Lessons · Teaching · how it is scored, and what passing actually means
What passing means, and why the total is not the whole story
Both tests report scaled scores, not raw counts, so the number of questions you answered right is not the number you see. Praxis Core reports each of the three tests separately and each has its own passing score set by your state. CBEST reports three section scores and a total, and it can be passed on the total with one weak section, within a floor.
Hone is a place to practise a career, one idea a day. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
In beta. This lesson was written for Hone and has not yet been checked by a state certification officer. Practice material, not professional advice. What that means.
What it is for
The scoring rule changes the right strategy. Where each test passes separately, a weak area has to be brought over the line on its own and no amount of strength elsewhere helps it. Where a total can carry a weak section, a candidate strong in reading can afford to be adequate in mathematics. Preparing without knowing which rule applies is preparing blind.
How to think about it
Write down your target as three numbers rather than one. Then, in every practice paper, score the sections separately and look at the weakest one first. The instinct is to practise what you are good at because it feels better, and on a test with per-section passing it is the least useful hour you can spend.
Worked example
CBEST passes at a scaled 41 in each section, or a total of 123 with no section below 37So 41 + 41 + 41 = 123 passes, and 45 + 41 + 37 = 123 also passes, and 45 + 45 + 33 does not.
Praxis Core passing scores are set by each state, and states differThe ETS score range is fixed; the bar on it is not, so the number to beat is your state's.
A scaled score is not a percentage and not a raw countNobody can tell you 'you need 32 right out of 56'. Practise to comfort, not to a raw target.
There is no penalty for a wrong answer on either test, so nothing is left blankA blank is a guaranteed zero and a guess is not.
Your turn
Name the number a CBEST section must not fall below when passing on the total.
Passing on the CBEST total needs no section below
Solve one, graded on the server
The trap
Treating a practice-paper percentage as a scaled score. They are different scales and the conversion is not published. A practice score is useful as a trend across weeks and useless as a prediction of the number you will be sent.