CBEST

The CBEST is developed for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) and administered by Pearson through the California Educator Credentialing Examinations program. It consists of three separately administered sections, Reading, Mathematics, and Writing, and you must pass all three to pass the CBEST.

Who Takes the CBEST

The CBEST is one of several ways to satisfy California's Basic Skills Requirement for educators. Under current California law, a bachelor's or higher degree from a regionally accredited institution also satisfies the requirement for most credentials and permits, so the CBEST is used most often by candidates who do not yet hold a bachelor's degree, such as applicants for the Emergency Substitute Teaching Permit for Prospective Teachers, and by candidates for the few documents that still require separate basic skills verification, including the Designated Subjects Supervision and Coordination Credential. Some educator preparation programs and employers also ask for CBEST results. Check the requirement for your specific credential, permit, or program with the CTC or your program before registering.

Test Format

Section	Format	TestingTime	SkillAreas
Reading	50 multiple-choice questions five ,	1hour30minutes	CriticalAnalysisandEvaluation(about40%) ·
	answerchoiceseach		ComprehensionandResearchSkills(about
			60%)
Mathematics	50 multiple-choice questions five ,	2hours	Estimation Measurement andStatistical , ,
	answerchoiceseach;nocalculator		Principles(about30%) ·Computationand
			ProblemSolving(about35%) ·Numericaland
			GraphicRelationships(about35%)
Writing	2essays:oneanalytical oneona ,	1hour30minutes	Rhetoricalforce organization supportand , ,
	personalexperience		development usage structureand , ,
			conventions appropriateness ,

Each testing appointment also includes about 15 minutes for a tutorial and the nondisclosure agreement. You may take one, two, or all three sections, and you register and pay for each section separately. Reading passages range from a few sentences to several paragraphs and include indexes, tables of contents, and graphs; the Mathematics section provides no formula sheet and prohibits calculators.

	Computation and Problem Solving 35% About17–18questions·Section4
MATH 50 QUESTIONS	Numerical and Graphic Relationships 35% About17–18questions·Section5
	Estimation Measurement and Statistical Principles , , 30% About15questions·Section3

Scoring and the Passing Standard

Each section is reported as a scaled score from 20 to 80, and the passing score for each section is 41. The CBEST also allows compensation among sections: you pass if your total across all three sections is at least 123 and no section score is below 37. The highest score you earn on each section, no matter when you earned it, is used to compute your total, and a passing CBEST score does not expire.

Candidate	Reading	Mathematics	Writing	Total	Result
A	41	41	41	123	Pass:everysectionat41
B	48	38	44	130	Pass:total123ormore nosectionbelow37 ,
C	52	36	50	138	Notyet:Mathematicsisbelow37
D	40	40	42	122	Notyet:totalbelow123

Multiple-choice questions are scored by the number answered correctly, with no penalty for wrong answers, so answer every question. The two essays are scored holistically on a four-point scale and converted to the same 20– 80 scale.

The CBEST at a Glance

ExamAspect	Details
Administeredby	Pearson fortheCaliforniaCommissiononTeacherCredentialing ,
Delivery	Computer-based at Pearson test centers year-round or online-proctored at home or work during ,
	one-week windows each month
Fee	$30persection;eachsectionisregisteredandpaidforseparately
Scorereports	Within2weeksoftesting;atatestcenter unofficialReadingandMathematicsresultsareshown ,
	whenyoufinish
Passingstandard	41persection oratotalof123withnosectionbelow37 ,
Retakes	Unlimited;wait45calendardaysbeforeretakingthesamesection