortably above 162.
SLP Praxis (5331) Concept Questions
Common speech-language pathology concepts students search while studying for the 5331 — each answered briefly and backed by an official source. Test yourself, then drill them as flashcards.
SLP Praxis (5331) Glossary
The high-yield Praxis 5331 terms across all three content categories and the big nine in one place — hover any dotted term in the guide, or flip the whole deck here as a self-grading flashcard set.
- AAC
- Augmentative and alternative communication — aided or unaided supports that supplement or replace natural speech.
- Aphasia
- An acquired language disorder, usually from a left-hemisphere stroke, affecting some combination of speaking, understanding, reading, and writing.
- Apraxia of speech
- A motor speech disorder of planning/programming with no weakness, producing inconsistent errors and articulatory groping.
- Articulation disorder
- Difficulty physically producing individual speech sounds (motor-based errors such as a distorted /r/ or /s/).
- Aspiration
- Entry of food, liquid, or saliva below the level of the vocal folds into the airway.
- Audiogram
- A graph of hearing thresholds by frequency; right-ear air conduction is plotted as red circles, left-ear as blue X's.
- Big Nine
- ASHA's nine areas of clinical service competence an SLP must master, from speech sound production through feeding and swallowing.
- Broca's aphasia
- A nonfluent (expressive) aphasia: effortful, telegraphic speech with relatively preserved comprehension and awareness.
- CCC-SLP
- Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology — ASHA's national credential, requiring a master's degree, clinical fellowship, and a passing Praxis 5331 score.
- Chin tuck
- A compensatory swallowing posture that narrows the airway entrance and widens the valleculae to reduce aspiration risk.
- Clinical Fellowship
- A mentored, post-graduate period (at least 36 weeks / 1,260 hours) required before the CCC-SLP is awarded.
- Cluttering
- A fluency disorder of rapid and/or irregular rate with reduced intelligibility, distinct from stuttering.
- Code of Ethics
- ASHA's binding rules of professional conduct, built on principles of welfare, competence, integrity, and responsibility to the profession.
- Core vocabulary
- A small set of high-frequency words usable across many contexts, prioritized in AAC over context-specific fringe vocabulary.
- Criterion-referenced assessment
- An assessment measuring performance against a defined skill or criterion to identify what to target in therapy.
- Cycles approach
- A phonological treatment that targets error patterns in rotating cycles, emphasizing auditory bombardment and stimulable productions.
- Differential diagnosis
- Distinguishing among possible conditions that could explain a client's presentation to reach the correct diagnosis.
- Dysarthria
- A motor speech disorder of execution caused by muscle weakness or abnormal tone, producing slurred and consistent speech errors.
- Dysphagia
- A swallowing disorder affecting the oral, pharyngeal, and/or esophageal phases, carrying a risk of aspiration.
- Evidence-based practice
- Clinical decisions that integrate the best external research evidence, clinician expertise, and the client's values and preferences.
- FEES
- Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing — an instrumental exam using a nasendoscope to view the pharyngeal swallow.
- Fluency shaping
- A stuttering treatment that replaces stuttered speech with new fluent patterns (easy onset, prolonged speech, light contact).
- Generalization
- Carryover of a learned skill to untrained words, partners, and settings beyond the therapy room.
- Maintenance
- Continued use of a learned skill after therapy ends, confirmed with follow-up checks before and after discharge.
- MBSS
- Modified barium swallow study — a fluoroscopic instrumental exam that visualizes all swallow phases for aspiration and physiology.
- Measurable goal
- A goal that states an observable behavior, the condition, and a criterion for mastery so progress can be judged objectively.
- Mendelsohn maneuver
- A swallowing technique that prolongs laryngeal elevation to widen and sustain upper esophageal sphincter opening.
- Minimal pairs
- A phonological treatment using word pairs that differ by one sound to make the contrast meaningful (e.g., 'key' vs. 'tea').
- Norm-referenced test
- A standardized assessment that compares a client to a normative sample (percentiles, standard scores) to identify a disorder.
- Oral mechanism exam
- A structural and functional check of the lips, tongue, palate, and cranial nerves that support speech and swallowing.
- Phonological disorder
- A pattern-based speech sound disorder in which whole classes of sounds are simplified by predictable error patterns.
- Phonology
- The rule-governed sound system of a language — how sounds pattern and combine, distinct from the physical act of articulation.
- Pragmatics
- The social use of language — taking turns, staying on topic, and adjusting language to the listener and situation.
- Prognosis
- The clinician's prediction of the expected degree and rate of a client's improvement, distinct from the diagnosis.
- Scope of practice
- The range of professional activities ASHA defines as appropriate for an SLP — assessment, intervention, counseling, and prevention.
- Stuttering
- A fluency disorder marked by repetitions, prolongations, and blocks that disrupt the forward flow of speech.
- Stuttering modification
- A Van Riper approach that makes moments of stuttering easier (cancellations, pull-outs, preparatory sets) and reduces avoidance.
- Vocal nodules
- Benign, bilateral callous-like lesions on the vocal folds caused by chronic vocal misuse or abuse.
- Wernicke's aphasia
- A fluent (receptive) aphasia: well-articulated but meaningless speech with paraphasias and severely impaired comprehension.
SLP Praxis (5331) Study Guide FAQ
The Praxis Speech-Language Pathology test (5331) has 132 selected-response (multiple-choice) questions and a time limit of 150 minutes (2.5 hours). It is computer-delivered, and some questions are unscored field-test items that do not count toward your score.
There are three content categories, each about one third (33⅓%) of the exam with roughly 44 questions: (I) Foundations and Professional Practice, (II) Screening, Assessment, Evaluation, and Diagnosis, and (III) Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation of Treatment. Each tests the ASHA 'big nine' disorder areas.
ASHA requires a scaled score of 162 (on the 100–200 scale) on the Praxis 5331 for the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP). Some states set their own cut scores for licensure, so confirm the exact requirement where you plan to practice. Your score is valid for five years for certification.
The big nine are speech sound production, fluency, voice and resonance, receptive and expressive language, social communication, cognitive aspects of communication, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), hearing, and feeding and swallowing. The exam tests knowledge applied across all nine areas.
Yes. A passing Praxis 5331 score (162) is one of the requirements for the CCC-SLP, alongside a master's degree from an accredited program, completed clinical practicum, and the Clinical Fellowship. The test is recognized as the national examination in speech-language pathology.
Study by content category and by the big nine disorder areas. Master differential diagnosis (e.g., Broca's vs. Wernicke's aphasia, dysarthria vs. apraxia), assessment types, the swallow phases, and evidence-based treatment approaches. Use this free study guide with the practice test and flashcards.
The Praxis 5331 is typically taken near the end of, or after, your master's program in speech-language pathology. It is the national exam used for ASHA certification and for many state licenses and school-based credentials, so most SLPs take it as a single exam covering the whole scope of practice.
Yes — this SLP Praxis (5331) study guide, the practice test, and the flashcards are 100% free with no account required. They cover all three content categories and the big nine areas to help you build readiness for test day.
References
- 1.Educational Testing Service. “Speech-Language Pathology (5331).” ets.org. ↑
- 2.Educational Testing Service. “The Praxis Study Companion: Speech-Language Pathology (5331).” ets.org. ↑
- 3.American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. “About the Speech-Language Pathology Praxis Exam.” asha.org. ↑
- 4.American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. “Scope of Practice in Speech-Language Pathology.” asha.org. ↑
- 5.American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. “Code of Ethics.” asha.org. ↑
- 6.American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. “2020 SLP Certification Standards.” asha.org. ↑
- 7.American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. “Adult Dysphagia (Practice Portal).” asha.org. ↑
- 8.National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. “Aphasia.” nidcd.nih.gov. ↑
- 101.American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. “Speech Sound Disorders (Practice Portal).” asha.org, accessed 20 June 2026. ↑
- 102.American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. “Acquired Apraxia of Speech (Practice Portal).” asha.org, accessed 20 June 2026. ↑
- 103.American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. “Voice Disorders (Practice Portal).” asha.org, accessed 20 June 2026. ↑
- 104.American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. “Childhood Fluency Disorders (Practice Portal).” asha.org, accessed 20 June 2026. ↑
- 105.American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. “Augmentative and Alternative Communication (Practice Portal).” asha.org, accessed 20 June 2026. ↑
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