CBEST Math Test Prep

CBEST Exam Overview

If your dream is to be a teacher in California, you’ll first have to pass the CBEST in order to qualify for certification. This demanding exam measures prospective teachers’ aptitudes in reading, writing, and math. For most people, the math section is the big stumbling block. Although you can take the exam as many times as you like, the longer it takes for you to pass, the longer you have to put your life on hold. Don’t let repeated failures discourage you from pursuing your goals. Take advantage of the best way to prepare for the CBEST math test!

The test went well and I placed into college math. It was very helpful - you are a great teacher. Thank you!

Brad Nelson

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My results on the NYSCTE Early Childhood test came in last night and I passed with a 528 ! This study guide was truly the best! Very detailed.

Brittany'Marie Rollins

The math placement prep course really helped me — I scored 96% on the test! The question bank was especially useful in helping me practice and build confidence. Thanks for such a helpful course!

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Joy Mann

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Ivelissa Gonzalez

The College Algebra course format is ideal for me with videos, extensive practice with more challenging bonus content, plus quizzes and comprehensive exams all with immediate feedback and ability to get worked examples. This was the most helpful online math experience I’ve had so far. The site is very easy to navigate and really organized optimally with reference content easy to access when advancing to each new level.

david fabienke

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Tamara

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The best course I had. I scored 86 on the ALEKS test thanks to this class. The most helpful content for me was the simplified videos and the quizzes.

Mohamed Abdalla

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Anna Kaptsova

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Rachael Turner

I really appreciated the math lessons on the website. I had been studying math before for the PERT math test and I just couldn't seem to pass it. I went from a 84 the first time I took to passing it with a 120. The videos were short and to the point. Thank you again!

Maggie Gibson

I took my TSIA2 Math test yesterday and scored a 971! Back in December, I scored a 938, so this improvement means a lot to me. The TSIA2 Math help was incredibly useful and strengthened my math skills. The most helpful lessons for me were Linear Equations in Two Variables and Rational expressions and equations. I truly appreciate the support. Thank you!

Omotolani Badru

I found the GMAT course extremely helpful especially for someone like me who was revisiting these subjects after almost 30 years from my high school graduation. The materials are organized in a very smooth way and are taught with clarity and ample practice tests. Thanks again for the course

Kati Asgari

It was great! The elements I felt that most helped me were all of the tests and practices that came after watching the various videos in each of the sections. Not only that, but each teacher/professor was very helpful in explaining how to work problems and telling me to keep some things in mind when doing a specific equation, graphing, etc. In all honesty, everything that had to do with MathHelp was extremely concise and simple to work.

Lincoln Vilchis

I took my TSIA2 exam today and I scored a 966 on the math portion! I’m very grateful to the course on math help. It really helped refresh my brain on all the math concepts I had learned in high school. I really enjoyed the word problems, especially the help on translating English to algebra. I learned so much and the repetition of it all really helped everything stick! Thank you for all the math help!

Abigail CIsneros

I passed the PRAXIS with the help of your program. I really liked the break out of each section and the grades it showed of my test while working through it. I really like the practice test questions with instant feedback if I got the answer correct or not. I like that I had the final exam as well and it helped give a snap shot of the areas I need to work on. I had used another program but did not pass my test...thank you for putting this together. I like the bonus buttons as well if I needed more work in a certain area. The blond teacher is the best and good to see other instructors as well.

Brandon Domnick

I loved your teaching throughout this program! Thank you for all the hard work you put into compiling and teaching such a stream-lined curriculum. I only needed to test into MAT142 at Arizona State University to continue my education but it’s been 15 years since my last math course and as a nurse, I use some basic math for drug dosage calculations or area under the curve for chemotherapy calculations but this program was a great refresher for everything in between. I had super limited time to view the program, so I had to skip some on the more advanced trig, calculus and statistics sections and go ahead and take the ALEKS test so I could enroll for spring semester but I was able to test in to the math class I needed, so I consider it a success. I wouldn’t have felt anywhere near as confident going in if I hadn’t completed the program first.

I definitely think every section was very well thought out. The practice questions and the test questions were a definite bonus. It gave me plenty of chances to try out problems without guidance and the ability to review the written out solution for each answer was phenomenal. I was also grateful for the ability to skip around, to see my progress and scores and to be able to speed up the audio for each section. The reminders and pointing out the common mistakes that students make was a great touch! It made me think about what could trip me up later on and those little tidbits will stick with me.

I sincerely appreciate your help and I may be back later on if my course doesn’t provide the caliber of teaching that this program did.

Jillian Barrette

The ALEKS test went as well as it could for somebody that’s been out of the classroom for 25 years. The MathHelp site actually helped me a ton to prep. I don't have to take remedial math thank goodness. The ALEKS prep broke out the subjects beautifully and allowed you to build on it if you needed to. I hopped around a bit myself, but overall super easy to navigate either way you do it. Thanks!

Sarah Poynter

The Accuplacer went great, I was studying to place a class higher and was able to accomplish that goal. What I appreciated about Math Help was its clean layout and structure to be able to move quickly between videos and practice tests for each skill. I really feel like using this tool was a crucial part of me being able to advance in classes so quickly.

Celesta Allen

The course and the format were very well thought out and it did help me to pass a university math placement enough to not have to take remedial college math classes. It was good refresher even though being away from university and college math for over 30 years. I would highly recommend this math help for anyone that needs to get back to the basics. Also, the way it is taught with explanations, practice problems and test questions for every concept covered.

SgtSurge

I originally used my MathHelp subscription for the Math Accuplacer, which I ended up scoring wonderfully on, my final score landing in the 99th percentile actually. I enjoyed that review course so much I switched to SAT prep for my exam coming up on December 7th. I would say the video explanations and the review modules were the most helpful for me while preparing for the exams.

Mysha Faiz

It helped more than I expected! I’ve been out of high school 5 years, needed a refresher. I went through every module and ended up scoring a 975/999 on my TSI math portion. It sure helped a lot, just make sure you give yourself enough time to study all of the material. Two weeks sufficed fine for me.

Nicholas Sheetz

I think the whole TSIA2 course was designed very well. I am super scared of Math in general. Have started studying after 35 yrs, so this course was a saviour. It was very clear and precise for my needs. Thank you for creating it.

Rachna P

Thanks to Mathhelp I scored three levels above where I needed to be on my Aleks test. Fantastic course. I really liked how you could change the speed of playback - I would usually watch at 1.5x speed. If I could have done that when I was taking math in high school I wouldn't have been so bored. The tests and review units were all really well done and everything helped. Thanks so much for all the work you put into this, it's really great!

Byron Miller

This course was amazing!! I recently went back to school and had to take the Accuplacer test for math. I have not been in a math class for over 14 years. This course helped me pass and get placed in college level algebra. Definitely recommend this course.

Madeline Kennedy

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Joshua Simmonds

I passed the GED with a really good score. The course was super helpful, I think the comprehensive overview of all the different topics was most helpful. Thanks a lot!

Harry Smith

My daughter did well on her math placement test to get into college/honors calculus for her high school. She improved her score by 40%. The program helped her "learn" how to study.

Moore Family

The ALEKS program was very helpful with the perfect balance of instruction and practice.

Kevin Santos

The ALEKS test went great. I hadn't taken a math class for over 5 years so I was a little nervous to take the test so I wanted to be as prepared as possible when taking the test. It was really helpful in refreshing my memory and teaching me things I never learned. What I found most helpful was the video lessons as they helped walk me through everything. The program was really helpful.

Macie Burkholder

Preparing for any test can be nerve-racking, especially when it’s a subject you struggle with or have not practiced in a while. When I needed to prepare for the Accuplacer Quantitative Reasoning and Statistics I found all the resources I needed on MathHelp. The lessons are concise, thorough, and easy to understand. When my test day rolled around I felt confident in my abilities. I ended up passing with flying colors and even exceeded my own expectations. I would recommend MathHelp to anyone who wants to improve their understanding and confidence before their test day!

Jessica Padgett

passed the TExES core subjects ec-6 math exam!!! The videos really broke down each skills for me. I liked how many practice questions there were after each lesson for practice for the test for the bonus. I really liked it. The videos with the blonde woman were the most helpful. I feel like she really broke down each problem and explained each element that helped me a lot.

Victoria Larkin

Thank you! I passed my NYSTCE Grades 1-6 exam and did surprisingly well. I haven’t taken a math course in 20 years so I was nervous. I liked that I could go through all of the lessons, test my current knowledge and then focus on the areas with the most need. I felt the lessons were taught at a level I could understand. I appreciate the course I took so much, it helped me out for sure. I got a 557 on a test that I thought would be near impossible for me to pass.

Kimberly Youngberg

Test Praxis 5003 Elementary Math.
I just got my Praxis Elementary score and I did great, scoring 184. Your course was the reason. I did all the lessons.

Susan Paffrath

I annihilated the TSIA2 test! The most helpful part of the course for me was it’s step-by-step format and practice questions and its slowly ramps up in difficulty - which kept me motivated. The way the course is formatted made it incredibly satisfying and easy to learn.

Raul Gamboa

The Accuplacer test went well and my daughter scored high enough to get into the college math class she needed to take. We really liked the program. It was great how there were the explanation videos which were really good and then the practice and then the quizzes. I liked how if she already knew something we could skip right to the quiz part and if she was struggling with something we could watch the explanations a couple times and then see the practice problems worked. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get her ready for that placement test before I found your program and it was just what we needed. I would definitely recommend it.

Clark Melinkovich

Passed the math placement test! I liked the course very much, simple to navigate, videos are very easy to follow; loved the practice part and small test after every lesson. I think you guys did an amazing job putting this together! Thank you!

Tatiana McKenzie

Thank you so much for your lessons! I came into this having forgotten pretty much everything about math except the basics and I left confidently taking the TSI and passing with no trouble at all! I was impressed by my score (976!) and so proud of myself! I can’t thank you enough. I really liked how easy it was to follow the videos and the freedom to go at my own pace. Thank you from a 35 year old mother of 3 finally following her dreams to become a teacher. I truly couldn’t have done it without you!

Jessica Berger

I’m going for a stem major and I wanted my foundation for Math as strong as possible. Mathhelp was extremely helpful. I graduated high school in 2010 with my last math class in 2009. Your lessons were vital in my reintroduction to college math and allowed me the confidence to jump back in. So thank you for making such a quality product.

Brian Bogdan

My son took his GED and did very well thanks to the hours he spent studying with your program. It's set up very well and was very helpful for him. I would say that the way you have it broken down made it very easy for him to identify and focus on the areas that he struggled with the most enabling him to master his problem areas. Thanks for making this available.

Cyndee Weeks

My AccuPlacer test went very smooth thanks to the MathHelp lessons. All throughout the course I was thinking “this is refreshing my brain so well, while also teaching me lessons much more efficiently than what I have learned in the past”. The course was great.

abbie boudreaux

I am going back to school for nursing and used this program to refresh my math in preparation for the Hesi and Kaplan exams. It was by far the most helpful online course I used and had everything I needed to know. I found it so easy to use and everything was explained perfectly. If I need any more math help in the future, I will definitely renew my membership.

J B

How to Pass the CBEST

There’s no need to worry about how to pass the CBEST exam when you can access an interactive cbest study guide online. Look for a program that offers a stress-free, incremental approach that introduces concepts gradually, allowing you to learn at your own pace. Each lesson should start with dynamic whiteboard videos that acquaint you with the concepts, followed by engaging practice problems, complete with clear audio instructions to develop the concepts further and make certain you feel entirely comfortable. Finally, make sure there’s a way to prove to yourself that you know what you’re doing with a short quiz. This straightforward educational design is extremely effective and gets the job done.

An emphasis on focused CBEST math test prep is important as well. Some people have stronger backgrounds than others and only need help in a few areas. If this describes your situation, you’ll want diagnostic pretests at the beginning of each section to confirm your pre-existing knowledge, allowing you to skip concepts, saving valuable time.

For many students, however, skipping sections is the last thing on their minds because they’re already nervous about simply getting through the course. If you fall in this camp, you’ll benefit from optional background modules that take a deep-dive into each concept, laying a solid foundation for understanding with a meticulous review of the basics. Don’t waste your precious time studying material that you won’t find on the CBEST test. Make sure that your test prep material only includes the topics you’ll encounter come test day. In short, look for a tailored system designed to fit your personal math requirements so you can complete your CBEST test prep in as little or as much time as you need.

CBEST Tutoring

More than anything, effective CBEST tutoring must keep students interested and engaged. The best online CBEST test prep will make sure the student never loses interest by offering a robust learning experience, filled with concise video explanations from experienced teachers and thoroughly-explained, interactive practice problems. Why bore yourself with thick, dry books or websites filled with tedious practice questions that lack the proper instruction? Find a method of review that not only builds a teacher into the CBEST prep class to guide you every step of the way, but also features detailed progress reports and a powerful grading system that provides the motivation required to continue on your journey. You’ll discover that there’s no better way to study for the CBEST math exam.

As a final confirmation of your preparedness, your course should provide an online CBEST math practice test that you can take as many times as you like (with new questions each time) to crystallize your knowledge. A good score on this “final exam” means that you’re ready to take the CBEST.

Expensive private tutors and classroom programs are a thing of the past. An online CBEST math study guide will use the wonders of technology to remove the barriers of inconvenience and high costs associated with the old way of doing things. This cutting-edge approach can provide the help you need to get a passing score on the CBEST math test and remove a major hurdle on your path to becoming a teacher.

CBEST FAQ

How long does it take to prepare for CBEST?

In general, you should expect to spend one or two hours a day for one to three months preparing for the CBEST. However, this amount can vary depending on your math background.

What is the best CBEST prep book?

There are lots of products on the market, but some are significantly better than others. Five of the best CBEST prep books are:

CBEST Math Test Prep by MathHelp
CBEST Test Preparation by Cirrus Teacher Certification Exam Prep Team
CliffsNotes CBEST, 7th Edition
CBEST Prep Book 2019 & 2020 by Apex Test Prep
Cracking the CBEST, 3rd Edition by the Princeton Review

How do I prepare for the CBEST?

Try these five tips to help with your CBEST math prep.

Let the format be your friend. CBEST’s math section is multiple-choice, which means the right answer is sitting on the page, waiting for you to find it. You can use the process of elimination to narrow down your choices.
Work on your translation skills. Translating English into mathematical language is the one skill that will be useful in the majority of test questions in the math section.
Practice showing your work. Calculators aren’t allowed on the CBEST math section, so you’ll need to be comfortable doing all of your calculations with paper and pencil.
Read carefully. There’s often critical information “hidden” in the fine print as part of a chart, graph, table, or diagram. Read the problem, and then read it again.
Watch out for “trap” questions. The CBEST exam writers like to choose problems that lend themselves to common mistakes.

How many math questions are on the CBEST?

There are 50 multiple-choice questions included in the math section. The majority will be word problems, though some will be more traditional equations and so on.

What kind of math is on the CBEST?

The exam includes a comprehensive survey of basic mathematical concepts including computation and problem-solving, graphical and numerical relationships, measurement, estimation, and statistical concepts.

Is the CBEST Math hard?

The CBEST math is hard because the test is designed to make sure the prospective teacher is highly proficient. Therefore, it’s important to prepare thoroughly.

The CBEST lessons were really helpful. I like how there are practice sessions to adapt and to test my knowledge on it. The test itself went better than I expected.Terrill Tackwood - April 2025

I passed the CBEST thanks to your program!Carlos Turner - November 2024

I passed my CBEST test yesterday with flying colors. Your program was so good. I'm going to be teaching 4th and 5th grade this year. This really helped me get prepared for the year.Blake Williams - August 2024

What makes MathHelp.com different?

Complete courses that build your math foundation.

Concise videos that each cover a single concept.

Guided practice with audio explanations.

Self-pacing for all levels of ability inside each lesson.

What is the CBEST Test?

The California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST) is a standardized test administered in the state of California. The test is intended to score basic proficiency in reading, mathematics, and writing. The test is divided into three sections: the reading and math sections each containing 50 multiple-choice questions; and the writing section, consisting of two essay questions. The entire test must be completed in four hours, and test-takers may allocate the time to each section at their discretion. There is no limit to the number of times the test may be taken. Test-takers do not have to pass all three sections in one sitting.

The California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST) is a standardized test which can satisfy the basic skills requirement for teacher credentialing in the state of California. It was developed by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) to meet the California Education Code (Section 44254), which was amended by the legislature of California on February 1, 1983. This amendment "requires teachers, administrators, and other school practitioners, [to] demonstrate adequate proficiency, in English, of three basic skills: reading, mathematics, and writing." It does not test an individual’s teaching skills or abilities; it only tests reading skills (critical analysis, evaluation, comprehension, and research skills), mathematics skills (estimation, measurement, computation, and problem-solving, etc.), and writing skills that are considered important for a job in the education field, either at the elementary, secondary, or higher education levels.

The CBEST gives a separate score for each section tested, and a passing score must be obtained in every section to pass the test. Passing the CBEST is one way to satisfy the California Education Code basic skills requirement for obtaining a California teaching credential, required to teach in California public schools.

The mathematics section contains 50 multiple-choice questions that assess cumulative knowledge of the mathematics traditionally taught in elementary and high school and, sometimes, in college. These questions come from three broad categories: arithmetic, algebra, and measurement and geometry. None of the questions strictly tests computation, but computational skills are required throughout the test.

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