Failed CCTST twice — what am I missing in my study approach? — Forums

Preethi N.OP

May 27, 2026

So I've taken the California Critical Thinking Skills Test twice now and I'm honestly starting to feel defeated. First attempt I scored a 17, second time a 19 — the benchmark at my nursing program is 21. My instructor keeps saying "think more critically" which is... not helpful at all. I've been using a CCTST study guide I found online but it mostly just explains the five subscales without giving me enough practice problems.

What actually worked for people who improved their scores? I'm strongest in Analysis but I consistently tank on Evaluation and Inference. I've got about six weeks before my program requires me to retest. I started doing CCTST practice test questions but I can't always tell WHY the correct answer is correct — the explanations feel circular sometimes.

Any specific exam tips, YouTube channels, or resources that clicked for you? Especially around the Inference subscale. Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who jumped more than 3-4 points on a retake.

Jessica L.

May 28, 2026

Six weeks is plenty of time, don't stress. I went from 18 to 22 focusing almost entirely on Inference and Evaluation for the last three weeks. Do maybe 20-30 practice questions a day and review every wrong answer obsessively. Quality over quantity really applies here.

Samantha C.

May 28, 2026

Have you tried working through the Facione scoring rubric? The test was literally designed by Peter Facione so understanding his framework changed how I approached every question. I spent two weeks just on the conceptual stuff before touching another practice test and my Evaluation subscore jumped 4 points. Also — are you timing yourself? Running out of time on the back half killed my first two attempts before I started pacing drills.

Marcus T.

May 28, 2026

Inference was my weak spot too. What helped me was treating every argument like I was a skeptical journalist — don't assume anything the passage doesn't explicitly state. I drilled Watson-Glaser practice questions alongside the CCTST ones because the reasoning patterns overlap a lot. Went from a 18 to a 23 in about five weeks. The key honestly is slowing down on answer choices and eliminating the ones that go even slightly beyond what's stated.

Failed CCTST twice — what am I missing in my study approach?

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