Basic Skills Test

The Criteria Basic Skills Test (CBST) measures the basic math and verbal skills that are required to succeed in a wide variety of entry-level jobs. The CBST measures basic grammar, spelling, math, and language skills. It offers a quick way to assess the job readiness of candidates in a range of jobs, including clerical, administrative, and customer service positions. 

The CBST consists of 40 questions with a 20-minute time limit. The difficulty of the questions increases as the candidate progresses through the test.

Every candidate is given a raw score and a percentile ranking. The raw score indicates how many questions they answered correctly, while the percentile ranking is a relative performance metric that indicates how the individual scored relative to others who have taken the test. For example, a percentile ranking of 45 means that an individual scored better than 45% of the group on which the test was normed.

The CBST has been extensively validated to be predictive of performance for a variety of jobs in which basic verbal and math skills are required. The test is most useful for assessing basic job readiness competencies for candidates applying to entry-level or low- to mid-level jobs.

We have been using the CBST from Criteria for just over 3 years and we are pleased with the results, as are our clients.



Fermion specialises in psychometric testing for recruitment. Please contact Fermion to discuss how the CBST, or any other psychometric test, can help with you your recruitment decisions.

About the Author:

Christopher Apps is an Organisational Psychologist and the owner of Fermion. He stays updated on the latest psychology research and shares evidence-based insights. The focus of Fermion is "Psychometric Testing for Recruitment" and “Recruitment to Retention: How to Select Good Staff & Keep Them”. If you would like to learn how to select good staff and keep them, please feel free to contact us at Fermion.

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