I am about to tell you an important secret that some publishing companies charge big money to reveal. This secret is so important that failure to be aware of this secret will result in a failed CSET English exam. The secret is that subtests III and IV are not essay questions. An attempt to write a lengthy essay response with a thesis, body, and conclusion will surely end in disaster. Do not try to write an essay response as you will not have time. These are constructed-response questions. In the online CSET English course I teach, you will discover an awesome method for answering constructed-response questions.



Subtest I has 40 literature and textual analysis questions and 10 composition and rhetoric questions for a total of 50 multiple-choice questions.

Subtest II has 50 language, linguistics, and literacy multiple-choice questions.

Subtest III has 2 long constructed-response questions. One constructed-response question will be on a literary text such as a book, and the other constructed-response question will be on a nonliterary text such as a speech.

Subtest IV has 4 short constructed-response questions.

Time Management

You have 5 hours, or 300 minutes to complete all four subtests on the CSET English exam. If you break up your CSET English exam on different test days, then you have more time although this is a more expensive choice than taking all four subtests at once.

You will have one hour to complete subtest I, one hour to complete subtest II, two hours to complete subtest III, and one hour to complete subtest IV. Knowing this, we can break the time down to a per question basis.

For subtest I, you should spend no more than 1-minute per question. For subtest II, you should spend no more than 1-minute per question. For subtest III, no more than 1-hour per constructed-response question. For subtest IV, no more than 15 minutes per constructed-response question.

Scoring

You need a 220 to pass the CSET English exam which means you need to get about 75% of the questions correct.

You must pass all four subtests to pass the exam. People have failed the CSET English exam because they mistakenly thought that strength on the multiple-choice questions would make up for weakness on the constructed-response questions. Do not think that being strong on one subtest will make up for weakness on another subtest. You must pass all four subtests to the pass the CSET English exam.

The ?2 of 4 Rule? for the CSET English Exam

I do not believe in studying ?method? over ?content?. Some students believe, and some publishers are more than willing to exploit this belief, that methods exist that will help you pass the CSET English exam without having to learn all the required material. One of my competitors who offers a CSET English study guide goes as far to make the claim that even if you are ?brain-dead?, you can pass the CSET English exam by learning his secret test taking methods. Shame on that publisher for trying to exploit everyone's wish for a quick fix, a ?magic pill? to passing the CSET English exam. My online CSET English study guide and course is all about content and having students complete memory improvement exercises like flash cards, chronology, fill-in, matching, point and click, unscramble, quizzes, and even crossword puzzles. Having said that, I'm going to share with you a method you may want to consider: the ?2 of 4 Rule?.

I stumbled on this method while creating tests for students over the last 10 years as the owner of Confab Publishing, an education communications company. What became obvious, over many years of creating tests like the CSET English exam, was that it is significantly harder to create a good but incorrect answer-choice than it is to produce the correct answer. Therefore usually only two attractive answer-choices are offered. One correct; the other either intentionally misleading or only partly correct. The other two answer-choices are usually fluff. This makes educated guessing on the CSET English exam immensely effective. If you can dismiss the two fluff choices, your probability of answering the question successfully will increase from 25% to 50%.

Remember, do not go into the CSET English exam thinking that you are going to pass by using this, or any other ?method?. Study, study, study! If you put in the required effort and discipline to pass the CSET English exam, you will know. If you put in the required studying, and you come to a question you simply do not know, only then should you consider using the ?2 of 4 Rule?. If you buy a good CSET English study guide or enroll in an online CSET English course like the one I teach, you will not have to rely heavily on methods like the ?2 of 4 Rule?, instead, the content you will learn in my course will carry you through.