Official ETS Practice Questions and Study Companions
The most reliable starting point for any candidate is the material produced by the test developer. The official SLLA 6990 practice test online provided by ETS offers the highest level of alignment with the actual exam's cognitive depth. These questions are developed using the same rigorous psychometric standards as the live test, ensuring that the difficulty level and linguistic nuances are authentic. The Study Companion document, while free, provides a limited set of sample items that illustrate the breadth of the six content categories: Strategic Leadership, Instructional Leadership, Management and Operations, Family and Community Engagement, Ethics and Professional Norms, and Equity and Cultural Responsiveness. Candidates should pay close attention to the Rationales for Correct Answers provided in these documents, as they explain why a specific distractor is incorrect based on the PSEL standards. Understanding this logic is vital for navigating the "best answer" format where multiple choices may seem plausible but only one aligns with the prioritized role of a school principal.
Third-Party Question Banks and Test Prep Books
While official materials are the gold standard, many candidates require a higher volume of items to build stamina and identify patterns. Third-party Praxis SLLA 6990 study materials offer extensive question banks that allow for repetitive drilling on specific domains, such as school law or budget allocation. When using these resources, look for those that categorize questions by the specific PSEL standards. A high-quality third-party bank will include a mix of recall questions—focusing on legal precedents like Tinker v. Des Moines or Garcetti v. Ceballos—and higher-order situational questions. The value of these books often lies in their ability to provide diverse phrasing, which prevents candidates from merely memorizing official practice items. However, ensure the resource is updated for the 6990 version of the exam, as older materials for the 6011 version may not adequately cover the increased emphasis on equity and social justice found in the current assessment framework.
Evaluating the Quality of Practice Questions
Not all practice questions are created equal. To determine if a Praxis SLLA 6990 sample test is worth your time, evaluate the complexity of its distractors. In the real SLLA 6990, distractors are often "partially correct" actions that a leader might take but which do not address the root cause of the problem presented in the stem. If a practice set features obvious "throwaway" answers, it is likely too simple and will give you a false sense of security. Quality questions should utilize the Situational Judgment format, presenting a scenario involving a conflict between stakeholders or a decline in student data. Look for questions that require you to prioritize actions—using phrases like "What should the principal do FIRST?" or "What is the MOST effective strategy?" These items test your ability to apply the Decision-Making Model advocated by the exam, which prioritizes student safety, legal compliance, and instructional equity over administrative convenience.
Taking a Full-Length Praxis SLLA Sample Test
Simulating Real Exam Conditions
Taking a full-length sample test is a physical and mental endurance exercise. The SLLA 6990 allocates 4 hours for completion: 120 selected-response questions in 165 minutes and two constructed-response questions in 75 minutes. To simulate these conditions, you must sit in a quiet environment, remove all distractions, and use a timer. This simulation helps you build the mental stamina required to remain analytical during the final hour of the exam. It also allows you to practice the Navigation Tool—the ability to flag difficult questions and return to them later. In a high-stakes environment, the pressure can lead to "analysis paralysis" on complex data-interpretation items. By simulating the test, you learn to manage your physiological response to stress, ensuring that your cognitive resources remain focused on the nuances of school leadership rather than the ticking clock.
With 165 minutes for 120 questions, you have approximately 82 seconds per item. This may seem generous, but many items feature long stems or data tables that require significant reading time. A successful strategy involves the Two-Pass Method. On the first pass, answer all questions that you can resolve in under 45 seconds. These are typically knowledge-based items regarding policy or clear-cut ethical scenarios. Flag any item that requires deep data analysis or involves a complex personnel conflict. By clearing the shorter items first, you bank time for the more labor-intensive questions. During your practice sessions, monitor your "time per item" specifically for Content Category II (Instructional Leadership), as these often involve reviewing teacher observation notes or student achievement data, which naturally take longer to process than questions in Category V (Ethics).
Once you complete a practice exam, the raw score is less important than the Domain-Specific Breakdown. Most high-quality practice platforms provide a report showing your percentage of correct answers in each of the six categories. If you are scoring 85% in Management and Operations but only 60% in Equity and Cultural Responsiveness, your study plan must shift immediately. Analyze the questions you missed to see if there is a pattern in your errors. Are you missing questions because of a lack of content knowledge (e.g., not knowing the components of a School Improvement Plan), or are you misinterpreting the "leadership move" required? Use the Response Analysis to determine if you are consistently choosing the "safe" administrative answer over the "transformative" leadership answer, as the SLLA 6990 heavily favors the latter.
Practicing the SLLA 6990 Constructed-Response Scenarios
Finding Authentic Scenario Prompts
The constructed-response (CR) section is often the most intimidating part of the exam, requiring candidates to synthesize their knowledge in a written format. To practice effectively, you need Praxis 6990 constructed response examples that mirror the two specific types of prompts: one focused on a school improvement scenario and one focused on a legal or ethical dilemma. Authentic prompts will provide you with a set of documents—such as a school's vision statement, a demographic profile, or a faculty survey—and ask you to identify problems and propose specific, evidence-based solutions. Avoid generic essay prompts. Instead, seek out practice materials that require you to use the provided data to justify your leadership actions. This mimics the Evidence-Based Writing requirement of the SLLA, where your score depends on your ability to link your proposal directly to the artifacts provided in the prompt.
Structuring Your Leadership Response
A successful CR response is not a creative writing piece; it is a technical document. Use a structured approach such as the Identify-Analyze-Propose (IAP) framework. First, clearly identify the core issue presented in the scenario (e.g., a lack of alignment between the curriculum and state standards). Second, analyze the data to explain why this is a problem, citing specific numbers or trends from the provided artifacts. Third, propose two or three specific leadership actions to address the issue, such as establishing a Professional Learning Community (PLC) or implementing a new Tier 2 intervention. In your practice, focus on using Action-Oriented Language. Instead of saying "The principal should talk to the teachers," write "The principal will facilitate a data-driven dialogue during the grade-level team meeting to identify instructional gaps." This level of specificity demonstrates the professional competency expected of a licensed administrator.
Scoring Rubrics and Self-Evaluation Techniques
To improve your writing, you must grade your practice responses using the official SLLA 6990 Scoring Rubric. The rubric typically scales from 0 to 3 or 0 to 4. A top-tier response must be "thorough, showing a sophisticated understanding of the complexities of the problem." When self-evaluating, be critical about your use of evidence. Ask yourself: "Did I cite the specific data point from the table?" and "Did my proposed solution directly address the PSEL standard mentioned in the prompt?" It is also helpful to compare your response to Anchor Papers—sample responses provided by ETS that represent different score points. Seeing the difference between a '2' (which might be too general) and a '3' (which is specific and well-justified) will help you internalize the expectations of the human raters who will score your exam.
Building a Study Plan Around Practice Tests
Diagnostic Testing to Identify Weak Areas
Your preparation should begin with a diagnostic SLLA 6990 practice test online. This initial attempt serves as a baseline, revealing your natural strengths and the areas where your professional experience might actually conflict with the exam's expectations. For example, a veteran teacher might answer questions based on their local district's specific (and perhaps non-standard) policies rather than the universal best practices tested on the SLLA. The diagnostic test highlights these biases. Use the results to create a Study Matrix, mapping your lowest-performing domains to the specific PSEL standards they represent. This ensures that your subsequent reading and review are targeted rather than aimless, maximizing the efficiency of your study hours in the weeks leading up to the test date.
Incorporating Practice into Weekly Study Sessions
Practice should be distributed, not crammed. A high-yield study plan integrates small sets of official SLLA practice questions into every study session. Instead of reading about school law for three hours, spend 45 minutes reading about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and then immediately answer 10–15 practice questions focused on Special Education leadership. This application-heavy approach reinforces memory through the Testing Effect, a psychological phenomenon where the act of retrieving information through testing significantly increases long-term retention. By alternating between content review and practice questions, you ensure that you are not just recognizing terms, but are capable of applying them to the fluid, often messy scenarios presented in the School Leaders Licensure Assessment.
Progress Tracking with Sequential Practice Exams
As you move through your study plan, schedule full-length practice exams at regular intervals—perhaps one every two weeks. This sequential testing allows you to track your Score Velocity. You should see a steady increase in your raw score and a decrease in the time it takes you to complete the selected-response section. If your scores plateau, it may indicate that you have mastered the content but are struggling with the "logic" of the test. In this case, stop focusing on new information and spend your time analyzing the Distractor Rationales in the questions you missed. Understanding why the "next best" answer was wrong is often the key to moving from a near-passing score to a high-ranking one. This iterative process of testing, analyzing, and refining is the hallmark of a candidate who is truly prepared for the rigors of the 6990.
Common Mistakes on SLLA Practice Questions and How to Avoid Them
Misinterpreting Educational Leadership Scenarios
A frequent error on the SLLA 6990 is choosing an answer that is too "authoritarian" or, conversely, too "passive." The exam looks for Collaborative Leadership. For instance, if a scenario describes a faculty resistant to a new initiative, an incorrect distractor might suggest the principal "mandate compliance through formal evaluations." While technically within a principal's power, the SLLA prefers answers that involve building consensus, such as "forming a task force of teacher leaders to address concerns." When practicing, if you find yourself gravitating toward top-down solutions, remind yourself that the Distributed Leadership Model is a core philosophy of the PSEL standards. Practice questions help you recalibrate your internal "leadership compass" to align with the collaborative, inclusive approach favored by the assessment.
Overlooking Key Details in Data-Based Questions
The SLLA 6990 frequently uses Data Stimuli, such as tables showing student performance disaggregated by race, socio-economic status, or English Language Learner (ELL) status. A common mistake is failing to identify the specific subgroup that is underperforming. Candidates often choose a broad solution (e.g., "provide professional development for all teachers") when the data specifically shows that only one grade level or one specific subgroup is struggling. When engaging with Praxis SLLA 6990 practice questions, practice the habit of circling or highlighting the specific "delta" in the data. Before looking at the answer choices, ask yourself: "What is the specific gap this data reveals?" This discipline prevents you from falling for distractors that offer good solutions to the wrong problems.
Time Management Pitfalls and Recovery
Many candidates lose significant points by spending too much time on the first of the two constructed-response questions, leaving them with insufficient time to address the second. This is a fatal error, as each CR scenario is weighted heavily in the final scaled score. During your practice runs, use a Hard Stop strategy: give yourself exactly 37 minutes for the first CR. Even if you aren't finished, move to the second. It is better to have two "good" responses than one "perfect" response and one that is incomplete. In the selected-response section, avoid the trap of "second-guessing" your first instinct unless you find a specific piece of evidence in the question stem that you initially overlooked. Statistical analysis of test-takers shows that the first instinct is correct more often than not; over-analysis in the final minutes of the exam often leads to changing correct answers to incorrect ones.