Praxis Family and Consumer Sciences (5122) Practice Test

The Praxis Family and Consumer Sciences exam is designed to ensure individuals are prepared to serve as middle and high school Family and Consumer Science teachers.

Click “Start Test” above to take a free Praxis Family and Consumer Sciences practice test!

Exam Outline

The Family and Consumer Sciences exam contains 120 selected-response questions and has a time limit of 2 hours.

The exam is split into six content categories, which are designed to cover the various competencies and points of knowledge that a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher should possess.

I. Food and Nutrition (26 questions)

The questions in this category assess your knowledge and abilities in the following areas:

Culinary Arts and Food Science

• Safety procedures related to food prep, service, and storage
• Planning menus and presenting food
• Process skills needed in the hospitality industry
• Basic culinary terms, equipment, and food prep techniques
• Biological, physical, and chemical properties of food and food preservation methods
• Sources of food contamination
• Recipe modifications and basic conversions
• General food science concepts
• How food gets from the farm to the table
• The role of federal, state, and local agencies in food safety
• Impact of environmental factors on food prep and production

Nutrition and Wellness

• Factors that influence food consumption, behavior, and nutrition
• Promoting healthy living via nutrition and wellness initiatives
• Basic biochemical processes undergone by food in the human body
• Impact of scientific, environmental, technological, governmental, and economic influences on food and nutrition
• Interpreting nutritional information
• Functions and sources of nutrients and the dietary guidelines needed for healthy living

II. Housing and Interior Design (14 questions)

The questions in this category assess your knowledge and abilities in the following areas:

• Different types of housing needed throughout the lifespan
• How past interior and architectural designs influence modern design
• Characteristics of housing
• Principles and elements of design as applied to interiors and housing
• Environmental impact of interior and exterior housing materials
• Factors that affect housing choices

III. Textiles, Fashion, and Apparel (14 questions)

The questions in this category assess your knowledge and abilities in the following areas:

• History of fashion and design
• Skills and factors that contribute to quality customer interactions
• Basic types and characteristics of apparel, textiles, and fashion
• Regulations, ethical issues, and safety standards related to textiles and apparel production
• Wardrobe maintenance, alteration, storage, and cleaning
• Cultural, social, psychological, and economic factors that affect apparel choices
• Basic principles and elements of design for textiles and wardrobe planning
• Equipment, tools, and basic techniques for constructing apparel and textile products
• Methods of evaluating apparel, textiles, and fashion
• General operational procedures required for business profitability and career success

IV. Human Development and Interpersonal Relationships (24 questions)

The questions in this category assess your knowledge and abilities in the following areas:

Families and Relationships

• Functions of relationships
• Family life cycle
• Parenting styles and their impact on family relationships
• External support systems that provide services for parents and families
• Historical significance of the family as the basic unit of society
• Factors that affect interpersonal, community, family, and professional relationships
• Resources and strategies for promoting communication
• Public policies and social, economic, technological, and cultural factors that affect families
• Skills, resources, and strategies needed to deal with change, crisis, and conflict
• Present-day family structures

Human Development and Early Childhood Education

• Physical, hereditary, environmental, and psychological factors that affect human growth and development
• Regulations and ethical standards related to caregiving
• Strategies for monitoring stages of human development
• Stages and characteristics of physical, emotional, cognitive, moral, and social development throughout the life cycle
• Process skills needed to manage early childhood education programs
• Planning, conducting, and assessing developmentally appropriate and safe early childhood learning experiences
• Components of an early childhood education curriculum that promotes early language acquisition

V. Foundations of Family and Consumer Sciences Education (20 questions)

The questions in this category assess your knowledge and abilities in the following areas:

• The mission, organization, and goals of FCCLA
• Foundations of family and consumer sciences education
• Techniques for creating student-centered learning
• Code of ethics for various career fields within family and consumer sciences
• How core academic standards are reinforced within a family
• Resources for professional development and continuing education

VI. Resource Management (22 questions)

The questions in this category assess your knowledge and abilities in the following areas:

Financial Literacy

• Essential financial literacy concepts and their impact on financial management
• Basic services offered by various types of financial institutions
• Strategies for evaluating and selecting resources for individuals and families
• Effects of technology on individual and family resources
• Financial planning skills
• Factors that affect family and individual resources
• Necessary problem-solving, critical-thinking, and decision-making skills for managing finances
• Procedures for establishing, maintaining, and protecting credit

Careers and Consumer Education

• Federal, state, and local resources that assist the workplace, community, and family
• Strategies for making informed career decisions
• Strategies for selecting and managing individual and family resources
• Consumer rights and responsibilities
• Multiple roles, responsibilities, and resource-management skills involved in family, work, and community settings
• Strategies for evaluating the cost, durability, and efficiency of consumer products and services
• Governmental laws and policies related to consumerism
• Impact of consumer decisions on family and individual resources
• Decision-making and problem-solving processes necessary to address workplace, family, and community issues and responsibilities

Exam Registration

To register for the Praxis Family and Consumer Sciences exam, you will need to create an online ETS account. Once this account is created, you can apply to take the exam.

During the exam registration, you will be asked to select the test-taking format (remote or at a testing center), test location (if you are taking the test at a testing center), and test date. You will also need to pay the $130 exam fee.

Test Day

In-person Testing

On the day of your exam, you should arrive at the testing facility about 30 minutes before the scheduled appointment. During the check-in process, you will be asked to sign in and present two forms of valid identification, one of which must be a photo ID.

Personal items will not be allowed into the testing room, so you will be asked to leave things like your phone, wallet, keys, and food items in your car or in a secure locker.

After you have been checked in and your personal items have been stored, you will be led to the testing area and given a brief overview of the testing system before starting your exam.

Remote Testing

To take the exam remotely, you must use a non-touchscreen laptop or desktop computer, and you must have a working speaker, microphone, and camera hooked up. Before test day, you will need to download and install the ETS Secure Test Browser on your computer, which is what you will use to take the test.

Your environment must be private, with no traffic in and out of your testing area. The area where you take the exam must be clear of all personal items, and you will not be allowed to wear headphones. The proctor will ask you to move the camera around so that your testing area can be observed.

Once the proctor has determined everything is ready, they will walk you through the examination process.

How the Exam is Scored

Your Praxis Family and Consumer Sciences exam score is calculated using a scaled scoring system that takes your raw score (the number of questions you answered correctly) and turns it into a scaled score from 100 to 300.

The score you need in order to pass the test is different depending on the state you take it in, but the score most states require is 153.

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