Praxis Chemistry: Content Knowledge (5246)

What is it?

What exactly is the Praxis Chemistry: Content Knowledge (5246)?

Praxis Chemistry: Content Knowledge (5246) — Education & Teaching credential from ETS

Secondary chemistry licensure test covering atomic structure, bonding, reactions, thermodynamics, solutions and laboratory practice. Offered by ETS, it is designed for candidates who need to demonstrate verified competence in the Education & Teaching field. The credential is commonly used for career entry, advancement, regulatory compliance, or employer requirements. Candidates should review the official handbook for eligibility, exam format, and scoring before registering.

The path in brief

1. Confirm you meet any eligibility or prerequisites
2. Review the official handbook and study materials
3. Register and pay through the awarding body or authorized provider
4. Schedule and take the exam (test center or online proctoring)
5. Receive your score and, if passed, your credential

Before you book

Who is eligible to sit the Praxis Chemistry: Content Knowledge (5246)?

Eligibility varies; many credentials are open to all, while others require coursework, work experience, or sponsorship.

Who it is for: Professionals and candidates seeking to validate Education & Teaching competence.

The test itself

What is the format of the Praxis Chemistry: Content Knowledge (5246)?

The Praxis Chemistry: Content Knowledge (5246) is administered by ETS and runs ~2.5 hours (verify current).

The fine print

What are the retake and renewal rules for the Praxis Chemistry: Content Knowledge (5246)?

Proctoring & delivery

HiSET is offered in three ways: paper-based at a test centre, computer-based at a test centre and HiSET@Home under live online proctoring, with availability depending on the state. Calculators and formula sheets are supplied at test centres. The full battery in English or Spanish is permitted, and several states allow candidates to mix languages across subtests.

Retake policy

Retake rules are set per state, but a common pattern allows three attempts per subtest in a calendar year, sometimes extending to six. Several states use a favourable pricing structure in which the full fee is charged only on the first and fourth attempts while the second and third cost only the test centre or proctor fee.

Score reporting

Each of the five subtests is scored 1 to 20. To pass you must score at least 8 on every subtest, at least 2 out of 6 on the Language Arts Writing essay, and at least 45 out of 100 in total across the five. A score of 15 or higher on a subtest is treated as HiSET honours-level performance in several states.

Recertification

The credential a state issues on the strength of a passing HiSET battery is permanent and needs no renewal. Passing subtest scores are carried forward within a state-defined window while you complete the remaining subjects.

Refunds & rescheduling

Refund and reschedule windows are administered by PSI and vary by state and test centre; most centres require cancellation at least 24 hours before the appointment. Registering by phone rather than online attracts an additional fee in some states.

What it pays

How much does this credential pay?

$64,580 median for high school teachers (BLS SOC 25-2031, May 2024)

The Praxis Chemistry: Content Knowledge test is a licensure test for secondary chemistry teachers, and the closest BLS occupation is High School Teachers under SOC code 25-2031, the standard comparison for this exam family on this site; the exam itself is a licensure step rather than an occupation, so the wage it affects is the teacher wage, set by district salary schedules rather than by certification. The May 2024 median was $64,580 a year, with the lowest 10 percent earning less than $47,330 and the highest 10 percent more than $104,670; the 25th percentile sat near $57,800 and the 75th near $83,010. BLS reported employment of 1,094,500 jobs in 2024 and projected a 2 percent decline from 2024 to 2034, with about 66,200 openings a year, a figure driven entirely by replacement need. Two things matter for a chemistry-teacher candidate specifically. First, science teachers are not a separate BLS occupation; they are classified within the general teaching occupations and paid on the same district schedules, and some districts add stipends for shortage-subject teachers like chemistry, but that is local pay practice rather than a government-published wage. Second, chemistry is one of the classic shortage subjects in secondary schools, which is a staffing-reality advantage: districts that struggle to fill science positions are more likely to be responsive to qualified candidates, and the licensure combination of a content test plus pedagogy is the practical bottleneck. The honest summary is that 5246 opens the door to a stable, schedule-driven teaching career whose pay varies widely by district, state and cost of living, and the exam does not change the wage — it creates eligibility, which is its entire career value. The exam’s difficulty, by contrast, is real: it is a 125-question college-chemistry-level test with a two-and-a-half-hour limit and no calculator, which makes it one of the harder content-knowledge tests in the Praxis family.

Job growth.-2% projected change 2024-34 (decline), with about 66,200 openings a year, all from replacement need; chemistry teachers are paid on district schedules and are not a separate BLS wage category, though chemistry is a commonly cited shortage subject.

Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook - High School Teachers

Your schedule

How long should I study for it?

80-120 hours over 10-14 weeks of focused study

A realistic study plan for Praxis Chemistry (5246) is 80-120 hours over ten to fourteen weeks, because the exam is a 125-question, two-and-a-half-hour selected-response test at the college-chemistry level with no calculator, and it integrates chemistry content with the science and engineering practices and with teaching scenarios — which means a candidate needs both solid chemistry and the ability to apply it the way a teacher would. The five content categories are Nature and Impact of Science and Engineering, Principles and Models of Matter and Energy (the largest, roughly a quarter of the exam), Chemical Composition, Bonding and Structure, Chemical Reactions and Periodicity, and Solutions and Acid-Base Chemistry, with ETS noting that half or more of the questions integrate the science and engineering practices and that roughly a quarter to a third situate content in teaching tasks. The no-calculator rule is a defining constraint: calculations must be done by hand, so stoichiometry, equilibrium, thermodynamics and acid-base arithmetic need to be practised with mental-math and approximation skills, and candidates who trained on calculators are slower than they expect. The plan below covers the categories in weight order — matter and energy, reactions and periodicity, then bonding and composition, then solutions and acid-base — with the nature-of-science and teaching-application content woven through every week, because ETS says it appears throughout the paper. Candidates with recent college chemistry should budget the lower end and weight time toward the teaching-scenario items and no-calculator arithmetic; candidates years out of a chemistry course should budget the upper end and add a structured content review. The final three weeks should be full 125-question, 150-minute practice exams, because pacing at roughly 72 seconds per question with hand calculation is the constraint most candidates underestimate.

1. Weeks 1-39-11 hrs/week

   Principles and Models of Matter and Energy (~25%)

   • Atomic and nuclear structure: models of the atom, electron configuration, quantum numbers, and nuclear processes
   • Thermodynamics: enthalpy, entropy, Gibbs free energy, and the energy changes in chemical and physical processes
   • States of matter and intermolecular forces, and the kinetic molecular theory
   • Practise the no-calculator arithmetic from week one, because hand calculation is the exam’s defining constraint
2. Weeks 4-69-11 hrs/week

   Chemical Reactions and Periodicity (~23%)

   • Periodicity: periodic trends in atomic radius, ionization energy, electronegativity and metallic character
   • Chemical reactions: types of reactions, stoichiometry, limiting reactants, yields, and balancing
   • Reaction kinetics and chemical equilibrium, including Le Chatelier’s principle
   • Oxidation-reduction reactions and electrochemistry
3. Weeks 7-99-11 hrs/week

   Chemical Composition, Bonding and Structure (~20%)

   • Chemical composition: stoichiometry, the mole concept, empirical and molecular formulas, and percent composition
   • Bonding: ionic, covalent and metallic bonding; Lewis structures; VSEPR and molecular geometry; and polarity
   • Intermolecular forces and their relationship to physical properties
   • Nomenclature and the naming conventions the items test directly
4. Weeks 10-119-11 hrs/week

   Solutions and Acid-Base Chemistry (~18%) plus Nature of Science (~14%)

   • Solutions: solubility, concentration units, colligative properties, and solution preparation
   • Acid-base chemistry: acid-base theories, pH and pOH, buffers, titrations, and the strength of acids and bases
   • Nature and impact of science and engineering: scientific practices, the nature of science, and the society-technology connection
   • Drill the teaching-scenario items: a quarter to a third of the exam applies chemistry to instructional tasks
5. Weeks 12-149-11 hrs/week

   Full practice exams and gap closing

   • Three full 125-question, 150-minute practice exams, no calculator, using the periodic table as the only reference
   • Re-tag every miss to a category and re-drill the bottom two categories
   • Drill the mental-math and approximation skills on the calculation items until they are automatic
   • Confirm the registration, the state’s required passing score, and the test-centre or at-home logistics

What to buy

Which study resources are worth paying for?

5246 preparation is anchored by the free official ETS materials, because the ETS test page and Study Companion define the five categories, the no-calculator rule, the reference tables and the teaching-scenario emphasis, and the sample questions show the difficulty more honestly than most third-party products. The exam itself costs $130 under the ETS fee schedule for selected-response-only tests, computer-delivered at a test centre or at home, and is offered year-round; fee waivers are available to eligible students. Beyond the official set, the main paid options are review books from major publishers at roughly $30-50, which add structured coverage of the chemistry content; online courses at roughly $50-200, which add video instruction; and question banks or practice-test subscriptions at roughly $30-100, which add the volume and no-calculator pacing practice the exam demands. The buying logic follows the exam structure: because the test is college-chemistry-level selected response with a heavy calculation component, the resources that provide calculation drills and full-length no-calculator practice are worth more than a resource that only reviews content, and candidates with recent chemistry coursework may find a question bank alone sufficient while candidates years out of a course benefit more from a structured review. Many candidates will also reuse their college chemistry textbook or notes, which cover the content categories well at zero cost. The footnote that anchors the comparison: prices below are list prices as of mid-2026 and change frequently, we rank nothing by commission, and the free official materials should be the first download for every candidate. Confirm the state’s required passing score before choosing how much to spend, since the target affects how much practice is enough.

Prices checked 2026-08 in USD before tax and change frequently; we rank nothing by commission. The ETS fee for selected-response-only Praxis tests is $130, and fee waivers are available to eligible students. Confirm the state-required passing score before choosing how much to spend.

What you'll face

What question types will I see?

Chemistry (5246) is a 150-minute, computer-delivered test of 125 selected-response questions, scored on the Praxis reporting scale with a passing score set by each certifying state. The exam is selected-response only, machine-scored, and delivered with no calculator — the periodic table and a table of physical constants and SI conversion factors are provided as help screens, and ETS states that test takers will not need calculators. The content is organised into five categories: Nature and Impact of Science and Engineering, Principles and Models of Matter and Energy (the largest, roughly a quarter of the exam), Chemical Composition, Bonding and Structure, Chemical Reactions and Periodicity, and Solutions and Acid-Base Chemistry, aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards and the NSTA preparation standards for chemistry teachers. Two structural facts shape how the items behave. First, ETS states that half or more of the questions integrate chemistry content knowledge with one or more of the science and engineering practices — asking you to use data, construct explanations, evaluate claims or design investigations — so the items are less about recalling a fact and more about using chemistry to reason. Second, approximately one-quarter to one-third of the questions apply chemistry content within a teaching scenario or instructional task, such as deciding how to interpret student work, choosing a lab procedure, diagnosing a misconception or using evidence in instruction. The practical effect is that the exam reads like a chemistry test written for a teacher: the calculation items — stoichiometry, equilibrium, thermodynamics, acid-base — test the arithmetic by hand, and the scenario items test whether a candidate can think like the instructor who has to explain and evaluate the chemistry. The three samples below illustrate a content item, a science-and-engineering-practice item, and a teaching-scenario item; they are editor-written to the published blueprint and are not live test items.

Samples are editor-written illustrations of the published blueprint, not live exam items.

Reference

What are the key facts about the Praxis Chemistry: Content Knowledge (5246)?

Praxis Chemistry: Content Knowledge (5246) is a exam credential; awarded by ETS; the exam fee is ~$130; typical preparation is 50-70 hours over 5-7 weeks; holders typically earn $40,000-$85,000 (25-2031 median $64,580).

In short

Is the Praxis Chemistry: Content Knowledge (5246) worth it?

• Praxis Chemistry: Content Knowledge (5246) is awarded by ETS.
• Validates job-ready competence in Education & Teaching.
• Registration is through the awarding body or an authorized test provider.
• Renewal and retake policies vary — confirm before scheduling.

Worth comparing

How does the Praxis Chemistry: Content Knowledge (5246) compare with similar credentials?

• TOEFL iBT ETS
• TOEIC Listening and Reading Test ETS

Trust

Where does this information come from?

Everything above is taken from the awarding body's own published material. Fees, question counts and domain weights are revised regularly — check the official page before you pay.

• ETS Awarding body

Research confidence: medium · Last reviewed 2026-08