- Why There's No Official Pass Rate for 5358
- How the 100-200 Scale and State Cut Scores Work
- What the Test Format Tells You About Difficulty
- Where Points Are Won and Lost by Domain
- Who Actually Sits for 5358
- Retake Costs, Timing, and What Changes the Second Time
- A Domain-Weighted Study Timeline
- Frequently Asked Questions
- ETS does not publish a national pass rate for Praxis Gifted Education (5358); passing scores are set individually by each state.
- The exam has 120 selected-response questions (including unscored pretest items) in a 2-hour window, roughly one minute per question.
- Instruction of Gifted Students carries the most weight at 28%, about 33 of the scored questions.
- Retakes cost the same $130 registration fee as a first attempt, with a mandatory 28-day wait between sittings.
Why There's No Official Pass Rate for 5358
If you're searching for a single number that tells you "X% of candidates pass Praxis Gifted Education (5358)," you won't find one from ETS. Unlike some licensure exams that publish aggregate pass-rate data by state or institution, ETS does not release a public national pass rate for this specific assessment. That's not an oversight - it reflects how the exam is used. Because 5358 is most often required for an add-on gifted endorsement rather than an initial teaching license, the population sitting for it is smaller and more fragmented across states than for flagship licensure tests, and the data isn't aggregated the same way.
That absence of a headline statistic is actually useful information in itself. It means the smarter question isn't "what's the pass rate," but "what does the passing bar look like, and how do I clear it." That's what the rest of this article focuses on, using only verifiable facts about the exam's structure, scoring, and content weighting. For a broader look at how the test compares in overall rigor, see our complete difficulty guide.
How the 100-200 Scale and State Cut Scores Work
Praxis Gifted Education (5358) is scored on the standard Praxis 100-200 scale. Each state department of education that accepts this test for a gifted endorsement sets its own minimum qualifying score on that scale. This is a meaningful distinction from tests with one universal passing threshold: two candidates who take the exact same exam can have different pass/fail outcomes depending solely on which state is evaluating their score report.
Because of this, "pass rate" as a concept is really state-specific rather than exam-specific. A candidate targeting a state with a lower cut score and a candidate targeting a state with a higher cut score are not playing on the same field, even though they answer the same 120 questions. If you haven't yet confirmed your state's exact number, our passing score breakdown walks through how to find it before you build a study plan around the wrong target.
- Registration includes four free score recipients, so you can send results to your state agency and other parties without extra fees.
- Scores remain reportable for 10 years, which matters if you take the test before finishing a graduate gifted-education program and need the score later.
- The current ETS Study Companion for this exam carries a 2022 copyright, so content specifications have been stable for several testing cycles.
What the Test Format Tells You About Difficulty
Without an official pass rate to lean on, the exam's format is the most reliable proxy for how demanding it is. Praxis Gifted Education (5358) consists of 120 selected-response questions delivered by computer, with a 2-hour time limit. That count includes unscored pretest items that ETS uses to evaluate future questions - you won't know which ones those are, so every question needs your full attention.
At 120 questions in 120 minutes, candidates average roughly one minute per question. That's a tight but workable pace for selected-response items, provided you're not stalling on questions that require rereading a scenario two or three times. ETS explicitly designs these items to probe conceptual understanding, procedural awareness, interpretation, integration, and application - not simple recall. That framing matters for prep: memorizing definitions of curriculum models or identification methods won't be enough if the question asks you to apply that model to a classroom scenario.
Key Takeaway
Practice under real timing constraints well before test day. If you're consistently spending more than a minute per question on practice sets, the issue is usually application speed, not content knowledge - which points to more scenario-based practice rather than more flashcards.
The exam is administered by ETS through the Praxis network, including Prometric test centers, and also offers at-home online proctored delivery. Registration costs $130, and that fee is identical whether it's your first attempt or a retake. For a full accounting of every cost associated with earning this endorsement, see our certification cost breakdown.
Where Points Are Won and Lost by Domain
Because there's no published item-level performance data, the best way to reason about difficulty is through the domain weighting itself. Five content areas make up the exam, and they are not weighted equally:
| Domain | Weight | Approx. Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Instruction of Gifted Students | 28% | ~33 |
| Development and Characteristics of Gifted Students | 21% | ~25 |
| Learning Environment for Gifted Students | 19% | ~23 |
| Identification and Assessment of Gifted Students | 18% | ~22 |
| Professionalism | 14% | ~17 |
Instruction of Gifted Students is the single largest domain, accounting for more scored questions than any other area. A candidate who is strong everywhere else but weak here is taking on unnecessary risk, since this domain alone can swing a borderline score.
Instruction of Gifted Students (28%)
This domain covers curriculum models, differentiation strategies, pacing decisions, and higher-level questioning techniques. It also includes problem-based and inquiry-based learning, metacognitive strategy instruction, and provisions for profoundly gifted learners, including radical acceleration.
- Be able to match a curriculum model to a described classroom scenario
- Know how differentiation and pacing decisions change for profoundly gifted students specifically
- Understand when radical acceleration is an appropriate provision versus other options
The other four domains are not filler. Development and Characteristics of Gifted Students, Learning Environment for Gifted Students, Identification and Assessment of Gifted Students, and Professionalism together make up 72% of the exam. A candidate who over-indexes prep time on instruction and neglects identification and assessment, for example, risks missing nearly a fifth of the test. For a full breakdown of what each domain actually tests, our exam domains guide covers all five areas in depth, and our one-page cheat sheet is useful for a fast pre-exam review of must-know facts across all five.
Who Actually Sits for 5358
The candidate pool for this exam is narrower and more experienced than for many entry-level licensure tests. It's built for people entering gifted education specifically - typically candidates completing a graduate program in gifted education, or candidates holding an undergraduate degree plus substantial hands-on experience planning and delivering gifted services in a district. Most take it to add a gifted endorsement onto an existing license rather than to earn an initial teaching credential.
This matters for how you think about "pass rate" qualitatively. The people sitting for 5358 are generally not first-year teachers with no classroom exposure - many already have direct experience with gifted programming, differentiation, or coordinating identification processes. That prior exposure shapes preparation strategy: a candidate who has spent years running a pull-out gifted program may need less review of basic characteristics and more targeted review of assessment terminology or professionalism standards they haven't touched since coursework. If you're unsure whether you currently meet the eligibility profile, check our requirements guide before registering.
Retake Costs, Timing, and What Changes the Second Time
Since there's no published pass rate, it's worth being clear-eyed about what happens if a first attempt doesn't clear your state's cut score. ETS requires a 28-day wait before you can retest, and the retake registration fee is the same $130 as your original attempt - there's no discount for a second try. That flat pricing means every unnecessary retake is a real cost, which is the strongest argument for treating your first sitting as the one that counts.
Practically, a retake strategy should be diagnostic, not just "study more." Compare your performance across the five domains, identify which one or two areas cost you the most points, and rebuild your review plan around those specific gaps rather than re-reading everything from scratch. Our study guide includes a section on interpreting a score report to target retake prep efficiently.
- Confirm your state's cut score before deciding whether a retake is even necessary - some states set the bar lower than you might assume.
- Recheck the current testing calendar before scheduling; our exam dates guide covers testing windows and deadlines.
- Use practice questions modeled on real domain weighting rather than generic gifted-ed trivia - you can run full-length timed sets on our practice test platform to simulate the actual 120-question, 2-hour format.
A Domain-Weighted Study Timeline
Generic study advice - spaced repetition, timed drills, review cycles - only helps if it's mapped onto the actual weight of each domain. Below is a compressed timeline that allocates more time to Instruction of Gifted Students, proportionate to its 28% share, while still covering every domain before test day.
Development and Characteristics of Gifted Students
- Review identifying traits, asynchronous development, and twice-exceptional profiles
- Take a baseline timed practice set at the main practice test site to establish your starting pace
Instruction of Gifted Students
- Drill curriculum models, differentiation, pacing, and higher-level questioning scenarios
- Focus extra time on profoundly gifted provisions and radical acceleration decisions
Learning Environment & Identification/Assessment
- Review classroom setup, grouping models, and identification/assessment terminology together since both carry similar weight
Professionalism & Full Review
- Cover ethics, advocacy, and collaboration topics from Professionalism
- Run a full 120-question, 2-hour timed simulation to confirm pacing
This timeline is intentionally proportional rather than evenly split across five equal blocks - spending the same amount of time on Professionalism (14%) as on Instruction (28%) would misallocate effort relative to how the exam is actually built. For a day-by-day version of this plan with more granular tasks, see the first-attempt study guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. ETS does not release a national pass rate for this exam. Passing is determined by a cut score that each state sets independently on the 100-200 Praxis scale.
Use domain-weighted practice performance instead. Since Instruction of Gifted Students makes up 28% of the exam, weak performance there is a stronger warning sign than weak performance in a smaller domain like Professionalism at 14%.
No. Both first attempts and retakes cost $130 to register. There is a mandatory 28-day wait between attempts, so plan retake timing around that gap.
Scores remain reportable for 10 years, which gives candidates flexibility if they take the exam before completing a graduate gifted-education program or before applying for an endorsement in a new state.
Most candidates are pursuing an add-on gifted endorsement, meaning they typically already hold or are completing licensure and are adding this credential through a graduate gifted-education program or equivalent classroom experience. Check the requirements guide for specifics.