CBEST Reading Practice Test 2024 California Basic Educational Skills Test

Read the passage below and answer the two questions that follow.

Parallax is a range-finding technique used to measure the distance to some nearby stars from the annual, angular displacement of a nearby star against the background of more distant, relative, fixed stars. Behold parallax by noting the apparent position of a vertical pencil in front of your face with only your right eye; the pencil shifts across the background.

In order to make this passage clear to a general audience, the author can do which of the following?

Parallax is a range-finding technique used to measure the distance to some nearby stars from the annual, angular displacement of a nearby star against the background of more distant, relative, fixed stars. Behold parallax by noting the apparent position of a vertical pencil in front of your face with only your right eye; the pencil shifts across the background.

In the second sentence, the author suggests which of the following?

Read the passage below and answer the two questions that follow.

At the outset of the Civil War, the North possessed a large population, a superior rail system, a greater industrial capacity, greater capital assets, and a larger food-production capability than did the South. Despite the North’s apparent economic superiority, the South did possess a few military advantages. Among them were fighting a defensive war on their home ground and an established military tradition. Most of the leaders of the preWar army were from the South, whereas the North had to train a new military leadership.

The final sentence of this passage functions in which of the following ways?

At the outset of the Civil War, the North possessed a large population, a superior rail system, a greater industrial capacity, greater capital assets, and a larger food-production capability than did the South. Despite the North’s apparent economic superiority, the South did possess a few military advantages. Among them were fighting a defensive war on their home ground and an established military tradition. Most of the leaders of the preWar army were from the South, whereas the North had to train a new military leadership.

The author implies which of the following points in the passage?

Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

Few opticians have recognized the value of target practice for stimulating the eyes and improving vision. The value of a day on the rifle range surpasses that of a whole crop of fresh carrots.

The writer assumes that his or her readers are already convinced that

Read the passage below and answer the three questions that follow.

The author of the passage would agree with which of the following statements?

Which of the following statements, if true, would most weaken the argument of the passage?

The argument of the passage is best strengthened by which of the following statements?

Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

All experts on testing and learning admit that multiple-choice tests measure knowledge only within limits. And yet the fact remains that multiple-choice tests are used, both in school and out of school, as significant indicators of intellectual ability and the capacity for learning.

The passage implies which of the following statements?

Read the passage below and answer the four questions that follow.

The passage equates taking candy away from a child with

The passage does not do which of the following?

Which of the following facts, if true, supports one of the author’s contentions about punishment?

Read the passage below and answer the five questions that follow.

Which of the following is a specific example supporting the point of the passage?

Applying the argument of the passage, one could define a political party as

When the author says that “reality” is a “hypothetical concept,” he or she means that

According to the passage, one difference between a scientist and a mystic is that

Which of the following may be concluded from the last paragraph of the passage?

To the question “How can we know what is ‘really’ real?” this author would probably answer in which of the following ways?

Read the passage below and answer the five questions that follow.

One major distinction in this passage is between

Which of the following groups represents the type of person that the author calls an automaton?

Which of the following is an unstated assumption of the passage?

The author would agree that a major benefit of letting the world choose your plan of life for you is

The author would probably agree with each of the following statements except:

Read the passage below and answer the two questions that follow.

Charles Darwin was both a naturalist and a scientist. Darwin’s The Origin of Species (1859) was based on twenty-five years of research in testing and checking his theory of evolution. “Darwinism” had a profound effect on the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. Churchmen who feared for the survival of religious institutions rushed to attack him. However, Darwin never attempted to apply his laws of evolution to human society. It was the social Darwinists who expanded the theory of evolution to include society as a whole. The social Darwinists viewed society as a “struggle for existence” with only the “fittest” members of society able to survive. They espoused basically a racist and elitist doctrine. Some people were naturally superior to others; it was in the “nature of things” for big business to take over “less fit,” smaller concerns.

The final sentence of the passage beginning “Some people . . .” is the author’s attempt to

Charles Darwin was both a naturalist and a scientist. Darwin’s The Origin of Species (1859) was based on twenty-five years of research in testing and checking his theory of evolution. “Darwinism” had a profound effect on the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. Churchmen who feared for the survival of religious institutions rushed to attack him. However, Darwin never attempted to apply his laws of evolution to human society. It was the social Darwinists who expanded the theory of evolution to include society as a whole. The social Darwinists viewed society as a “struggle for existence” with only the “fittest” members of society able to survive. They espoused basically a racist and elitist doctrine. Some people were naturally superior to others; it was in the “nature of things” for big business to take over “less fit,” smaller concerns.

The author’s primary purpose in this passage is to

Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

Current evidence suggests that there is a marked tendency for children with superior IQs to be more mature both socially and physically than children of average ability. Also, educational research shows that gifted children also appear superior in moral or trait tests to children of average IQ.

In the preceding passage, the author is using gifted children to mean children

Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

Prior to the 1960s, educational psychologists were primarily concerned with specific social, motivational, and attitudinal aspects of learning. The intellectual structure of class activities, in addition to curriculum problems, has been comprehensively studied only in the last two decades.

One of the author’s points in this passage is that

Read the passage below and answer the two questions that follow.

A lesson plan is basically a tool for effective teaching. Its primary importance is to present objectives and content in a logical and systematic manner; as such, it is an integral part of the instructional process.

Which of the following is an unstated assumption made by the author of the passage?

A lesson plan is basically a tool for effective teaching. Its primary importance is to present objectives and content in a logical and systematic manner; as such, it is an integral part of the instructional process.

The author uses integral to mean?

Read the passage below and answer the four questions that follow.

Which words, if inserted in order in the blank spaces in the first and second paragraphs, would help the reader understand the sequence of the writer’s ideas?

Which of the following is the best definition of the word shelf-life, as it appears in the second paragraph of the passage?

Which of the following numbered sentences is least relevant to the main idea of the second paragraph and could most easily be omitted?

Which of the following can you infer from the passage needs most to be improved by American tomato growers?

Read the passage below and answer the question that follows. 

Rewards tend to be more effective than punishment in controlling student behavior. Negative reinforcement often is accompanied by emotional side effects that may cause continued learning disabilities.

The author implies which of the following?

Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

Teacher salaries account for approximately 70 percent of a school budget. Any major proposal designed to reduce educational expenditures will ultimately necessitate a cut in teaching staff.

Neighborhood High School is staffed by 50 teachers, and its administration has just ordered a reduction in educational expenditures. According to the preceding passage, which of the following will be one result of the reduction?

Read the passage below and answer the four questions that follow.

Which of the following is the best definition of the word migratory in the first paragraph?

According to information presented in the passage, which of the following do butterflies use to help them find their way when they migrate?

Of the following general statements, which one is best supported by the contents of this passage?

Which of the following numbered sentences in the third paragraph expresses an opinion rather than a fact?

Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

Graduate students who expect to specialize in The Teaching of Writing must take English 600, either English 500 (Advanced Composition) or English 504 (Writing of Criticism), at least three literature courses concentrating on the same single century only, English 740 (Teaching of Writing), English 741 (Classical Rhetoric), and English 742 (Modern Rhetorical Theory).

According to the preceding statement, which of the following schedules does not belong to a specialist in The Teaching of Writing?

Read the passage below and answer the six questions that follow.

 If this passage were divided into two paragraphs, the second paragraph would begin with

The passage implies that one significant contrast between the Morrill Act and Dewey’s theories was

The word also in sentence 6 does which of the following?

Which of the following statements, if true, would best support sentences 7 and 8?

This passage would be least likely to appear in which of the following?

The passage allows us to conclude which of the following?

Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

Psychology is often considered a science of the mind. As a science, it aims to generate comprehensive theories to explain behavior. Despite its status as a science, the “methods” of psychology sometimes seem more mystical than rational and analytical.

Which of the following functions does the second sentence perform?

Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

Twenty years ago, most television programs were shown in black-and-white. These days, the brightly colored clothes most of us wear signal that the medium has changed.

The author implies which of the following in the preceding passage?

Use the chart above to answer the question that follows

Which of the following can be derived from the information in the preceding chart?

Read the following passage and answer the question that follows.

The political party is a voluntary association of voters whose purpose in a democracy is to control the policies of government by electing to public office persons of its membership.

The preceding passage would be most likely to appear in which of the following?