Ed

Preface

So, I’m a biomed student at the University of Melbourne who wants to do Foundations of Algorithms (FoA) instead of Foundations of Computing (FoC), because FoC really only covers the basics in Python. In order to do this, you need to get at least 75% in a Programming proficiency test. So, here’s my experience with the test, what I did to prepare, and what the 2025 Wk1 Programming proficiency test was like.

Background knowledge

I learnt Python in year 7-8 as it was part of our mathematics curriculum at high school. Having moved on from Python to Javascript, Rust, etc., I thought that this test would be challenging, as the test is based off Python. You don’t have to use Python to answer questions, however considering that Python is the language that was intended, I would recommend using it. For me personally, I believed the main difficulty I would face was maintaining consistent usage of proper Python syntax, as opposed to solving the general programming questions. However, this actually did not turn out to be the case! Instead, I was genuinely stumped by the fundamental computing challenge that the questions posed. I think this happened because, as someone who coded primarily with the assistance of documentation and libraries, while I had been working on projects (such as demeter, CEDICT-Search) I had not actually been practicing the basic computing concepts (e.g. search algorithms) that underpin the FoC course.

Preparing

The first thing I did was try and refresh my memory on Python’s syntax. This online book was a very good refresher, and if I wasn’t certain on a specific inbuilt function in Python, I would consult w3schools.

Once I had regained consistency in remembering Python syntax, I started working on leetcode problems. For this test in particular, I would recommend leetcode easy questions. Do note that some questions labelled ‘easy’ are not actually ‘easy’! Fortunately, for this test you do not need to know specific algorithms, e.g. breadth-first search. Instead, questions that test your knowledge on:

• String manipulation
• List manipulation
• Slicing
• Recursion/iteration

Should prepare you sufficiently for the test.

For example, this question is a pretty good one for the test. That is, until you get stuck on 10958 / 10959 testcases passed because of some silly rule about leap years.

The test

As I wasn’t too confident in my Python, I elected to sit the test in Week 1 of Semester 1, instead of during Orientation week. However, I heard from my friends that the tests were ‘eerily similar’, so take that information with a grain of salt.

Anyways, these are the questions, as best as I can remember! We had 50 minutes to write out our answers with pen and paper. The first 4 questions required you to write code, while the last question involved reading code and answering about what the code does. I can (somewhat confidently) give you the answers for question 5, but the rest of the questions can have a multitude of answers.

1.

Write a function that checks whether letters in a string sentence are capitalised after punctuation, including at the start of the string. e.g.

"hello" -> False
"Hello. world" -> False
"Hello. World. Hello" -> True

2.

Write a function that, given a string sentence, it returns the string with each instance of a UoM subject code having its number increased by one. A UoM subject code consists of 4 letters and 5 integers in sequence. e.g.

"I do MAST10024." -> "I do MAST10025."
"Why do BIOM10001 when you can do BIOL10002?" -> "Why do BIOM10002 when you can do BIOL10003?"

3.

Write a function that, given a rectangular matrix (list with sublists) and a total (integer), will return True if the total exists through summing up the numbers in the matrix horizontally and vertically. e.g.

Given:
[[1,1,1,1],
[1,2,3,1],
[1,1,4,1],
[1,3,5,9]]

and a total of 10, return True.

If it was a total of 20, return False.

4.

Write a function that, given a string sentence and a special letter letter, it will return a string that contains the first letter of every word, in order, that doesn’t contain the special letter. e.g.

"hi, elephants might like american pie" -> "help"

Here, the definition of a ‘word’ is that it is separated by spaces.

5a.

How many times is multiplication done for this sample of code?

sum = 0
for i in range(0, M):
    for j in range(1, M-N+1):
        sum += i*j

5b.

We are given a binary search function to find vowels. How many times will this function be called (including initial call) for the word “programmer”?

A note about how the test is marked

I spoke to the (very kind) invigilator after the test, and he said that the test is unique in terms of it’s marking. The markers are not specifically ticking off a checklist of what they expect in an answer, i.e. did they use a for loop, etc., instead, they are looking for general programming patterns. In other words, as long as your ideas are roughly correct and make sense, they can give you some leeway in terms of strict syntax. This means that, while its definitely helpful to have a strong understanding of Python’s syntax, it may not be necessary. Do what you will with this information.

In conclusion

This was an interesting experience. I feel like I’ve been stressed about this test for a month, and though I felt it wasn’t particularly difficult, I’m a bit worried that the methods I used are too sketchy to give me a good score. Hopefully I pass, and I hope this was helpful to anyone taking the test in the future :)

Editor’s note: I passed :)))))))