Of late, states are trying to codify the credential pathways for computer science teachers. For example, New Jersey has mandated that 6th-12th grade teachers (but not, mercifully, K-5th grade teachers – Correction: K-6th grade teachers with no more than one-half of the daily instructional assignment) who currently teach computer science (and have good evaluations) are grandfathered into the credential, but they must pass a Praxis subject matter test by 2027. Let us take a deeper look into that Praxis Computer Science test. UPDATE October 11, 2024: You likely don’t have to take the Praxis exam! UPDATE October 15, there was a miscommunication with the NJDOE and you do have to take the Praxis exam. UPDATE July 12, 2025: The NJODE is considering a change to require the Praxis exam only for 9-12th grade teachers.
From the free (once you register) study guide for the Praxis Computer Science Test (5652):
The Praxis Computer Science test is designed to assess the computer science knowledge and competencies necessary for a beginning teacher of secondary school computer science.
Examinees have typically completed a bachelor’s program with an emphasis in computer
science or computer science education.
Before getting into the details, it’s important to know that what constitutes a bachelor’s degree in computer science is still in flux, even in 2024. There is an interesting snapshot of the confusion about “What is Computer Science” in a 1968 speech by Richard Hamming entitled “One Man’s View of Computer Science“. Suffice it to say, back in 1968, the argument was, is it math or is it engineering (spoiler alert: Hamming was on the side of engineering)? The debate continues to this day with no end in sight as subjects like data science, cybersecurity, networking, digital citizenship, information technology, robotics, and artificial intelligence continue to push and pull at any solidified definition.
This brings us to a fundamental flaw in the Praxis Computer Science (5652) exam. It is but one opinion in a world of many opinions on the definition of what someone with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science should know.
Per ETS’s policies, I cannot discuss any specific test items. However, I can say that I was rather dismayed by the breadth of topics expected of someone taking the 5652 exam. Traditional coding (in AP style) problems, questions about copyright, databases, networking, operating systems, computer architecture, recursion, data science (including some nasty, at least to me, spreadsheet questions), binary and hexadecimal, and runtime efficiency (not Big O, though) are all fair game for the exam.
I received a BS in computer science in 1997 and did not have to take a networking class, nor a database class. I recently took both classes in my MS program, but it does not seem reasonable to expect that everyone with an undergraduate degree in computer science has taken these classes. Most states don’t even require prospective teachers to have a bachelor’s degree in computer science to teach computer science. As an add-on credential, NJ only requires 15 credits on the subject which, by some definitions, barely covers the equivalent of AP CSP and AP CS A. All of which is a topic for a different blog post.
I was particularly dismayed by the questions on copyright as I am knowledgeable on copyright law since I have an MA in Music, and before teaching computer science I spent many years working as a music copyist. I do see the relevance of copyright law to computer science education, but I feel that expecting teachers to know all the subtleties of different copyrights on a test seems a little unreasonable.
Now, before you completely panic, here are passing requirements by state for the 5652 exam:
Requiring a grade of 149 to pass sounds a bit scary until you learn that the scores start at 100 and stop at 200. You get 100 points just for showing up! There are only 100 questions on the 5652 exam, so a 149 represents getting a 49/100. To be clear, that means that getting slightly over half the questions wrong is still a qualifying score. Update: A 60/100 is required because of the weighted math using by ETS to score the exam. More information at: Technical Manual for the Praxis® Tests
States requiring even lower scores get dangerously close to the point where random guessing comes close to meeting the requirement. Over time, random guessing would give the test taker an average of 25% (i.e. one out of four since the multiple choice test has only A B C D answers). Edit: And this is at the core of the scaled exam, to factor in the possibility of random answers.
Of course, most people who find this post by Googling really want to know how to pass the test. The first thing to do is get a good book on AP Computer Science Principles (avoid the book that rhymes with ‘Sharon’!). I rather like this book by Kevin Hare, who also has some online resources to assist (which I have not tried).
Definitely pay for the sample test which well mimics what you will see when you take the computer test, whether in person or virtually. As a side note, it is fascinating to watch the people who create the tests profit from both the taking of the tests and studying for the tests. Also know ahead of time that the sample test has mistakes. The question that bothered me the most was about how to teach students the limitations of a Caesar cipher. One answer was to teach them about letter frequency and another was to have them code both an encoder and decoder. I chose the latter, knowing that letter frequency analysis is only useful for large text samples and Caesar cipher is much more easily broken by brute force. And the test judged that I got the question “wrong”.
This, however, is a problem with many Praxis exams as they try to ask questions about how to teach where the answer is more a matter of opinion, or in this case, is outright incorrect. The best advice on these questions is to stop thinking about what is right and wrong and think about what you think they think is right and wrong. Yes, that is quite a headache.
Beyond that, I recommend some basic review of copyrights, recursion, a basic understanding of factorial, linear, logarithmic and quadratic algorithms, and some work on spreadsheet basics in relation to data science. I also highly recommend the free Harvard CS50 massively online open course, which is free (just don’t take the “Week” term too literally). A score of 149 160 should be quite doable with a little work.
I highly recommend you take the test in person, although scheduling that can be very difficult. I had a good experience at the testing site where I arrived at a rather nondescript office building, had to show my ID, and put all my personal items in a locked locker (you get to keep the key while taking the test). Then, after undergoing a metal detector wand sweep, I went into a testing room with multiple people separated by dividers, and I was able to use the provided scratch paper and pencils to work on the questions (I filled up all the sheets).
The at home version is a different level of intrusion which I have not experienced. But I’ve heard that people have had problems installing ETS’s lockdown browser, and know that you are not allowed to use paper for scratch work and instead must use something erasable like a small whiteboard so you can show the virtual proctor watching you that you have erased everything. Yes, you are watched throughout the entire test.
Do know that you will get an unofficial score at the end of the test either way. That score is unofficial because ETS uses different tests all the time and looks to remove and disquality any questions that might be invalid or unreasonable. In most cases, you will get the same score as your official score, though in rare cases, it might go up or down a few points.
On a side note, I tried to call ETS to get more information for this blog post and waited over 30 minutes on hold to ultimately get someone who wouldn’t answer any general questions, wouldn’t let me speak to a supervisor, was very rude, and hung up on me when I didn’t want to give out my personal information. Perhaps someone from ETS will read this, but it may be worth pointing out that ETS is a monopoly in the states that mandate the Praxis, and Pearson is a monopoly in most of the other states such as Texas, Florida, Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois.
It might be interesting to imagine a world where states opted to allow either ETS or Pearson to count towards a credential. Competition can be a wonderful way to improve the quality of all the products.
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