Education skill test 4 ppt

If you choose this latter option, take note that regardless of the num-ber of sections you are taking at any given sitting— even just one—the entire test fee is required, and you will be

or a credential based upon the completion of a

teacher-preparation program outside of California

may obtain an initial teaching credential without

meeting the CBEST requirement All such candidates

must pass the CBEST, however, during the first year of

validity of the initial credential

Oregon

In Oregon, you may be granted a two-year (24-month)

exemption from the CBEST requirement if you have

not yet passed the CBEST, but are otherwise qualified

for licensure

The CBEST waiver is only granted upon request

of the employing school superintendent or school

board in the event that (1) attempts were made to hire

a properly licensed educator, but were unsuccessful,

and that (2) the position is necessary for the school to

operate normally However, exemption can be granted

without district request to candidates from states with

reciprocral agreements in Oregon—such an

exemp-tion is nonrenewable For further licensure, passing

scores on the CBEST must be presented by the

candi-date

 W h a t i s t h e C B E S T L i k e ?

What Sorts of Questions Does

the CBEST Ask?

The CBEST exam is comprised of three separate

sec-tions: (1) Reading, which consists of 50

multiple-choice questions; (2) Mathematics, consisting of 50

multiple-choice questions; and (3) Writing, which

consists of two essay subjects

Questions in the Reading section are derived

from two important skill areas: critical

thinking/argu-ment analysis, and research/comprehension Drawn

from a variety of fields, such as humanities, the social

sciences, consumer affairs, or health, CBEST questions

are based on passages that vary in degree of difficulty

and complexity, and are designed to assess the test-taker’s ability to evaluate and comprehend the infor-mation presented Some passages are longer (200 words or more); some are shorter (about 100 words) Some may be statements of one or two sentences, while others may even be tables or graphs Every ques-tion is based on a particular passage, table, or graph None require outside knowledge, and all of the ques-tions can be answered on the basis of the analysis and comprehension of the information provided

The Mathematics section is mostly comprised of questions—presented as word problems—that evalu-ate the test-taker’s ability to solve mathematical prob-lems The questions asked are designed to assess three major skill areas: estimation, measurement, and sta-tistical principles; computation and problem solving; and numerical and graphic relationships

The Writing section is comprised of two essay subjects—both of which the test-taker must respond to—and are designed to assess your ability to write coherently, authoritatively, and persuasively In one of the essays, you will be asked to analyze a situation or statement, while the other requires a written response relating to a personal experience Your essays must be written in your own words, and you must write only

on the topics presented All points in both essays must address the assigned topic, and should be aimed at a specific audience Essay responses must support any assertions with specific, relevant details and examples The key to success here is to stay specific—do not digress! For more detailed information on what it takes

to write a fantastic essay, see the section on Writing in the CBEST Mini-Course (Chapter 4) The criteria for scoring the CBEST essays is found at the end of Chap-ter 5; many tips for successfully writing a “4” (Pass) essay are also found there

How Long Does the CBEST Take?

When you take the CBEST, you have a total of four hours in which to complete the three separate sections

You do not need to complete all three sections in one

four-hour sitting (The exception to this rule is the

CBEST Writing section The essays cannot be split up;

both essays in the section must be completed at one

sitting They cannot be administered separately.) You

may choose to concentrate on one or two sections at

any given test administration, reregister, and then work

solely on a third section at a later date If you choose

this latter option, take note that regardless of the

num-ber of sections you are taking at any given sitting—

even just one—the entire test fee is required, and you

will be required to reregister each time

If you choose to do the whole test in one

four-hour sitting, be aware that you don’t have to do the

sec-tions in any particular order The test is not timed

according to individual sections, so you may want to

get the hardest sections out of the way while you are

fresh and still have your wits about you You may want

to do the essays first, because you can guess on the

other sections if you run out of time This may work to

your advantage, since no points are deducted—there is

no penalty—for guessing

Doing the practice tests in this book, or

taking advantage of the practice questions on the

CD-ROM—which has the advantage of ease of use,

and automatic, immediate test scores—will help you

decide what is the best course of action for you

What Should I Bring

to the Test Site?

Because of test security, few materials are allowed in

the test-taking room You will need to bring the

fol-lowing materials:

■ Your admission ticket

■ Several sharpened #2 pencils with erasers

■ A current, government-issued photo ID with

sig-nature

Some other materials NOT permitted in the testing room (unless previously authorized or provided by NES®) include:

■ Scratch paper

■ Calculators

■ Dictionaries

■ Cellular phones or other communication devices

■ Alarm watches

■ Visitors

Bringing any prohibited materials to a test adminis-tration may result in your score(s) being voided If you have questions or require more detailed information

on the day of the test, call CBEST at (916) 928-4001, from 7:30 A.M to 3:30 P.M PST (Pacific standard time)

What is a Passing Score?

To pass the CBEST, you must pass all three sections of the CBEST Raw scores can range from 1–50, which are then converted to scaled scores ranging from 20–80 The passing scaled score on each section of the test is

41 You must achieve a minimum total score of 123 for the three sections to pass (the sum of the Reading, Writing, and Mathematics scaled scores)

It is possible to pass the CBEST even if your scaled score in one or two sections is as low as 37, pro-viding your total scaled score is 123 or higher (Take note that regardless of how high your total scaled score

might be, you will not pass the CBEST if, in any sec-tion, you get a scaled score lower than 37.)

 W h a t D o M y S c o r e s M e a n ?

You should receive your scores four to six weeks after the test date For each section—Reading, Math, and Writing—your scores will announce whether or not you passed the section and will suggest areas within each section that you may need to study The score

– W H AT I S T H E C B E S T ? –

report will also include the highest score you have

obtained so far in that section A passing score on any

part of the test means that you will not have to take

that part of the CBEST again!

Retaking the Test

What happens if you fail, or fail to finish, one or more

sections of the CBEST? Don’t worry You don’t need to

pass all three sections at the same time, nor is there a

limit to the number of times you can retake any or all

sections of the CBEST to achieve a passing score Once

a section is passed, you need never take that section

again However, you may wish to repeat a section

already passed to achieve a higher score, if that higher

score can help you reach the total score required to

pass the entire CBEST

Once the entire CBEST has been passed, you will

never have to take it again You only need to pass the

entire CBEST once to qualify for the initial issuance or

future renewal of any teaching credential

 H o w D o I R e g i s t e r f o r t h e

C B E S T ?

When is the Test Given?

The CBEST is offered six times a year, once every two

months, at various locations throughout California

and Oregon It is usually given on the first or second

Saturday of the months of February, April, June,

August, October, and December

How Do I Register?

There are three periods of registration: Regular, Late,

and Emergency; and three registration options: mail,

phone, and Internet

For Regular Registration, you should register at

least one month prior to the applicable test date You

can register either by mail or the Internet; phone

reg-istration is not available for this option If registering

by mail, applications must be postmarked by the

ular Registration deadline, or received by the Late Reg-istration deadline If registering online, applications should be completed by 5:00 P.M PST on the Regular Registration deadline

For Late Registration (up to approximately two weeks prior to the test date), a late fee applies, and reg-istration is granted on a space-available basis only You may register by mail, phone, or Internet If registering

by mail, your completed materials must be received on

or before the Late Registration deadline If you regis-ter by phone, you must call before 5:00 P.M PST on the Late Registration deadline If registering online, your application must be finished by 5:00 P.M PST on the Late Registration deadline

For Emergency Registration (up to four days prior to the test), an additional late fee is charged, and registration is granted on a space-available basis only You can register either by phone or Internet; mail reg-istration is not available for this option If you register

by phone, you must call before 5:00 P.M PST on the Emergency Registration deadline If registering online, your application must be finished by 5:00 P.M PST on the Emergency Registration deadline Emergency Reg-istration is limited to ten test areas in California, and one in Oregon

Alternative testing arrangements can be made for either religious reasons or for special needs accommo-dations All requests for alternative testing arrange-ments must be postmarked by the Regular Registration deadline for the test date applied for Be advised that

registration deadlines are strictly enforced—and there

are NO exceptions!

Whom Do I Contact with Questions?

For any questions, or more detailed information regarding registration procedures, test dates, or loca-tions, contact:

CBEST PROGRAM

National Evaluation Systems, Inc.

P.O Box 340880

Sacramento, CA 95834-0880

916-928-4001

Telephones are open 9:00 A M –5:00 P M PST

Monday–Friday, excluding holidays; Saturday test

dates only: 7:30 A M –3:30 P M PST

Facsimile: 916-928-6110 (note: Registration forms are not

accepted by fax)

Automated Information System is available 24 hours daily:

800-262-5080

CBEST website: www.cbest.nesinc.com

Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD):

916-928-4191

Telephones are open from 9:00 A M –5:00 P M PST,

Monday–Friday, excluding holidays; 7:30 A M –3:30 P M

PST, Saturday test dates only.

For Late and Emergency Registration services:

916-928-4001

During phone-in registration periods, telephones are open

from 9:00 A M –5:00 P M PST, Monday–Friday,

excluding holidays.

For more detailed information about CBEST policies

in general, contact:

CALIFORNIA COMMISSION ON

TEACHER CREDENTIALING (CCTC)

Attention: CBEST Project Officer

P.O Box 944270

Sacramento, CA 94244-2700

916-445-7254; If outside the 916 area code, call toll free:

888-921-2682.

Telephones are open 8:00 A M –5:00 P M PST,

Monday–Friday, excluding holidays (Automated

Information System is available 24 hours daily.)

CCTC website: www.ctc.ca.gov

(Please include postal address in any e-mail messages.)

OR

Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission

465 Commercial Street NE Salem, OR 97310

503-378-3586

For more detailed information about CBEST test requirements in California and Oregon, or other questions:

■ For college or university program admission in California, you can contact the department or school of education that you are interested in

■ For employment in California, you can contact the county school district’s credentialing depart-ment, or office of education

■ For employment, or college or university Com-mission-approved program admission in Oregon, call the personnel office, or the Education Service District, of the school district you are interested

in, the Dean of Teacher Education at the univer-sity or college you are interested in, or the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission

 D o n ’ t P a n i c

The CBEST probably will not be the hardest test you will be faced with in your life For many, it will require some careful and thoughtful preparation If you have completed four years of college, you will be able to pass the CBEST Some of you may need extensive review first, and some of you may need private tutoring If you are willing to put forth the effort, passing is possible!

– W H AT I S T H E C B E S T ? –

First, the bad news: Taking the CBEST is no picnic, and neither is getting ready for it Your future

career as a teacher depends on a good score, and there are all sorts of pitfalls that can keep you from doing your best on this all-important exam Here are some of the obstacles that can stand in the way

of your success:

■ Being unfamiliar with the format of the exam

■ Being paralyzed by test anxiety

■ Leaving your preparation to the last minute

■ Not preparing at all

■ Not knowing vital test-taking skills: how to pace yourself through the exam, how to use the process of elimination, and when to guess

■ Not being in tip-top mental and physical shape

■ Arriving late at the test site, having to work on an empty stomach, or shivering through the exam because the room is cold

LearningExpress Test Preparation System

C H A P T E R S U M M A R Y

Taking the CBEST can be difficult If you want to achieve a good score, it demands a lot of preparation And you need that good score

if you want to be certified! The LearningExpress Test Preparation Sys-tem, developed exclusively for LearningExpress by leading test experts, gives you the attitude and discipline you need to be suc-cessful

2

What’s the common denominator in all these

test-taking pitfalls? One word: control Who’s in

con-trol, you or the exam?

Now the good news: The LearningExpress Test

Preparation System puts you in control You only have

to pass the CBEST once, and in nine easy-to-follow

steps, you will learn everything you need to know to

make sure that you do Why? Because you will be in

charge of your preparation and and your performance

on the exam Other test-takers may let the test get the

better of them; other test-takers may be unprepared or

out of shape, but not you You will have taken all the

steps you need to take to get a good score on the

CBEST

Here’s how the LearningExpress Test Preparation

System works: Nine easy steps lead you through

every-thing you need to know and do to get ready to master

your exam Each of the steps listed below includes both

reading about the step and one or more activities It’s

important that you do the activities along with the

reading, or you won’t be getting the full benefit of the

system Each step tells you approximately how much

time that step will take you to complete

We estimate that working through the entire

sys-tem will take you approximately three hours, though

it’s perfectly ok if you work faster or slower than the

time estimates assume If you can take a whole

after-noon or evening, you can work through the whole LearningExpress Test Preparation System in one sit-ting Otherwise, you can break it up, and do just one or two steps a day for the next several days It’s up to

you—remember, you’re in control.

 S t e p 1 : G e t I n f o r m a t i o n

Time to complete: 60 minutes Activities: Use the suggestions listed here to find out about the content of your exam.

Knowledge is power The first step in the LearningEx-press Test Preparation System is finding out everything you can about the CBEST Once you have your infor-mation, the next steps in the LearningExpress Test Preparation System will show you what to do with it

Part A: Straight Talk About the CBEST

Why do you have to take this exam? The states of Cal-ifornia and Oregon require the CBEST for all appli-cants for a first-time teaching or service credential Unless the applicant already has a California teaching credential or is exempted, he or she must take the CBEST in order to be issued—or obtain renewal of—

an Emergency Permit (This latter requirement does

– L E A R N I N G E X P R E S S T E S T P R E PA R AT I O N S Y S T E M –

Step 4 Learn to Manage Your Time 10 minutes Step 5 Learn to Use the Process of Elimination 20 minutes

Step 7 Reach Your Peak Performance Zone 10 minutes