Exam coverage
Six weeks to the 22 November reset: a study plan
You have six weeks. Spend the first finding out which sections cost you marks, the middle four fixing the worst two, and the last one working under the real clock. The paper, its scope and the passing rating of 80.00 have not changed.
If your testing centre was suspended on 9 August, the CSC has reset your examination to Sunday, 22 November 2026, six weeks from 11 October, when this plan was written. That is enough time to move a rating meaningfully, and not enough to waste the first two weeks reading about everything.
First, check that this is your date
The reset covers every testing centre in the National Capital Region, but only named centres in Region IV and the Cordillera. You sit without a new fee and without re-registering, at the same centre as before unless your regional office says otherwise. The full list of centres and the reset's terms.
Two things to put in your calendar now. The CSC will post school assignments on its website no later than fourteen days before the examination. And if a red or orange rainfall warning is declared at any of the reset centres, the whole reset moves to 24 January 2027, announced at least a day before.
What you are preparing for
| Professional | Subprofessional | |
|---|---|---|
| Items | 170 | 165 |
| Time | 3 hours 10 minutes | 2 hours 40 minutes |
| Pace | About 67 seconds an item | About 58 seconds an item |
| Sections | Verbal (English and Filipino), numerical, analytical, general information | Verbal (English and Filipino), numerical, clerical, general information |
| Passing | General rating of 80.00 | General rating of 80.00 |
The pace row is the one most people underrate. Almost nobody fails this examination because a single question was impossible. They fail because they spent four minutes on one early on and ran out of time on fifteen easy ones at the end.
The six weeks
| Week | Focus |
|---|---|
| 12 to 18 October | Measure. Find your two weakest sections. |
| 19 October to 1 November | Fix the weakest section, a little every day. |
| 2 to 8 November | The second-weakest section, plus general information. |
| 9 to 15 November | Full-length papers under the real clock. |
| 16 to 21 November | Short daily sets, nothing new, rest the day before. |
Week one: measure before you study
Take one honest, timed set covering every section, and sort the marks you lost by section. The point is to stop studying what you can already do, which is where most review time quietly goes. The free 50-question diagnostic does this sorting for you, but any timed set works if you mark it carefully. Pick the two sections where you lost the most, and leave the rest alone for now.
Weeks two and three: the weakest section
Thirty to forty items a day, timed, then read the explanation for every one you missed and every one you got right by guessing. A daily hour beats a weekend marathon, because what you are building is recognition: seeing a question and knowing within seconds which kind it is.
If it is numerical, start with the most rule-bound formats, because they pay back fastest: number series, percentages and ratios and word problems. If it is verbal, start with grammar and error recognition, where a stated rule settles most items. Every topic is on the practice page.
Week four: the second section, and general information
Same routine for your second-weakest section. Add general information alongside it, because it is the one section where plain reading helps directly. The CSC names its scope: the 1987 Philippine Constitution; the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (R.A. 6713); peace and human rights issues and concepts; and environment management and protection. What each section covers.
Week five: the real clock
Two full-length papers this week, at the real length and pace, in one sitting each. Then review only two things: the items you missed, and the items that took you longest. A slow correct answer is a warning, not a win. On the day, it is the reason somebody else's easy questions at the end go unanswered.
A rule worth practising until it is automatic: if an item has taken two minutes and you are not close, mark a best guess and move on. You can come back to it if there is time.
This is also the week to look for the CSC's school-assignment advisory, and to check that the ID you plan to bring is on the CSC's list of accepted IDs.
The last week: nothing new
Short timed sets each day to keep your pace, and no new topics. A rule learned on Thursday is the one most likely to come out wrong on Sunday. Know your route to the school and how long it takes. Keep an eye on the weather and on the CSC's announcements, since a red or orange rainfall warning would move the examination to 24 January. Sleep properly on Saturday.
If it moves to January
Then you have ten more weeks, and the plan stretches rather than restarts: repeat weeks two to four for your next-weakest sections, and keep one full timed paper a week from then on.