Criteria Basic Skills Test practice

What the real test usually looks like

Criteria Corp publishes the basics of the Criteria Basic Skills Test (CBST) for employers:

• 40 questions in 20 minutes (Criteria help center). That is 30 seconds a question on average.
• It gets harder as you go. Criteria says the difficulty of the questions increases as you progress through the test.
• Two skills. Criteria describes verbal ability as basic verbal skills including reading comprehension, grammar, attention to detail, spelling and punctuation, and math skills as basic quantitative skills including arithmetic and numerical problem solving. Its score report guide adds vocabulary to the verbal list (score report guide).
• Multiple choice with five answer choices in the sample item Criteria shows in its CBST overview, a fill-in-the-blank grammar question.
• For entry-level and low- to mid-level jobs. Criteria lists roles such as administrative assistants, bank tellers, cashiers, customer service and sales representatives, medical assistants, receptionists and maintenance workers.

Criteria's pages that we checked do not say whether a calculator is allowed. The math is basic arithmetic, so practice without one, and read your invitation for the rules.

The CBST now sits beside the CBST2. Criteria's 2026 assessment portfolio lists both: the CBST at 20 minutes, and the CBST2 at 4 to 20 minutes (Criteria portfolio). Criteria describes the CBST2 as its new, expanded basic skills test, with up to five modules (math, abstract, verbal and critical reasoning, and checking accuracy). The employer picks the modules, each has 10 questions, and each question has a one-minute maximum (CBST2 article). If your invitation names the CBST, it is the 40-question test described here.

What our mocks cover. Our full mocks are in the style of the original CBST: 40 questions in 20 minutes, 20 verbal skills questions and then 20 math skills questions, five options each, no calculator, and no going back once you move on. They leave out the CBST2's abstract reasoning, critical reasoning and checking accuracy modules and its per-question timer. If your invitation is for Criteria's 15-minute cognitive aptitude test instead, our CCAT-style practice is the better match.

Question types with worked examples

One worked example for each kind of question, with the trap that catches most people. All are original.

1. Spelling. "Which is spelled correctly: definately, definitely, definitly?" Definitely. It comes from "finite", which helps you remember the i. Trap: choosing the spelling you see most often in texts and posts. Many common misspellings look normal because they are everywhere.

2. Punctuation. "Its time to leave" or "It's time to leave"? It's, because it means "it is". Trap: "its" with no apostrophe is the possessive ("the dog wagged its tail"), which is the opposite of how most possessives work.

3. Grammar. "The team ___ finished its project: has or have?" In US English a group noun like "team" usually takes a singular verb, so "has". The word "its" later in the sentence confirms it. Trap: treating the team as several people and choosing "have".

4. Vocabulary in context. "The manager was ___ about the plan and asked many questions before she agreed: skeptical, delighted, careless." Skeptical, because asking many questions before agreeing shows doubt. Trap: picking the word that sounds positive. Let the rest of the sentence decide.

5. Reading a passage. Policy: "Employees may work from home on Fridays if their manager approves in advance." Can an employee work from home on Friday without asking? No: approval in advance is required. Trap: reading "may" as "always can". A condition attached to "may" still has to be met.

6. Arithmetic. "What is 25% of 64?" 25% is one quarter, and 64 / 4 = 16. Trap: finding 25% correctly and then subtracting it (48) when the question asked for the part, not what is left.

7. Word problems. "Shirts cost $12 each, or 3 for $30. How much do you save buying 3 together?" Three separate shirts cost $36, so you save $6. Trap: answering $30, the price, when the question asks for the saving. Underline what the question wants before you calculate.

How to prepare

1. Know your pace: 30 seconds a question. 20 minutes for 40 questions means you should be near question 20 at the 10-minute mark. Early questions are easier, so aim to be a little ahead of that.
2. Expect the second half to be harder. Criteria says the difficulty increases as you go (Criteria help center). Bank time on the early questions without rushing them.
3. Drill the common spelling and punctuation rules. Words with double letters (accommodate, occurrence), its and it's, commas in a list, and when a colon or semicolon belongs.
4. Practice arithmetic by hand. Subtraction with borrowing, making change, percentages and simple rates come up often. Our percentage questions guide and ratio questions guide show the fast methods.
5. Read the last line of each word problem first. Many wrong options are a number from the middle of the working, such as the price instead of the saving.
6. Decide once and move on. Our mocks do not let you go back, so give each question one careful read and choose. If one is taking more than a minute, make your best guess and keep going.
7. Take full timed mocks. Twenty minutes of steady, rising difficulty feels different from ten questions. One or two full mocks make the pace feel normal.

How scoring usually works

Criteria explains how it reports CBST results to employers (Criteria help center; score report guide):

• Raw score: how many of the 40 questions you answered correctly.
• Percentile: how your score compares with Criteria's norm group. A percentile of 45 means you scored better than 45% of that group.
• Sub-scores: a verbal raw score and a math raw score, each with its own percentile.
• Suggested score ranges: Criteria gives employers suggested raw score ranges for different job families. In the example in its score report guide, a sample position has a suggested range of 27 to 40. The employer decides how to use the ranges.

Criteria's help center describes its norm group as 1,064 working adults, with a mean raw score of 30.9 and a median of 33. That shows most people answer most questions correctly, so accuracy on every question counts. Results go to the employer, so ask the recruiter if you would like feedback.

Our practice score is the number of our own questions you answered correctly, with a breakdown for verbal and math skills. It is a practice score: it is not a CBST score, percentile or suggested range, and it does not predict whether you will pass.

Common mistakes on the CBST

• Rushing the easy questions. The early questions are where most points come from. A careless slip on question 3 costs the same as missing question 38.
• Trusting the spelling that looks familiar. Recieve, seperate and occured look normal because people see them often. Learn the rule, not the look.
• Letting the nearest noun choose the verb. In "each of the reports has", the subject is "each". Cross out the "of ..." phrase in your head.
• Answering with a middle step. The price per pen, the overtime rate or the amount returned are often listed as options. Check that your answer is what the last line asks for.
• Flipping a ratio. If there is more flour than milk in the recipe, the answer must have more flour too. A quick size check catches this.
• Spending too long on one hard question. With no going back in our mocks, a minute lost on one question is a minute you cannot win back later.

A one-week study plan

About 30 minutes a day. If your test is in two or three days, do days 1, 5 and 6.

• Day 1: Take the free sample above with the timer on. Note which kinds of questions cost you the most time.
• Day 2: Spelling and punctuation: commonly misspelled words, commas in lists, colons, apostrophes.
• Day 3: Grammar and vocabulary in context, then short policies and passages read for their conditions.
• Day 4: Arithmetic by hand: subtraction, making change, fractions and percentages.
• Day 5: A full 40-question mock in 20 minutes. Review every wrong answer and every question you rushed.
• Day 6: Word problems with rates, ratios and overtime pay, then a second full mock.
• Day 7: Light review only. Check your invitation, set aside a quiet 30 minutes for the test, and sleep well.