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PRAXIS ETS SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY (5331) EXAM
WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS DETAILED RATIONALES
GRADED A+
Praxis ETS Speech-Language Pathology (5331) Exam
SECTION 1: FOUNDATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE (Questions 1–50)
Question 1. Which cranial nerve is primarily responsible for motor control of the tongue?
A) Trigeminal (CN V)
B) Facial (CN VII)
C) Hypoglossal (CN XII)
D) Glossopharyngeal (CN IX)
Answer: C
Rationale: The hypoglossal nerve (CN XII) provides motor innervation to the intrinsic and
extrinsic muscles of the tongue, controlling its movement for speech, chewing, and swallowing.
Question 2. Which cranial nerve is primarily responsible for vocal fold movement?
A) Vagus (CN X)
B) Trigeminal (CN V)
C) Facial (CN VII)
D) Hypoglossal (CN XII)
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Answer: A
Rationale: The vagus nerve (CN X) provides motor innervation to the muscles of the larynx,
including the vocal folds, via the recurrent laryngeal nerve.
Question 3. The primary muscle of inspiration is the:
A) External intercostals
B) Diaphragm
C) Internal intercostals
D) Abdominal muscles
Answer: B
Rationale: The diaphragm is the primary muscle of inspiration, responsible for the majority of
tidal volume during quiet breathing.
Question 4. Which formant typically characterizes a high vowel?
A) High F1 and high F2
B) Low F1 and high F2
C) High F1 and low F2
D) Low F1 and low F2
Answer: B
Rationale: High vowels (such as /i/ and /u/) are characterized by a low first formant (F1) and a
high second formant (F2) for front vowels, reflecting the high tongue position.
Question 5. Which of the following is an example of a reversible passive?
A) The boy was hit by the ball.
B) The ball hit the boy.
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C) The boy hit the ball.
D) The ball was hit by the boy.
Answer: A
Rationale: A reversible passive is a passive sentence in which either noun phrase could logically
serve as the agent or the patient (e.g., "The boy was hit by the ball"), requiring the listener to
rely on syntactic cues rather than plausibility.
Question 6. Which of the following is true about the use of prolonged speech in stuttering
treatment?
A) It is likely to reduce the frequency of part-word repetitions.
B) It increases the frequency of part-word repetitions.
C) It has no effect on stuttering frequency.
D) It is only effective for adults.
Answer: A
Rationale: Prolonged speech is a fluency-shaping technique that slows the rate of speech and
reduces the frequency of part-word repetitions and other stuttering behaviors.
Question 7. Which of the following best describes the typical age range for the emergence of
canonical babbling in infants?
A) 0–2 months
B) 2–4 months
C) 6–10 months
D) 12–15 months
Answer: C
Rationale: Canonical babbling, characterized by well-formed consonant-vowel syllables,
typically emerges between 6 and 10 months of age.
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Question 8. A 6-year-old child produces [t] for /s/, [d] for /z/, [p] for /f/, and [b] for /v/. This
pattern is best described as:
A) Stopping
B) Fronting
C) Gliding
D) Cluster reduction
Answer: A
Rationale: Stopping is a phonological process in which fricatives and affricates are replaced by
stops (e.g., /s/ → [t], /f/ → [p]).
Question 9. Which of the following is an example of a language disorder in young children?
A) Speech sound disorder
B) Developmental language disorder
C) Fluency disorder
D) Voice disorder
Answer: B
Rationale: Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a persistent difficulty with language
comprehension and/or production that is not explained by other conditions.
Question 10. Which of the following is the primary cranial nerve responsible for motor control
of the tongue?
A) Trigeminal (CN V)
B) Facial (CN VII)
C) Hypoglossal (CN XII)
D) Glossopharyngeal (CN IX)
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PRAXIS ETS SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY (5331) EXAM
WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS DETAILED RATIONALES
GRADED A+
Praxis ETS Speech-Language Pathology (5331) Exam
SECTION 1: FOUNDATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE (Questions 1–50)
Question 1. Which cranial nerve is primarily responsible for motor control of the tongue?
A) Trigeminal (CN V)
B) Facial (CN VII)
C) Hypoglossal (CN XII)
D) Glossopharyngeal (CN IX)
Answer: C
Rationale: The hypoglossal nerve (CN XII) provides motor innervation to the intrinsic and
extrinsic muscles of the tongue, controlling its movement for speech, chewing, and swallowing.
Question 2. Which cranial nerve is primarily responsible for vocal fold movement?
A) Vagus (CN X)
B) Trigeminal (CN V)
C) Facial (CN VII)
D) Hypoglossal (CN XII)
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Answer: A
Rationale: The vagus nerve (CN X) provides motor innervation to the muscles of the larynx,
including the vocal folds, via the recurrent laryngeal nerve.
Question 3. The primary muscle of inspiration is the:
A) External intercostals
B) Diaphragm
C) Internal intercostals
D) Abdominal muscles
Answer: B
Rationale: The diaphragm is the primary muscle of inspiration, responsible for the majority of
tidal volume during quiet breathing.
Question 4. Which formant typically characterizes a high vowel?
A) High F1 and high F2
B) Low F1 and high F2
C) High F1 and low F2
D) Low F1 and low F2
Answer: B
Rationale: High vowels (such as /i/ and /u/) are characterized by a low first formant (F1) and a
high second formant (F2) for front vowels, reflecting the high tongue position.
Question 5. Which of the following is an example of a reversible passive?
A) The boy was hit by the ball.
B) The ball hit the boy.
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C) The boy hit the ball.
D) The ball was hit by the boy.
Answer: A
Rationale: A reversible passive is a passive sentence in which either noun phrase could logically
serve as the agent or the patient (e.g., "The boy was hit by the ball"), requiring the listener to
rely on syntactic cues rather than plausibility.
Question 6. Which of the following is true about the use of prolonged speech in stuttering
treatment?
A) It is likely to reduce the frequency of part-word repetitions.
B) It increases the frequency of part-word repetitions.
C) It has no effect on stuttering frequency.
D) It is only effective for adults.
Answer: A
Rationale: Prolonged speech is a fluency-shaping technique that slows the rate of speech and
reduces the frequency of part-word repetitions and other stuttering behaviors.
Question 7. Which of the following best describes the typical age range for the emergence of
canonical babbling in infants?
A) 0–2 months
B) 2–4 months
C) 6–10 months
D) 12–15 months
Answer: C
Rationale: Canonical babbling, characterized by well-formed consonant-vowel syllables,
typically emerges between 6 and 10 months of age.
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Question 8. A 6-year-old child produces [t] for /s/, [d] for /z/, [p] for /f/, and [b] for /v/. This
pattern is best described as:
A) Stopping
B) Fronting
C) Gliding
D) Cluster reduction
Answer: A
Rationale: Stopping is a phonological process in which fricatives and affricates are replaced by
stops (e.g., /s/ → [t], /f/ → [p]).
Question 9. Which of the following is an example of a language disorder in young children?
A) Speech sound disorder
B) Developmental language disorder
C) Fluency disorder
D) Voice disorder
Answer: B
Rationale: Developmental language disorder (DLD) is a persistent difficulty with language
comprehension and/or production that is not explained by other conditions.
Question 10. Which of the following is the primary cranial nerve responsible for motor control
of the tongue?
A) Trigeminal (CN V)
B) Facial (CN VII)
C) Hypoglossal (CN XII)
D) Glossopharyngeal (CN IX)
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