What the CBST covers
Criteria built the CBST for entry-level and non-managerial jobs: clerical, administrative, customer service and manufacturing roles, and it says the test has also predicted performance in data entry and sales clerk work. Its overview lists the positions where the test is used most, including administrative assistants, bank tellers, cashiers, customer service representatives, sales representatives, medical assistants, receptionists and maintenance workers.
The questions fall into two groups. Verbal questions test spelling, punctuation, grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension and attention to detail. Math questions test arithmetic and numerical problem solving. Criteria’s published sample is a sentence completion: "In recent years, poker has _____ quite popular", with five options, where the answer is "become".
You get a Test Event ID at the start. If something goes wrong during the test, you return to oda1.com, enter the ID and carry on from where you left off.
How it is scored
The raw score is the number of questions you answer correctly, out of 40, shown with your percentile against Criteria’s global norm group. The report then splits it into a verbal raw score and a math raw score, each with its own percentile, so an employer can see which side carried you.
If the employer linked a job before you took the test, the report also shows the suggested score range for that position. Criteria’s sample report shows a range of 27 to 40 and a candidate scoring 34. There is no universal pass mark: the range is set per position.
How our practice version works
Our CBST practice is a 40-question, 20-minute paper that mixes verbal and math questions, matching Criteria’s published length and time. Our questions have four options each, while Criteria’s published sample has five, so expect one more distractor per question on the real test. Nothing is deducted for a wrong answer in our version; Criteria does not publish a guessing rule for the CBST. Questions come from a pool of 50, so repeat runs overlap a lot.