Civil Service Exam (CSE) Practice Quiz
The Civil Service Exam (CSE), administered by the Civil Service Commission (CSC), is the standard eligibility exam for government office jobs in the Philippines. The Professional level runs 170 items across four categories — Verbal Ability, Numerical Ability, Analytical Ability, and General Information — all under one shared 3-hour-and-10-minute timer, with free navigation between items. Your final score is the average of the four category percentages, not simply total correct out of 170, and you need an 80.00% general rating to pass. Because scoring works this way, doing very well on one category can't fully cover for a weak one — balanced preparation across all four categories matters more than being excellent at just one.
This practice quiz page exists to help you build that balance. Below the study material on this page, a full practice quiz is available, pulling questions by category so you can drill your weakest areas specifically rather than working through everything at once. Explanations are shown after every answer, and each attempt draws a fresh set of questions, so you're not just memorizing answer positions. Whether you're just starting to prepare or doing a final review before exam day, working through categories individually here — then testing everything together in the full mock exam — is the most efficient way to close your gaps before the real test.
Pasa is an independent study aid, not affiliated with the CSC or AFP.
What's Tested
The Civil Service Exam (Professional level) is built around four categories, each worth an equal share of your final average.
Verbal Ability tests vocabulary, grammar and correct usage, paragraph organization, and reading comprehension — 65 items, the largest single category. Expect synonym/antonym items, sentence-correction questions, and passages followed by comprehension questions.
Numerical Ability (45 items) covers basic arithmetic operations, word problems, and data interpretation — reading and reasoning from tables, graphs, and percentages rather than just raw computation.
Analytical Ability (40 items) tests logical reasoning: word analogies, number series, logical inference, and arrangement/sequencing problems. This category rewards a clear method more than raw speed.
General Information (20 items) draws on the Philippine Constitution, Republic Act 6713 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees), environmental management, and peace and human rights concepts. It's the smallest category but often the most under-studied, even though its content is finite and memorizable.
For test-takers aiming at the Sub-Professional level instead (165 items, 2 hours 40 minutes), the same four categories apply, but a fifth category — Clerical Ability — is added, testing filing, alphabetizing, and spelling/proofreading speed and accuracy. Clerical Ability only appears on the Sub-Professional exam, not the Professional level, and isn't part of this site's practice quiz categories.
All 170 items are multiple choice with four options each, scored by a machine-readable answer sheet — there's no partial credit and no penalty for a wrong answer, so leaving an item blank is strictly worse than an educated guess. Difficulty within each category is mixed rather than escalating in a fixed order, so a hard item can appear early and an easy one late; pacing yourself by category rather than assuming difficulty ramps up steadily tends to work better on exam day. Because navigation is free across the whole 170-item exam, you can also skip a hard item and return to it later without losing access to the rest of the test, which isn't true of the AFPSAT's locking sections.
| Category | Items (Professional) | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal Ability | 65 | Vocabulary, grammar, paragraph organization, reading comprehension |
| Numerical Ability | 45 | Basic operations, word problems, data interpretation |
| Analytical Ability | 40 | Logic, word/number analogies, sequencing |
| General Information | 20 | Philippine Constitution, R.A. 6713, environmental management, peace/human rights |
| Clerical Ability (Sub-Professional only) | — | Filing, alphabetizing, spelling and proofreading |
Sample Questions
1. A store marks up an item by 25% above its cost price, then offers a 20% discount on the marked price during a sale. If the item's cost price is ₱400, what is the final sale price?
- A. ₱400
- B. ₱420
- C. ₱500
- D. ₱480
Correct answer: A — ₱400
Marking up ₱400 by 25% gives a marked price of ₱500 (400 × 1.25). Applying a 20% discount to that marked price gives 500 × 0.8 = ₱400 — the increase and decrease happen to exactly cancel out here (1.25 × 0.8 = 1.0). A common mistake is subtracting the percentages directly (25% − 20% = 5%) and computing 400 × 1.05 = ₱420, which ignores that percentage changes compound multiplicatively, not additively.
2. TODO: replace with a real sample question for CSE Numerical Ability: Practice Guide & Sample Questions (#2)
- A. TODO option A
- B. TODO option B
- C. TODO option C
- D. TODO option D
Correct answer: A — TODO option A
TODO: replace with a real explanation.
3. TODO: replace with a real sample question for CSE Numerical Ability: Practice Guide & Sample Questions (#3)
- A. TODO option A
- B. TODO option B
- C. TODO option C
- D. TODO option D
Correct answer: A — TODO option A
TODO: replace with a real explanation.
4. TODO: replace with a real sample question for CSE Analytical Ability: Practice Guide & Sample Questions (#2)
- A. TODO option A
- B. TODO option B
- C. TODO option C
- D. TODO option D
Correct answer: A — TODO option A
TODO: replace with a real explanation.
5. TODO: replace with a real sample question for CSE Analytical Ability: Practice Guide & Sample Questions (#3)
- A. TODO option A
- B. TODO option B
- C. TODO option C
- D. TODO option D
Correct answer: A — TODO option A
TODO: replace with a real explanation.
6. TODO: replace with a real sample question for CSE Analytical Ability: Practice Guide & Sample Questions (#1)
- A. TODO option A
- B. TODO option B
- C. TODO option C
- D. TODO option D
Correct answer: A — TODO option A
TODO: replace with a real explanation.
7. TODO: replace with a real sample question for CSE General Information: Practice Guide & Sample Questions (#2)
- A. TODO option A
- B. TODO option B
- C. TODO option C
- D. TODO option D
Correct answer: A — TODO option A
TODO: replace with a real explanation.
8. TODO: replace with a real sample question for CSE General Information: Practice Guide & Sample Questions (#3)
- A. TODO option A
- B. TODO option B
- C. TODO option C
- D. TODO option D
Correct answer: A — TODO option A
TODO: replace with a real explanation.
9. TODO: replace with a real sample question for CSE General Information: Practice Guide & Sample Questions (#1)
- A. TODO option A
- B. TODO option B
- C. TODO option C
- D. TODO option D
Correct answer: A — TODO option A
TODO: replace with a real explanation.
10. Choose the word that is most nearly OPPOSITE in meaning to "METICULOUS."
- A. Careless
- B. Thorough
- C. Precise
- D. Diligent
Correct answer: A — Careless
"Meticulous" means showing great care and attention to detail. "Careless" is its direct opposite. "Thorough," "Precise," and "Diligent" are all synonyms of meticulous rather than antonyms — a common trap on this item type is picking a word that's merely unrelated instead of truly opposite, but here all three wrong options actually mean nearly the same thing as the original word.
11. TODO: replace with a real sample question for CSE Verbal Ability: Practice Guide & Sample Questions (#2)
- A. TODO option A
- B. TODO option B
- C. TODO option C
- D. TODO option D
Correct answer: A — TODO option A
TODO: replace with a real explanation.
12. TODO: replace with a real sample question for CSE Verbal Ability: Practice Guide & Sample Questions (#3)
- A. TODO option A
- B. TODO option B
- C. TODO option C
- D. TODO option D
Correct answer: A — TODO option A
TODO: replace with a real explanation.
Common Mistakes & Traps
TODO: write a 200-300 word "common mistakes / traps" section specific to the CSE.
Study Routine
TODO: write a ~150 word suggested study routine for the CSE.
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