Kaplan CBEST

By Kaplan Inc., Kaplan Test Prep, Charlotte Doctor

Book Overview

Prospective teachers in California and Oregon must pass the CBEST (California Basic Educational Skills Test) in order to receive their teaching credentials. This book offers effective strategies for... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1419552325
• ISBN13: 9781419552328
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Kaplan Publishing
• Length: 420 Pages
• Weight: 2.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 8.3" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

SATISFIED

THIS VENDOR REALLY KNOWS WHAT CUSTOMER SERVICE IS ALL ABOUT. I RECEIVED MY BOOK IN A FEW DAYS. I BOUGHT IT AS USED, BUT LOOKED LIKE NEW. NOW I AM STUDYING FROM MY INFORMATIVE BOOK.

Helped me pass my CBEST!

I just took my CBEST, and the questions in the Kaplan practice tests were very similar to those on the actual test, if not a little more difficult. The only problem I had was that there wasn't really an explanation of how the CBEST is scored and how you could score your own practice tests.

This book covers it all...

Kaplan's CBEST review book is structured similarly to their other books. It begins with an intro to the exam, how it's scored, the types of questions you will be asked, how much time you have to complete the test, etc. Then there is a diagnostic test covering all three sections of the real CBEST exam: reading, math, and writing. From this test, you can begin to see what areas need more work than others. Every question has a detailed explanation of why the correct answer is correct. The next part of the book is broken down by test section. The reading section encourages you to practice reading passages that you might find on the CBEST and then breaks down the skills you'll need to ace this section (e.g. understanding the author's tone, determining for whom the passage is intended, getting word meanings from context). They also recommend you study vocabulary words which they have listed in the back, but since words only appear in the CBEST in very clear context, studying words and their meanings seems unnecessary. The section concludes with another practice set. As a mathematics major, I cruised through the math chapters in a matter of minutes. The math on this exam is extremely straightforward and relatively simple. You need to know how to do basic computations, fractions, ratios, basic geometry, etc. These chapters are FULL of practice problems on every subtopic so that you can get all the practice you need. Again, this section ends with a practice set with detailed explanations of answers. The writing section covers the two types of topics given. There are six practice essays with example answers for each one as well as a self-check for strengths and weaknesses. Finally there are three full-length practice exams. They include tear-out answer sheets, answer keys, and additional detailed explanations of answers. All in all, Kaplan's CBEST review book covers it all. My only complaint is that in the reading section I found way too many questions to be ambiguous with too many answer choices too similar. I have not yet taken the CBEST exam, so I don't know if that is an accurate representation of the exam, but I sure hope it isn't. Also, I would have liked for them to have included some sort of scale to see where you might be scoring with the practice tests (for instance, how many questions do you have to get right for a passing score (41) on the reading or math sections? How many questions to score a, say, 60?... Their GRE book had a great scale that told you how to determine your GRE score from your raw score on the practice tests). At this point I have no idea if I am in the "passing" range or not... though I would assume so. Anyway, this is the only book I am using to study, and I am quite pleased with it. Kaplan doesn't let it readers down.

excellent!

excellent. A must have to pass the cbest. I have no regret at all.