It's a known fact that the Civil Service Exam is hard. Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos take it every year, but only a few pass and get their Civil Service Eligibility.
The Magic Number: 80.00%
To pass the exam—whether you're taking the Professional or Sub-Professional level—you need to get a final score of at least 80.00%.
Take note that the CSC uses a formula to compute your grade based on how hard the test was for your batch. So getting 80% of the questions right (like 136 out of 170) is a good goal, but it doesn't automatically mean you get exactly 80.00% as your final grade.
Historical Passing Rates
If we look at past exams, the passing rate is usually around 10% to 18%. This means out of 100 people taking the test, only about 10 to 18 will actually pass.
Why is the passing rate so low? A lot of people underestimate the time limit. For the Professional level, you only have 3 hours and 10 minutes for 170 questions. That's just a little over a minute per question. Subjects like Math and Logic eat up a lot of time.
How to Beat the Statistics
The best way to increase your chances of passing is to practice with a timer. Memorizing formulas and grammar is good, but practicing how to guess fast and manage your time is what will help you pass.
We suggest taking at least 5 full mock exams before your test day. Focus on the subjects you find hard so you can pull up your overall score.