Verbal
Words, relationships and exact reading
- V1Sentence completion: one or two blanks
- V2Antonyms and synonyms
- V3Word analogies: “A is to B as C is to …”
- V4Attention to detail: are these pairs exactly the same?
Take a free CCAT practice check: 5 hard questions in 90 seconds, at the real pace. The Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test gives you about 18 seconds a question, and very few people finish all 50.1 Then prepare with lesson videos, timed drills and full simulations.
★★★★★4.3 on Trustpilot · 441 reviews · Updated for 2026
Free · no account, no email · questions from the course, not Criteria’s own items
A one-minute tour of the course: the lesson videos, the guides, the timed drills and a full simulation with its result.
Three kinds of questions, mixed together in one 15-minute block.1,2 The course splits them into 14 question types, each with its own lesson. The mix of 17, 22 and 11 is how our simulations are built; Criteria does not publish the split.
Words, relationships and exact reading
Numbers, tables and reasoning, no calculator in the course
Plain black-and-white figures
Your raw score is the number of questions you answer correctly out of 50. Criteria reports it with a percentile rank against its norm group, plus a percentile for verbal, math & logic and spatial.1,2 The employer decides which score is good enough for the job, and Criteria suggests ranges per job.2 Only correct answers count, so as we read it, a blank earns nothing and a guess can only help.
The six full simulations in the course end with an estimate read the same way from these norm figures.
| Raw score (of 50) | Estimated percentile |
|---|---|
| 12 | about the 10th |
| 16 | about the 15th |
| 20 | about the 30th |
| 24 | 50th (median, Criteria) |
| 28 | about the 65th |
| 31 | about the 80th |
| 36 | about the 90th |
| 40 | about the 95th |
Estimates for orientation only. Criteria publishes the median (24), the average (24.2) and the standard deviation (8.58) of its norm group of 985 working adults;4 we read those as a bell curve and round to 5. Criteria’s InfoBrief reports a second, larger sample of 106,740 incumbents and job applicants with the same median of 24 but a standard deviation of 7.00,3 so any percentile from a raw score is an estimate. Your real percentile comes from Criteria’s own norms.
Each lesson has a short video, a written guide with one method, a trainer that serves new questions without end, and three timed drills of 12 questions at easy, moderate and hard. From easy to hard the questions take more steps, and the clock gives a few seconds more per question.


Learn the method, practice it without pressure, then put it on the clock. The same four steps in every lesson, so you always know what comes next.

16 sketch videos, 44 minutes in all: how the CCAT works, the 15-minute plan and one video per question type.
17 written guides with worked examples and the traps that cost points under time pressure.
A trainer in each of the 14 question-type lessons serves new questions without end, with a stopwatch against the target time.
Three drills per type, easy, moderate and hard, 12 questions each, with a clock on every question and the solution right after.



Each one runs on the CCAT clock: 50 questions in 15 minutes.1 Our simulations go forward only, one question at a time, and put most verbal and spatial items early and word problems, tables and logic at the end. The result shows your raw score, an estimated percentile, the three sections and a table by question type that links the guides to read next.

Free tests, including this one and Criteria’s own samples, show you the format and your starting point. Here’s what they leave out.
| Free practice | CCAT 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| A method | You improvise | A video and a written guide for each of the 14 question types |
| Practice | A fixed set of questions | 14 trainers and 42 timed drills with new questions whenever you ask |
| Difficulty | One level | Three levels per type; the hard spatial items combine several rules |
| Full tests | One, if any | A diagnostic and 6 simulations, 50 questions in 15:00, forward only |
| Your result | A score | Raw score, estimated percentile, the three sections and the guide to read next |
| Cost | $0 | $68 once, 90 days of access |
Pick when you test and see the route through the course.
The diagnostic shows which question types cost you the most points. Put your days into those, and take two simulations before test day.
Work through all 14 types, weakest first. A simulation every three or four days shows whether the gains hold on the clock.
Learn the mental math shortcuts and the 15-minute plan now, so an invitation does not catch you cold.
17 lessons: two to start, 14 question types and the simulations. Video lengths are the real ones.
From the free check above. No clock here: try each one, then open the answer.
Ordering and seating · hard
Which of the following could be true?
Answer: A. The orders that fit: Priya, Maria, Omar, Ben, Lucy | Priya, Maria, Ben, Lucy, Omar | Priya, Ben, Lucy, Omar, Maria | Priya, Ben, Lucy, Maria, Omar | Omar, Maria, Priya, Ben, Lucy | Omar, Ben, Lucy, Maria, Priya | Maria, Priya, Ben, Lucy, Omar | Ben, Lucy, Omar, Maria, Priya. Only "Maria is in chair 1." occurs in at least one order; the others never do. Trap: Draw five boxes and fill in the certain facts first. Statements like "somewhere to the left of" allow several gaps; do not assume they mean "immediately".
Word analogies · hard
PLAGIARISM : IDEAS :: FORGERY : ?
Answer: C. Plagiarism is the fraudulent copying of ideas; forgery is the fraudulent copying of signatures (or documents). Trap: Crime and law describe the category and its consequences, not the thing copied.
Word problems · hard
A cyclist covers 37.5 miles at a steady 50 miles per hour. How long does the ride take?
Answer: C. Time = distance ÷ speed = 37.5 ÷ 50 = 0.75 hours (45 min). Trap: Keep the units straight: hours × miles per hour gives miles.
“I recently took Prepterminal’s CCAT Test preparation course, and I’m thrilled to share that I passed the test! … The practice questions and detailed explanations mirrored the exam format, helping me build confidence and speed.”
Unedited excerpts from public Trustpilot reviews, shortened where marked “…”. Individual results vary. Read all 441 reviews on Trustpilot
Yes. This page has a free CCAT practice check, with no account and no email: 5 hard questions in 90 seconds. It runs at the real pace of 18 seconds a question and explains every answer at the end. The questions come from the question engine of our CCAT 2026 course; they are not Criteria’s own items.
The CCAT has 50 multiple-choice questions and a 15-minute time limit, which is about 18 seconds a question. Criteria says very few people finish all 50, so your score depends on how many you answer correctly in the time, not on reaching the end.
Criteria describes the CCAT as a measure of problem solving, critical thinking, learning ability and the ability to digest and apply new information. The questions are verbal, math and logic, and spatial reasoning, mixed together, and the score report shows a percentile for each of the three.
It depends on the job: the employer sets the benchmark, and Criteria suggests score ranges per job. In Criteria’s norm group of 985 working adults the median is 24 out of 50 and the average 24.2. Read as a bell curve, that puts 31 at about the 80th percentile and 36 at about the 90th. Those two figures are our estimate, not Criteria’s table. Ask the recruiter which score the role needs.
You get a raw score, the number of questions you answered correctly out of 50, and a percentile rank that compares you with Criteria’s norm group. The score report also shows how you did in verbal, math and logic, and spatial questions.
The clock is the hard part. Fifty questions in fifteen minutes leaves about 18 seconds each, and very few people finish. With a median of 24 out of 50, getting about half of the questions right is an average result. Fast methods and knowing when to guess and move on make the biggest difference.
Employers use the CCAT for roles that need problem solving and learning on the job. Criteria names managers, software engineers, financial analysts and auditors among the examples. The employer sends you the link and decides which score counts.
Criteria offers the CCAT in English (US) and English (UK). For test takers in other languages it offers the UCAT, the Universal Cognitive Aptitude Test.
A week of daily practice helps, and two to three weeks is comfortable. Start with a timed test, such as the free check or the course diagnostic, to see where your points go, work on your weakest question types first, and take a full simulation every few days.
We do not offer a PDF. The free CCAT practice check on this page runs online at the real pace of 18 seconds a question, which is closer to the real test, and shows every answer with an explanation at the end. The course adds a diagnostic, six full simulations and 42 timed drills.
One payment of $68 gives you 90 days of access to CCAT 2026: 16 video lessons, 17 written guides, 14 trainers with new questions without end, 42 timed drills at three levels, a diagnostic and 6 full simulations with an estimated percentile. Access starts right after checkout. If it is not right for you, email support within 7 days for a full refund (7-day money-back guarantee).
No. Prepterminal is independent test prep and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Criteria Corp. CCAT and Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test are trademarks of Criteria Corp. All practice questions are written by us in the format of the real test.
Take the diagnostic tonight and see which question type costs you the most points.
Get CCAT 2026: $68P.S. Not ready to buy? Take the free 90-second CCAT check first, then decide.
Applying in several places? These pages cover other tests employers use.
WonScore is now called Wonderlic Select.5