CBST Scoring and Evaluation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: On the CBST, what does a percentile rank of 75 mean?
- The test-taker answered 75% of questions correctly
- The test-taker scored higher than 75% of the norm group (Correct answer)
- The test-taker needs a score of 75 to pass
- The test-taker is in the 75th grade level
Correct answer: The test-taker scored higher than 75% of the norm group
A percentile rank of 75 means the test-taker scored higher than 75% of people in the comparison norm group.
Question 2: Which CBST score report metric helps employers compare candidates across different hiring periods?
- Raw score
- Time elapsed
- Normed percentile score (Correct answer)
- Number of skipped questions
Correct answer: Normed percentile score
Normed percentile scores allow consistent candidate comparison across different test administrations and hiring periods.
Question 3: If a CBST candidate scores in the 40th percentile, what is the most accurate interpretation?
- They failed the test
- They scored higher than 40% of the norm group (Correct answer)
- They answered 40 questions correctly
- They are in the bottom quarter of all test-takers
Correct answer: They scored higher than 40% of the norm group
A 40th percentile score means the candidate outperformed 40% of the norm group, not that they failed.
Question 4: The CBST uses a norm group to establish score benchmarks. What population typically forms this norm group?
- High school seniors only
- Job applicants in the U.S. workforce across various industries (Correct answer)
- College graduates applying for management roles
- Employees who have held their jobs for over 5 years
Correct answer: Job applicants in the U.S. workforce across various industries
Criteria's norm group for the CBST consists of a broad sample of U.S. job applicants across various industries and roles.
Question 5: What is the primary purpose of reporting both a raw score and a percentile score on the CBST?
- To penalize test-takers who guess
- To show absolute performance and relative standing simultaneously (Correct answer)
- To comply with federal testing regulations
- To allow partial credit for wrong answers
Correct answer: To show absolute performance and relative standing simultaneously
Raw scores show how many items were answered correctly, while percentile scores show how the candidate compares to others.
Question 6: An employer sets a minimum CBST percentile cutoff of 50. A candidate scores in the 49th percentile. What does this indicate?
- The candidate passed but barely
- The candidate did not meet the employer's minimum threshold (Correct answer)
- The candidate's score is within the margin of error and should be accepted
- The candidate must retake only the math section
Correct answer: The candidate did not meet the employer's minimum threshold
Scoring below the employer-set cutoff means the candidate did not meet the minimum requirement, regardless of how close the score is.
Question 7: How does the CBST handle unanswered questions when calculating the raw score?
- Unanswered questions are penalized with negative points
- Unanswered questions count as incorrect and reduce the raw score (Correct answer)
- Unanswered questions are simply not counted toward the raw score
- Unanswered questions automatically trigger a retest
Correct answer: Unanswered questions count as incorrect and reduce the raw score
On the CBST, unanswered questions are treated as incorrect, so leaving items blank lowers the raw score.
CBST Scoring and Evaluation 2
On the CBST, what does a percentile rank of 75 mean?