Free CB-NCAE Exam Flashcards

DepEd's official subtest list names Verbal Reasoning in both English and Filipino (DM 108, s. 2025), so practise reading and vocabulary in both languages, not English alone.

When asked what a word means as used in a sentence, read the words directly before and after it rather than relying on a memorized dictionary definition — the surrounding passage decides which sense of the word is correct.

The main idea is the overall point the whole passage supports; a supporting detail only backs up one part of it. An answer choice can be true and still be wrong if it only restates one sentence rather than the passage's central point.

First name the exact relationship in the given pair (e.g., part-to-whole, tool-to-user, cause-to-effect), then test each answer choice against that same relationship — a pair that merely 'feels similar' is usually a distractor.

A stated fact is written directly in the passage; an inference is a conclusion the passage supports without saying it outright. The correct inference goes only one step beyond the text; reject choices that need outside knowledge or overreach.

Tone is the attitude conveyed by word choice (e.g., critical, optimistic, neutral); purpose is why the author wrote the passage (to inform, persuade, describe, or entertain). Judge both from word choice and structure, not from your own opinion of the topic.

Direct proportion: both quantities increase together (more hours worked, more pay). Inverse proportion: one increases as the other decreases, with their product constant — 5 workers × 12 days = 60 worker-days, so 3 workers need 60 ÷ 3 = 20 days for the same job.

A ratio compares two quantities, such as 3:5. A proportion states that two ratios are equal, such as 3:5 = 6:10. Solve proportion problems by cross-multiplying the two ratios.

Percentage change = (New − Original) ÷ Original × 100. Divide by the ORIGINAL value: 80→100 is +25%, but dividing by the new value would wrongly give 20%.

To find the original price before a discount, divide by (1 − discount rate); do not add the discount % of the sale price back on: after 20% off, a ₱80 sale price came from ₱80 ÷ 0.80 = ₱100, not ₱80 × 1.20 = ₱96.

Round the numbers and estimate the answer before calculating precisely. If your final calculated answer is far from the estimate, you likely made an arithmetic or setup error and should recheck before choosing.

Read the final sentence first to see exactly what quantity is being asked for, then work through the given numbers toward that target. Multi-step problems often bury the real question after several intermediate values, so identifying it first prevents solving for the wrong quantity.

B following A does not prove A caused B — this is the post hoc fallacy. Before accepting a causal claim, ask what else changed at the same time, and whether B ever happens without A.

A syllogism has two premises and a conclusion, such as: All A are B; All B are C; therefore All A are C. The conclusion is valid only if it follows necessarily from the premises, not merely because it sounds true.

For 'If P, then Q,' P being true guarantees Q is true. But Q being true does NOT guarantee P is true — treating it as if it does is the fallacy of affirming the consequent, a common trap in conditional-logic items.

The contrapositive of 'If P, then Q' is 'If not Q, then not P,' and it is always logically equivalent to the original statement. The converse, 'If Q, then P,' is NOT automatically true. The inverse, 'If not P, then not Q,' is NOT guaranteed either (denying the antecedent).

An assumption is a missing premise an argument needs in order for its conclusion to hold, even though the passage never states it. Find it by asking, 'What would break this argument if it turned out to be false?'

For clues like 'A is taller than B, but shorter than C,' draw a simple line or chart and place each clue on it one at a time. Do not try to hold every relationship in your head at once.

Some series interleave two patterns: in 1, 10, 3, 8, 5, 6, …, odd positions give 1, 3, 5 (+2) and even positions give 10, 8, 6 (−2). The next term (7th, an odd position) is 7. The same split-into-two-patterns trick works for alternating figure series.

Check candidate properties one at a time — number of sides, number of elements, shading, size, or rotation angle — until you find the ONE property that changes consistently step to step; start by assuming only one property changes; if that fails, see the two-property approach.

In a 3x3 grid with one figure missing, compare rows AND columns for the same rule — for example, shapes may gain a line moving left to right while also rotating moving top to bottom. The missing figure must satisfy both rules at once.

Rotation keeps a figure's handedness, so its features stay in the same clockwise order (a rotated 'b' can become 'q', never 'd'). A reflection reverses that order; if no amount of turning matches, it is a mirror image.

Find the single rule shared by the majority of figures — such as all but one having an even number of sides, or all but one being shaded — rather than picking whichever figure merely looks different at a glance.

When a series changes two properties at once, such as shape AND shading, list each property in its own column across the sequence. Solve the two rules separately, then apply both together to find the missing figure.

In a cube net, two squares separated by exactly one square in a straight row or column fold to become opposite faces. Two squares that share an edge in the net can never end up opposite each other.

For 'fold and punch a hole' items, work backward: unfold the paper one fold at a time from the final punched image, mirroring the hole's position across each fold line as you go.

A net is a flat pattern that folds into a 3D solid. Identify which two edges of the flat pattern meet when folded, and confirm that faces adjacent on the net end up adjacent on the assembled solid.

For an n×n×n cube painted on the outside and then cut into unit cubes: 8 corner cubes always have 3 painted faces, 12(n−2) edge cubes have 2, 6(n−2)² face cubes have 1, and (n−2)³ interior cubes have none. For n=4: 8, 24, 24, and 8 cubes (64 total).

A vertical mirror line swaps left and right but keeps top and bottom the same. A horizontal mirror line (a 'water image') swaps top and bottom but keeps left and right the same. Flipped both ways at once is a 180° rotation, not a second mirror image.

Orthographic items show the front, top, and side views of a solid separately. Build the 3D shape mentally by combining all three views — a single view alone cannot show depth.

Ideal mechanical advantage (IMA) of a ramp = slope length ÷ height risen. A 10 m ramp rising 2 m has an IMA of 5: one-fifth the force is needed, but over five times the distance. Ignoring friction, this changes the force needed, not the total work done.

A lever balances when force times distance from the pivot is equal on both sides (moment = force × distance). A small force placed far from the pivot can balance a larger force placed close to the pivot.

A single fixed pulley only changes the direction of a pulling force, not its size. Adding movable pulleys creates mechanical advantage, letting you lift a heavier load with less force, at the cost of pulling a longer length of rope.

Two gears that mesh directly always rotate in opposite directions. A gear placed between them (an idler gear) reverses direction again, so the first and third gears in a row of three end up turning the same way.

A smaller gear meshed with a larger gear spins faster than the larger gear, but with less turning force (torque). Gear-ratio problems trade speed against force — you cannot increase both from the same pair of gears.

In a series circuit, components share one path, so if one bulb burns out, the whole circuit stops. In a parallel circuit, each component has its own path, so one bulb burning out does not affect the others.

As its name says, Perceptual Accuracy and Response Efficiency (PARE) scores speed and accuracy together. Practice formats for this kind of subtest typically use code, record, and symbol comparison tasks.

When comparing two strings of letters or numbers for a match, scan in short chunks of 3-4 characters rather than reading the whole string in one pass — chunking catches transposition errors faster than a single continuous read.

PARE rewards speed and accuracy together. A careless wrong answer earns no credit for the time it took, so work at the fastest pace at which you still check every character. DepEd does not publish PARE's scoring rules.

A transposition error swaps two adjacent characters, such as 4728 vs. 4782. Both strings contain the same digits, so a glance or a digit-sum check misses it. Compare position by position (1st with 1st, 2nd with 2nd, and so on).

For filing or sorting items, compare letter by letter starting from the first character, and only move to the next letter when the current ones are tied. Judge alphabetical order by exact letters, not by the general 'shape' of the word.

The Career and Occupational Roles Explorer (CORE) has two parts: CORE-A, which applies the RIASEC model, and CORE-B, which applies the Thurstone model. Both are occupational-interest inventories, not scored knowledge tests.

CORE items ask what activities or work environments you prefer, not what you know. Because interests are personal, no response is correct or incorrect — answering honestly, not strategically, produces the most useful profile.

Realistic (hands-on, mechanical), Investigative (analytical, scientific), Artistic (creative, expressive), Social (helping, teaching), Enterprising (leading, persuading), Conventional (organized, detail-driven). CORE-A profiles how strongly each type matches a learner.

Holland arranges the six RIASEC types in a hexagon: Realistic-Investigative-Artistic-Social-Enterprising-Conventional, back to Realistic. Neighboring types share more traits; the opposite pairs are Realistic-Social, Investigative-Enterprising, and Artistic-Conventional. The hexagon shows how related your interests are — no position is better than another.

From SY 2026-2027, all enrolled Grade 9 and Grade 10 learners take the CB-NCAE (BEA Advisory No. 018, s. 2026). SY 2025-2026 covered Grade 10 only, under DepEd Memorandum No. 108, s. 2025.

There is no pass or fail. Results form an aptitude-and-interest profile that learners, parents, and guidance counsellors use together when choosing a Senior High School track and elective cluster.

Under the Strengthened SHS Curriculum (DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2026), Senior High School has two tracks: Academic — with elective clusters in Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities; Business and Entrepreneurship; STEM; Sports, Health and Wellness; and Field Experience — and Technical-Professional (Tech-Pro).

DepEd Memorandum No. 108, s. 2025 (para. 8) let learners with visual difficulty skip the image-heavy GSA subtests — Abstract, Mechanical, Spatial Reasoning, and PARE — for SY 2025-2026. Confirm the current policy with your Testing Coordinator.

No. After an orientation and platform walkthrough, the Technical Assessment has Part I General Information, Part II Examinee's Descriptive Questionnaire (EDQ), Part III Key Learner Attributes (KLA), and Part IV CORE. GSA items appear only in the Test Proper.