CBEST Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield CBEST facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. The total of seven numbers is more than 140 but not more than 210. Which of the following could represent the numbers' average (arithmetic mean)? → 26
2. Which statement is the least important to the second paragraph's core idea? → Sentence 5
3. Which words or phrases, if added into the passage's blank lines in the proper order, would aid the reader in understanding the author's ideas in order? → For instance; Yet
4. Which of the following units would be most appropriate for measuring the amount of water in a standard bathtub? → Gallons
5. What teaching strategies encourage pupils to connect two events? → Associative learning
6. Of these, which one is not a teaching strategy? → Self-study
7. Which of the following statements can be true if Heidi is working in the paint department today and is not donning her black boots? → Snow is not forecast for today.
8. A thesis statement should relate the points listed to the _____. → topic sentences in the body paragraphs of an essay.
9. The window in Jane's bedroom is 2 yards and six inches wide and 1.5 yards high. What is the window's size in inches in her bedroom? → 78 x 54
10. A jacket is originally priced at $120. It is on sale for 25% off. If the sales tax is 8%, what is the final price of the jacket, including tax? → $97.20
11. Which of the following perfectly describes the author's depiction of Gandhi the best? → positive and objective
12. On a number line plot, most data points are clustered near 50 with a few near 90. The distribution is best described as: → Skewed right
13. Which of the following factors is NOT important when you edit and improve the substance of an essay you've written? → Your supporting details are numbered.
14. When evaluating the 'Rhetorical Force' of a CBEST analytical essay, scorers are primarily looking for the writer's ability to: → State and maintain a clear, coherent main idea or thesis throughout the essay.
15. Which of the following best sums up the passage's organizational structure? → explaining with examples
16. While various structures can be used, what is the most common and effective organizational pattern for the body of a personal experience essay? → Chronological order, detailing events as they occurred.
17. Which of the following statements does not effectively employ parallel structure? → I counted the eggs and I scrambled them.
18. Which statement is the least important to the first paragraph's core idea? → Sentence 4
19. In a bibliography, the information '(3rd ed.)' following a book title tells a reader: → It is a revised and updated version of the book
20. A survey of 50 teachers shows 30 prefer online grading tools. What percentage prefer online grading tools? → 60%
21. The suffix '-ology' in 'biology' means: → The study of
22. In a card catalog or digital library catalog, a 'subject heading' search is BEST used when: → You want to find books on a general topic without knowing specific titles
23. In a frequency table, the mode of a data set refers to which value? → The value that appears most often
24. On the xy-plane, the graph of the function f is displayed. Which two values of x cause f(x) to equal 3? → 7 and 9
25. A passage describes urban schools, then rural schools, examining funding, class size, and resources for each. This structure is: → Compare and contrast
26. 70% of the spelling bee questions were successfully answered by Kyle. How many of the 220 questions did he get wrong, assuming there were 220 in total? → 66
27. A nonfiction article lists events in the order they happened. Which signal words would most likely appear? → First, then, next, finally
28. Which context clue strategy is used when a sentence defines an unfamiliar word right after a comma or dash? → Appositive or definition clue
29. A library database search for 'California AND education AND reform' uses which type of search technique? → Boolean search
30. The BEST estimate for 3995 102 is which of the following? → 400,000