CSET English Subtests I-IV (105-108)

The CSET: English is a computer-based examination given at Pearson VUE test centers and by online proctoring. It has four subtests, and each one is scored and passed separately. You can register for one subtest at a time or take all four in a single six-hour session at a test center.

Key Facts About the CSET: English

Subtest Structure, Times and Fees

Online proctored subtests are taken in separate sessions, each registered and paid for separately, and no breaks are allowed. At a test center you may take restroom breaks, but the clock keeps running. In a single session the subtests appear in order, and once you finish a subtest you cannot go back to it.

Multiple-choice scores are based on the number of questions you answer correctly. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so never leave a question blank. A few questions on each form are being tried out for future use and do not count, but you cannot tell which ones they are, so treat every question as scored.

Subtest III responses are scored by California educators on a four-point scale, and Subtest IV responses on a three-point scale. Scorers look at how well you accomplish the assignment, how accurately you use subject knowledge, how well you support your points and, for Subtest III, the depth and breadth of your understanding. A response that is off topic, illegible, mostly in another language, too short or not your own work cannot be scored.

Each subtest is reported as a scaled score, and you need 220 to pass. Passing is based on your performance on the whole subtest, so a weaker answer on one question can be balanced by stronger answers elsewhere.

• Literature questions on short poems, fiction, drama and literary nonfiction from American, British and world traditions, plus knowledge questions about movements, forms and Shakespeare
• Informational-text questions on speeches, articles, foundational U.S. documents and workplace or public documents
• Composition questions on a student draft with numbered sentences, writer's notes, an outline or a research situation
• Linguistics questions on single words, short sentences with a marked portion, dialogues and dictionary entries
• Literacy questions about language acquisition, vocabulary development and reading strategies, often set in a classroom scenario
• Written tasks that ask you to analyze a literary text, analyze an argument, and answer short questions about speech, media and drama

Test-center results for Subtests I and II are usually released within five weeks, and results for Subtests III and IV within seven weeks. Online-proctored results are released within five weeks. Passing scores are reported to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and to the institutions you choose when you register. If you do not pass a subtest, you retake only that subtest; check the official testing policies for retake rules before you register again.