Though many students will complain, requiring
public school students to wear uniforms makes sense.
Students will learn more—both about themselves and
about the world around them.
Marginal Pass—Score = 3
I don’t think that requiring public school students to
wear uniforms is a good idea. The way the student
dresses makes a powerful statement about who he or
she is, and the school years are an important time for
them to explore their identities. Uniforms would
undermine that. They would also have little, if any,
positive affect on students with disipline problems.
Each student has their own personality, and one
way he expresses who he is is through his clothing.
Clothes are an important way for young people to
show others how they feel about themselves and what
is important to them. If public school students are
forced to wear uniforms, this important form of self-
expression will be taken away.
I remember back when I was in junior high
school. My parents had given me complete freedom to
buy my back to school wardrobe. They took me to the
mall and let me choose everything, from sweaters and
shirts to socks and shoes. I’ll never forget how inde-
pendent that made me feel. I could choose clothing
that I liked. I did make a few bad choices, but at least
those were my choices. Students today, I am sure,
would feel the same way.
Besides, America values individuality.What hap-
pens to that value in an environment where everybody
looks the same?

Though disipline in schools is a serious concern,
uniforms are not the answer. Disipline problems usu-
ally come from a lack of disipline at home, and that’s
a problem that uniforms can’t begin to address. A stu-
dent who is rowdy in the classroom isn’t going to
change their behavior because they are wearing a white
shirt and tie. In fact, disipline problems might increase
if students are required to wear uniforms. Students
often make trouble because they want attention. Well-
behaved students who used to get attention from how
they dressed might now become trouble-makers so
they can continue to get attention.
Uniforms are not the answer to the problems
public school students face. In fact, because they’ll
restrict individuality and may even increase disiplinary
problems, they’ll only add to the problem.
Marginal Fail—Score = 2
I don’t think that requiring public school students to
wear uniforms is a good idea. Each student has their
own identity and express who he is through clothing.
The school years are an important in finding one’s per-
sonality. Uniforms would also have little, if any, posi-
tive affect on students with disipline problems.
In junior high school I let my children buy their
back-to-school wardrobe, anything they wanted. I let
them choose everything. I’ll never forget how that
made them feel. As they would say, awesome! They
could choose clothing that they liked.
We are told to be yourself. But how can a young
person be in a country where everybody is the same.

Disipline in schools is of a serious concern, uni-
forms are not the answer. It is the home life of many
students that make bad behavior. If the parents use
drugs or dont disipline children at home, thats a prob-
lem that the school and uniforms can’t do anything
about. A student who is causing trouble at school isn’t
going to change their behavior because they are wear-
ing a white blouse or pleated skirt. In fact, disipline
problems might even get worse if students are required
to wear uniforms because of not getting enough atten-
tion about the way he or she is dressed.
Uniforms are not the answer to the problems
public school students face. In fact, because they will
keep them from being who they are they will make it
worse.
–DIAGNOSTIC CBEST EXAM–
58
Fail—Score = 1
Public school students should wear uniforms to. Not
just private school students. I do not want to teach in
a private school; but I like them wearing a uniform
every day. The look neat and well-groom no matter if
they are low income or high income. Social level
doesnt matter.
Wearing uniforms is good because they build a
sense of community. Everyone from the same school
wear the same clothes. The students know if someone
is from there school right away. It makes it easier for
students, rich or poor, to make friends with people.
They don’t have to worry about what to wear in the

morning because they always know.
Also they don’t have to spend as much money on
cloths.
Many students think it is unfair that public
school students could wear whatever they wanted.
Maybe private school students shouldn’t wear uni-
forms either. Then everyone would be able to dress the
way they want to and be individulistic.
Some people say uniforms would make bad stu-
dents behave better. Because they wouldn’t always be
talking about who has a better sneakers or better jeans.
They might have paid more attention in school like
they should of, and then everyone could learn more.
TOPIC 2
Pass—Score = 4
Life is full of problems, but how we approach those
problems often determines whether we’re happy or
miserable. Bob Maynard says that “Problems are
opportunities in disguise.” If we approach problems
with Maynard’s attitude, we can see that problems are
really opportunities to learn about ourselves and oth-
ers. They enable us to live happier and more fulfilling
lives.
Maynard’s quote applies to all kinds of problems.
I faced a problem just last week when our family’s
kitchen sink developed a serious leak. There was water
all over our kitchen floor and piles of dishes to be
washed. But our landlord was out of town for the
week. I come from a big family—I have six brothers
and sisters—so we couldn’t afford to wait until he got

back, and my mom couldn’t afford a couple hundred
dollars to pay for a plummer on her own. So I took the
opportunity to learn how to fix it myself. I went to the
library and found a great fix-it-yourself book. In just a
few hours, I figured out what was causing the leak and
how to stop it. If it weren’t for that problem, I proba-
bly would have relied on plummers and landlords all
my life. Now I know I can handle leaky pipes by myself.
I think it’s important to remember that no mat-
ter how big a problem is, it’s still an opportunity.
Whatever kind of situation we face, problems give us
the chance to learn and grow, both physically and
mentally. For example, when I had a problem with my
car and couldn’t afford the repairs right away, my
problem became an opportunity to get some exer-
cise—something I’d been wanting to do anyway. I had
to walk a mile each day to get to the bus stop and back.
But in the meantime, I got the chance to start getting
back in shape, and I saved a lot on gas.
I’ve come to realize that problems are really part
of what makes life worth living. Problems challenge us
and give us the opportunity to do things we’ve never
done before, to learn things we never knew before.
They teach us what we’re capable of doing. They give
us the chance to surprise ourselves.
Marginal Pass—Score = 3
Just the word “problem” can send some of us into a
panic. But problems can be good things, too. Problems
are situations that make us think and force us to be
creative and resourceful. They can also teach us things

we didn’t know before.
For example, I had a problem in school a few
years ago when I couldn’t understand my math class. I
–DIAGNOSTIC CBEST EXAM–
59
started failing my quizzes and homework assignments.
I wasn’t sure what to do, so finally I went to the teacher
and asked for help. She said she would arrange for me
to be tutored by another student who was her best stu-
dent. In return, though, I’d have to help that student
around school. I wasn’t sure what she meant by that
until I met my tutor. She was handicapped.
My job was to help her carry her books from class
to class. I’d never even spoken to someone in a wheel-
chair before and I was a little scared. But she turned
out to be the nicest person I’ve ever spent time with.
She helped me understand everything I need to know
for math class and she taught me a lot about what it’s
like to be handicapped. I learned to appreciate every-
thing that I have, and I also know that people with dis-
abilities are special not because of what they can’t do,
but because of who they are.
So you see that wonderful things can come out of
problems. You just have to remember to look for the
positive things and not focus on the negative.
Marginal Fail—Score = 2
The word “problem” is a negative word but its just an
opportunity as Mr. Bob Maynard has said. It can be
teaching tool besides.
For example, I had a problem with my son last

year when he wanted a bigger allowance. I said no and
he had to earn it. He mowed the lawn and in the fall he
raked leaves. In the winter he shovelled the walk. After
that he apreciated it more.
Its not the problem but the sollution that mat-
ters. My son learning the value of work and earning
money. (It taught me the value of money to when I
had to give him a bigger allowance!) After that he
could get what he wanted at Toys Are Us and not have
to beg. Which was better for me too. Sometimes we
forget that both children and there parents can learn a
lot from problems and we can teach our children the
value of over-coming trouble. Which is as important as
keeping them out of trouble. As well we can teach
them the value of money. That is one aspect of a prob-
lem that we manytimes forget.
So problems are a good teaching tool as well as a
good way to let you’re children learn, to look at the sil-
ver lining behind every cloud.
Fail—Score = 1
I agree with the quote that problems are opportunities
in disguise. Sometimes problems are opportunities,
too.
I have a lot of problems like anyone else does.
Sometimes there very difficult and I don’t no how to
handle them. When I have a really big problem, I
sometimes ask my parents or freinds for advise. Some-
times they help, sometimes they don’t, then I have to
figure out how to handle it myself.
One time I had a big problem. Where someone

stole my wallet and I had to get to a job interview. But
I had no money and no ID. This happened in school.
So I went to the principles office and reported it. He
called the man I was supposed to interview with. Who
rescheduled the intervew for me. So I still had the
opportunity to interview and I’m proud to say I got the
job. In fact I’m still working there!
Problems can be opportunities if you just look at
them that way. Instead of the other way around.
–DIAGNOSTIC CBEST EXAM–
60
Because it is necessary for you to do well on all three
sections of the CBEST—Reading Comprehension,
Mathematics, and Essay Writing—you must figure
your score on each section separately. Reading Com-
prehension and Mathematics are scored the same way:
First find the number of questions you got right in
each section. Questions you skipped or got wrong
don’t count; just add up how many questions you got
right out of the 50 questions in each section. If you get
approximately 70% of the answers right on each sec-
tion, you will pass the test. The table below will help
you check your math by giving you percentage equiv-
alents for some possible scores.
Number of Approximate
questions right percentage
50 100%
46 92%
43 86%
39 78%

35 70%
32 64%
28 56%
25 50%
You should get a score of at least 70% on both the
Reading Comprehension section and the Mathematics
section to be absolutely certain to pass those portions
of the CBEST. (The actual number you receive on the
real CBEST will not be “70,” however, as the scores are
converted from raw scores to scaled scores. But for the
purpose of finding out if you passed the practice
exams in this book, a percentage is just fine.)
In addition to achieving a score of 70% on the
Reading Comprehension and Mathematics sections,
you must receive a passing score on the Essay Writing
section of the CBEST. On this portion, each essay you
write will be scored by two readers who have been
especially trained for this task. The criteria are outlined
in detail in Section 3 on pages 56–57, but generally the
essays are scored as follows:
4 = Pass (an excellent and well-formed essay)
3 = Marginal Pass (an average and adequately-
formed essay)
2 = Marginal Fail (a partially-formed but sub-
standard essay)
1= Fail (an inadequately-formed essay)
Your score will be a combination of the two read-
ers’ judgments, somewhere between a possible high of
8 to a low of 2. The best way to see how you did on
your essays for this diagnostic exam is to give your

essays and the scoring criteria to a teacher and ask him
or her to score your essays for you.
What’s much more important than your scores,
for now, is how you did on each of the basic skills
tested by the exam. You need to diagnose your
strengths and weaknesses so that you can concentrate
your efforts as you prepare for the exam.
Use your percentage scores in conjunction with
the LearningExpress Test Preparation system in Chap-
ter 2 of this book to help you devise a study plan. Then
turn to the CBEST Mini-Course in Chapter 4, which
covers each of the basic skills tested on the CBEST in
24 half-hour lessons. You should plan to spend more
time on the lessons that correspond to the questions
you found hardest and less time on the lessons that
correspond to areas in which you did well.
–DIAGNOSTIC CBEST EXAM–
61

Scoring
E
ach of the 24 lessons in this chapter reviews one important CBEST skill. You can either move
through the Mini-Course sequentially or choose the areas you need to study most. If you find you
need more help after completing the lessons in one area, be sure to consult the More Help section
at the end of this chapter.
Here’s an outline of what you’ll find in this Mini-Course:
Reading 1: General Strategies (page 64)
Reading 2: Organization Questions (page 66)
Reading 3: Unmasking the Main Idea (page 70)

Reading 4: About the Author (page 73)
Reading 5: Definite Details and Tables of Contents (page 76)
Reading 6: Impressive Implications (page 79)
Reading 7: Wizard Words, Departed Parts, and Other Oddities (page 81)
Reading 8: Graphs (also applies to Math) (page 87)
CHAPTER
CBEST
Mini-Course
CHAPTER SUMMARY
The CBEST Mini-Course gives you the essentials you need to pass
the CBEST in just 24 lessons. By spending just half an hour on each
lesson—more on the areas that give you trouble, less on the areas
you feel confident about—you can increase your CBEST score and
earn your California or Oregon teaching credentials.
4
63