About the test
On this page
Official resources#
Everything publicly released about the test is collected on the NYSTCE preparation materials page for Computer Science (194):
- The test framework (Test Design and Framework, July 2022). This is the most useful single document. It lists the five competencies and every performance indicator the test is built to measure, along with the test's format, timing, and scoring. Part 4 of this guide follows its structure, and the codes used throughout this guide, such as
0003.h, are the framework's. - The content correlation table, which relates the framework to New York's learning standards.
- A study guide in three parts: an introduction, sample selected-response questions, and sample constructed-response items. The samples are the best free view of what questions look like.
- The Pseudo Code Reference Sheet, listed among the test's features (four pages, dated April 2025). It defines the typed pseudocode in which every programming question is written, with its types, operators, arrays, maps, and control structures. Read it closely. Its differences from Python are explained in From Python to typed pseudocode, at the start of the computational thinking and programming section of Part 4.
- A full-length practice test, interactive, with feedback on your performance, for a fee ($14 at the time of writing). It is the closest thing to the real test, so it is worth saving until you have studied, to use as a check on your readiness.
- Information about taking the test: testing tutorials and demonstrations of the testing software, a tour of Pearson testing centers, and two documents on score reports, how to read your score report and understanding candidate score reports.
The rest of this part summarizes what these documents say about the test's format and its written response.
Format#
The test has 90 selected-response items and one written response, with 195 minutes in total. The framework publishes the approximate number of items and share of the score for each competency:
| Competency | Items | Share of score |
|---|---|---|
| 0001 Impacts of Computing | 21 | 19% |
| 0002 Computational Thinking and Programming | 27 | 23% |
| 0003 Networks, the Internet, and System Design | 21 | 19% |
| 0004 Cybersecurity | 21 | 19% |
| 0005 Pedagogical Content Knowledge (written response) | 1 | 20% |
The framework estimates up to 135 minutes for the selected-response items, or about 90 seconds each, and up to 60 minutes for the written response.
The passing score is a scaled score of 520. NYSTCE does not publish how raw scores are converted to scaled scores, so this does not tell you how many questions you need to answer correctly to pass.
The written response#
The exam's written task tests the kind of planning our program values, but in a fixed format. According to the framework, it is scenario-based and asks you to describe an instructional strategy for a specific learning goal, assess student understanding, and identify students' strengths and needs. Its indicators (0005.a–0005.g) suggest that a strong response should:
- Identify the skills and understanding students need to reach the goal.
- Explain how you would assess their readiness.
- Connect the goal to students' prior learning and experiences in a culturally relevant way.
- Describe a research-based strategy or activity, including appropriate CS tools, resources and examples.
- Explain clearly how the strategy supports the goal.
- Describe how assessment results would inform your next instructional decisions.
- Address the diverse assets and needs of all learners and an inclusive learning environment.
Address each of these explicitly. Your stance from LAI 605 can inform the lesson, but it can't replace any of them. Be ready for any grade band: the certificate covers all grades, while Making With Code is designed for high school. LAI 516's scope and sequence week is useful here, as is reviewing the CS&DF standards below grade 9.