Customer Reviews

Barron's CBEST: California Basic Educational Skills Test (Barron's How to Prepare for the Cbest California Basic Educational Skills Test)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I was panicking because I had to take the CBEST. I figured the reading and writing sections would be easy enough, but the thought of taking the math section paralyzed me. I was never very good in math and the idea of revisiting fractions and decimals, sans calculator, was terrifying.

The Barron's CBEST book helped me pass the CBEST math section with a healthy cushion. The explanations were easy to understand and the games and puzzles were a hoot!. They were corny and silly, yet I could not wait for the next one. They made the very tedious parts of the review a lot of fun.

This new CBEST book is very easy to understand. The samples were exactly like the test when I took it.Also, the reading selections are based on subjects like children's literature and science topics that I will have to know for the CSET Mult. subjects test, so I got some extra mileage for my money.

This book helped me get through the test. The overview laid out the test for me which helped my confidence in approaching this high stakes exam, and the analysis of answers on the practice tests really taught me to sharpen my Math skills and avoid the tricks that can be incorporated into multiple choice tests. An invaluable preparation tool.

I liked this study guide because it had the exact same type of questions that are on the test for both the math and reading sections. The study guide then shows you and gives you tips on how to approach the questions. At first i thought the questions were too simple and the test was going to be a lot tougher than the study guide made it seem like, but in my opinion they weren't that much different.

This book overall is a good way to study for the CBEST, however there are many errors in the answers section that makes you wonder if this source is truly reliable or not. I am about to take the CBEST soon and wonder how these questions will compare to the book. The Kaplan CBEST however had questions that seem to be much harder and feels like a more reliable study source.

Thanks for the speedy delivery. Great condition! very happy with this product. Thank you.

These guys really know how to prepare someone for an exam. I appreciate how fun they made it with a few puzzles thrown in.

Here are 8 misprint(s) or misdirection(s) in the Reading Section Review section of BARRON'S CBEST (2008):

(1) In page 33, Question 49 and 50: the colors which presented the items do not match right answer in page 40.

(2) In page 36, Question 13, the right answer is not (A), but (D).

(3) In page 46, the number row of 7th (back count from the page bottom), "C" is not correct, instead, it should be "D", in the sentence of "Therefore, the author is indifferent: C."

(4) In page 238, Question 41, "(C)" is misprinted. The right answer is "E".

(5) In page 240, Question 48, "(C)" is a mistake, instead, "E" is the right answer.

(6) In page 259, Question 10, the concept explanation is based on page 244, not on page 243.

(7) In page 261, Question 25, "(C)" is not correct, instead, it could be "E".

(8) In page 262, Question 41, "(E)" is misprinted. The right one is "C".

Excerpt from the book's answer key, page 20: (First diagnostic test section I might add)

"13. (A) Introducing the first term of each pair into the "a" location, you will find that answers (A), (C), and (E) are eliminated because they do not reasonably introduce the contrasting information in Sentence 4. Trying out the second term in answers (B) and (D) points to (D) as the best answer because 'WHEN since there are distinct ethnic varieties' shows that inserting 'when' is not helpful in that sentence."

That is to say, (D) was the answer.

And the above isn't the only mistake of this kind.

How are you suppose to prepare for something adequately if the study aide is telling you that you got the wrong answer when you got the right one and vice-versa?

Only purchase this book if you want to be forced to do the publisher's proof reading for them. Sentences end as if someone just got tired of typing...and obviously the proof readers were asleep.

The pie chart graphs in the sample tests key on various shades of grey, and are indistinguishable and frequently wrong making it nearly impossible to divine the correct answer.

Sample test answers are correctly derived in the answer sections, but the letters in the sample test answer keys are frequently transcribed wrong. You'll only discover this if you actually go through and work the problems in the explanation section and discover that the answer key is incorrect. In my experience, about 10% of the answers in the sample test keys are wrong.

I just took the CBEST test and found that, fortunately, the test is prepared more professionally than this study guide. If you can work your way through the guide, you'll probably pass. However, you'll waste lots of time correcting errors.

I'd recommend another guide! Don't select the thinest study guide...this one....like I did.