A method must accept whole-number scores from 0 to 100 and reject every other number. Which set of test values checks it best?Wikipedia, "Boundary-value analysis". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 1 (computational thinking and problem solving)
A released attendance program is changed to fix errors that users report and to run on a new operating system. Which stage of the software development life cycle is this?Wikipedia, "Software maintenance". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 1 (computational thinking and problem solving)
A student splits a quiz game project into four parts (ask a question, check the answer, keep score, show the result) and builds each part separately. Which practice is this?K–12 Computer Science Framework, Glossary, "decompose". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 1 (computational thinking and problem solving)
A student steps through an algorithm by hand and writes the value of each variable, row after row, in the columns of a chart. What is this chart called?Wikipedia, "Trace table". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 1 (computational thinking and problem solving)
Show all 50 questions (46 more)
Computational thinking and problem solving, continued
A student writes a drawSquare procedure once, then calls it by name wherever a square is needed, without rereading the steps inside it. Which idea does this show?K–12 Computer Science Framework, Glossary, "abstraction". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 1 (computational thinking and problem solving)
A variable x starts at 1. A loop then runs four times, and each pass replaces x with 2x + 1. What is x when the loop ends?NIST, Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures, "iteration". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 1 (computational thinking and problem solving)
Before coding, a student writes the steps of a solution in plain structured language that follows no single programming language's rules. What is this called?Wikipedia, "Pseudocode". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 1 (computational thinking and problem solving)
Which of these is an algorithm?NIST, Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures, "algorithm". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 1 (computational thinking and problem solving)
Data types and structures 7
A byte holds the bit pattern 0101 1010. Read as an unsigned binary number, what is its value in decimal?Wikipedia, "Binary number". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 2 (data types and structures)
A Java class Student declares the field static int count. A program then creates ten Student objects. How many copies of count exist?Oracle, The Java Tutorials, Variables. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 2 (data types and structures)
An editor's Undo command must reverse the most recent change first. Which data structure fits, and why?NIST, Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures, "stack". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 2 (data types and structures)
In Java, a variable is declared inside the body of a method. Where can that variable be used?Oracle, The Java Tutorials, Variables. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 2 (data types and structures)
In Java, the field balance is declared private in the class Account. Which code can use balance directly?Oracle, The Java Tutorials, Controlling Access to Members of a Class. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 2 (data types and structures)
Which hexadecimal value equals the binary number 1010 1100?Wikipedia, "Hexadecimal". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 2 (data types and structures)
Which Java primitive type holds one 16-bit Unicode character?Oracle, The Java Tutorials, Primitive Data Types. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 2 (data types and structures)
Programming logic 10
A binary search looks for one name in a sorted list of 1,000 names. At most, about how many names does it have to examine?NIST, Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures, "binary search". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 3 (programming logic)
A Java program compiles, but while it runs it divides an int by zero and stops with an ArithmeticException. Which kind of error is this?Oracle, Java Platform SE 8 API Specification, Class ArithmeticException. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 3 (programming logic)
A Java program must show a menu at least once and repeat it until the user picks Quit. Which loop tests its condition after the body has run?Oracle, The Java Tutorials, The while and do-while Statements. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 3 (programming logic)
A program compiles, runs to the end without crashing, and prints an average that is too low. Which kind of error is this?Wikipedia, "Logic error". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 3 (programming logic)
A recursive Java method has no base case. What happens when it is called?Oracle, Java Platform SE 8 API Specification, Class StackOverflowError. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 3 (programming logic)
An insertion sort works from left to right on the list 5, 2, 4, 1. Its first pass inserts the 2 and gives 2, 5, 4, 1. What is the list after the next pass?NIST, Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures, "insertion sort". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 3 (programming logic)
By De Morgan's laws, which expression always has the same value as !(a && b)?Wikipedia, "De Morgan's laws". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 3 (programming logic)
How does an object-oriented design organize a program, compared with a procedural design?Wikipedia, "Procedural programming". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 3 (programming logic)
Which of these is internal documentation for a program?Wikipedia, "Comment (computer programming)". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 3 (programming logic)
Which sort repeatedly searches the items that remain for the smallest one and moves it to its final place?NIST, Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures, "selection sort". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 3 (programming logic)
Programming languages 10
A Java method is written as void addOne(int n) { n = n + 1; }. The caller has int count = 5 and runs addOne(count). What is count afterward?Oracle, The Java Tutorials, Passing Information to a Method or a Constructor. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 4 (programming languages)
In Java, a and b refer to two different String objects that hold the same characters. Which expression is true?Oracle, Java Platform SE 8 API Specification, Class String, equals. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 4 (programming languages)
In Java, Car is a subclass of Vehicle and overrides its describe() method. After Vehicle v = new Car(); which describe() runs when the program calls v.describe()?Oracle, The Java Tutorials, Polymorphism. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 4 (programming languages)
In Java, s refers to the string "practice". What does s.substring(2, 5) return?Oracle, Java Platform SE 8 API Specification, Class String, substring. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 4 (programming languages)
In Java, what is an abstract method?Oracle, The Java Tutorials, Abstract Methods and Classes. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 4 (programming languages)
In Scratch, a score must be readable and changeable by every sprite in the project. Which choice is made when the variable is created?Scratch Wiki, Variable. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 4 (programming languages)
In Scratch, which kind of block starts a script, such as "when green flag clicked"?Scratch Wiki, Hat Block. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 4 (programming languages)
What does this Java code print? int sum = 0; for (int i = 1; i <= 5; i += 2) { sum += i; } System.out.println(sum);Oracle, The Java Tutorials, The for Statement. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 4 (programming languages)
What does this Java statement print? System.out.println(23 / 4 + 23 % 4);Oracle, The Java Language Specification, Java SE 8 Edition, sections 15.17.2 (Division Operator) and 15.17.3 (Remainder Operator). Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 4 (programming languages)
Which Java keyword makes the class Car a subclass of the class Vehicle?Oracle, The Java Tutorials, Inheritance. Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 4 (programming languages)
Hardware, software and networking 5
A school is choosing drives for a set of laptops. Which is a drawback of a solid-state drive next to a hard disk drive of the same capacity?Wikipedia, "Solid-state drive". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 5 (computer hardware, software, and networking)
Which layer is layer 1, the lowest, of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model?Wikipedia, "OSI model". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 5 (computer hardware, software, and networking)
Which network device forwards data packets from one network to another, for example from a school's network to the internet?Wikipedia, "Router (computing)". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 5 (computer hardware, software, and networking)
Which of these is system software and not application software?Wikipedia, "System software". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 5 (computer hardware, software, and networking)
Which of these loses its contents when the computer is switched off?Wikipedia, "Volatile memory". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 5 (computer hardware, software, and networking)
History and social issues 5
An attack locks a district's gradebook so that teachers cannot open it. Which security goal has been lost?NIST Computer Security Resource Center, Glossary, "availability". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 6 (historical aspects and social issues)
An email that looks as if it came from the district help desk asks a teacher to "confirm" a password on a linked page. Which kind of attack is this?NIST Computer Security Resource Center, Glossary, "phishing". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 6 (historical aspects and social issues)
Second-generation computers of the late 1950s and the 1960s replaced vacuum tubes with which component?Wikipedia, "Transistor computer". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 6 (historical aspects and social issues)
Which countermeasure sits between a school network and the internet and limits the traffic that passes between them according to a set of rules?NIST Computer Security Resource Center, Glossary, "firewall". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 6 (historical aspects and social issues)
Which of these is one of the four factors that U.S. copyright law lists for deciding whether a use is a fair use?U.S. Copyright Office, U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index (section 107 of the Copyright Act). Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 6 (historical aspects and social issues)
Computer science pedagogy 5
In pair programming, one student types the code. What does the partner, the navigator, do?Wikipedia, "Pair programming". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 7 (computer science pedagogy)
Midway through a unit on loops, a teacher has students predict a program's output on exit tickets and uses the answers to plan the next lesson. What kind of assessment is this?Wikipedia, "Formative assessment". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 7 (computer science pedagogy)
Over a semester each student gathers chosen programs in an online folder and writes a reflection on each one, to show growth. Which assessment tool is this?Wikipedia, "Electronic portfolio". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 7 (computer science pedagogy)
Students get the lines of a working program in scrambled order and must put them in the right order. What is this kind of exercise called?Wikipedia, "Parsons problem". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 7 (computer science pedagogy)
Which assistive technology lets a blind student work in a text-based programming environment by turning what is on the screen into speech or braille?Wikipedia, "Screen reader". Written to FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005), competency 7 (computer science pedagogy)
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the Competencies and Skills and Blueprint of FTCE Computer Science K–12 (005) in the test information guide on the FTCE/FELE website, https://www.fl.nesinc.com/studyguide/FL_SG_obj_005.htm (copyright State of Florida, Department of State; site run by Pearson), read 2026-10-11: approximately 80 multiple-choice questions in seven competencies, computational thinking and problem solving about 15 percent, data types and structures 15, programming logic 20, programming languages 20, hardware, software and networking 10, history and social issues 10 and computer science pedagogy 10. Each question names the public page its answer was checked on, opened 2026-10-11. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
This FTCE Computer Science K-12 practice test follows exam 005: 50 questions of our own across its seven competencies. It is unofficial and has no tie to the Florida Department of Education or Pearson: not affiliated, not endorsed, not sponsored.
Read the full guide
Seven competencies and their weights
Programming logic and programming languages carry about 20% of the questions apiece. Computational thinking and data types and structures carry 15% each. Hardware, software and networking, history and social issues, and computer science pedagogy carry 10% each. This bank holds 10, 10, 8, 7, 5, 5 and 5.
Two languages by name
The blueprint names the Scratch learning environment and Java. Four of the five skills under programming languages are Java: code with conditional and iteration statements, methods and parameters, data types and string methods, and the four object-oriented principles.
Timing
Exam mode keeps the real test's pace: 48 of the 50 questions here, 90 minutes.
One tenth of the test is about teaching: managing a lab, assessing with rubrics and portfolios, and equitable access for diverse students.
Number systems are named outright: recognizing and converting between binary, decimal and hexadecimal.
Questions and answers
How many questions are on the FTCE Computer Science K-12 test?
Approximately 80 multiple-choice questions, taken on a computer in 2 hours 30 minutes. The FTCE site lists no reference materials for this test.
What is a passing score on the FTCE Computer Science K-12?
The FTCE site gives it as a scaled score of at least 200. Scaled scores are not percents, so this page reports the number right and gives no pass or fail in exam mode.
What programming language is on the FTCE Computer Science test?
Java, along with the Scratch learning environment; the blueprint names no other language. Of the ten programming-language questions here, two are on Scratch and eight on Java.
Is there an FTCE Computer Science K-12 study guide?
The FTCE site publishes a free test information guide for Computer Science K–12, with the seven competencies and the skills under each. Every question on this page names the competency it was written to.