The ParaPro Test

'ParaPro test', 'ParaPro exam' and 'ParaPro Assessment' are the same thing. ETS's name for it is the ParaPro Assessment, test code 1755, and it is written and scored by Educational Testing Service (ETS).

It is for paraprofessionals: the teaching assistants and classroom aides who work alongside a teacher. It checks two things in each of three subjects. The first is whether you have the reading, math and writing skills yourself. The second is whether you can use them to help a student in a classroom.

ETS lists no prerequisites, so anyone can register. Whether the test is required of you is decided by your state or school district, not by ETS, and so is the score you need.

Check one more thing first. ETS now also runs a newer set of tests called ParaPathways, and its bulletin tells candidates to find out which of the two their state uses before scheduling. ETS's state requirements page shows the change under way: Rhode Island, for one, has accepted only ParaPathways since March 1, 2026. This page and this site's question bank are for the ParaPro Assessment (1755).

Before you book, ask the district you work for or are applying to three things: whether it requires the ParaPro Assessment, what its qualifying score is, and which score recipient you should select when you register. Your score report shows whether your score meets the qualifying score for the state of the recipient you chose.

90 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes, on a computer. ETS gives about 30 questions, roughly a third of the test, to each of reading, mathematics and writing. Within each subject about two-thirds of the questions are on skills and knowledge and about one-third are on applying those skills in the classroom: something like 20 and 10.

There are no separately timed sections. The 2 hours 30 minutes run as one clock across all three subjects, about 100 seconds a question, and how you divide the time is up to you. A candidate who is slow at arithmetic can borrow time from reading, and the other way round.

Most questions offer four choices and ask for one. ETS notes that some ask you to select more than one choice and some ask you to type in a number, so read the instruction on each question before you answer.

ETS says the test may include some questions that do not count toward your score. It does not say how many or which, so treat every question as counting.

There are two ways to take it. At a participating test center, such as a school district, a regional office of education or another local provider, the fee is $55, and some centers add a charge of their own. At home, with a live online proctor, it is $85, and appointments are offered seven days a week.

Rescheduling carries a fee, which ETS's 2026-27 information bulletin gives as half the test fee. ETS's ParaPro site is the authority for current fees and for the equipment and room requirements of at-home testing.

ETS reports a score, and it reports whether that score meets the qualifying score of the state of your selected score recipient. ETS does not decide what the qualifying score is. Each state or school district does, and they do not all choose the same number.

For that reason this page states no qualifying score. A figure quoted on a general website may be right for one state and wrong for yours. The number that counts is the one your district gives you.

ETS's retake policy, in effect since June 22, 2024, has two stages. You may retake the test once as soon as you like. If you need more attempts after that, you must wait 7 days after your most recent attempt, and you may then test two more times. ETS's bulletin says further retakes follow the same pattern.

Do not plan on one. ETS's ParaPro information bulletin lists calculators among the prohibited aids that can get a test taker dismissed, and nothing we read from ETS describes an on-screen calculator for this test. The math is arithmetic, fractions, decimals, percentages and basic geometry, so prepare to do all of it by hand.

Candidates who prepare by brushing up on school reading, math and grammar are preparing for two-thirds of the test. The other third is about helping a student. A reading question may describe a child stuck on a word and ask which approach would help them sound it out. A writing question may show a student's draft and ask what to work on next. A math question may show a student's wrong working and ask where it went wrong.

None of this needs a teaching qualification. It does need you to have seen the question type before, and to know the everyday vocabulary of early reading and writing instruction: syllables, prefixes and suffixes, prewriting, drafting, revising. The ParaPro study guide on this site goes through every topic in both groups.