CCAT practice test, for small business hiring
What the Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test measures and costs, plus a free 15-question practice test at roughly the same 18-seconds-a-question pace as the real thing. Built for a business sizing up one cognitive test, not a whole assessment platform.
Take the practice test
15 questions, one at a time. The real CCAT gives you about 18 seconds a question, so this timer keeps that pace. Answers are scored in your browser and never leave it.
Your result
0/15
Time ran out, so unanswered questions were counted as missed.
- Verbal 0/5
- Math and logic 0/5
- Pattern recognition 0/5
Answer key and explanations
-
PUPPY is to DOG as KITTEN is to:
Correct answer: A. Cat
A puppy is a young dog; a kitten is a young cat. The relationship is offspring to adult animal.
-
Which word is most nearly opposite of ABUNDANT?
Correct answer: B. Scarce
Abundant means present in great quantity. Scarce, meaning in short supply, is the direct opposite.
-
All Zeeps are Morks. All Morks are Trellises. Given only this, which must be true?
Correct answer: A. All Zeeps are Trellises
If every Zeep is a Mork and every Mork is a Trellis, every Zeep is a Trellis too. It's a chain, not a two-way link, so the reverse statements don't have to hold.
-
AUTHOR is to BOOK as COMPOSER is to:
Correct answer: B. Symphony
An author creates a book; a composer creates a symphony. Both pairs are creator to created work.
-
Which word does not belong with the others?
Correct answer: D. Painting
Trumpet, violin, and flute are all musical instruments. Painting is a visual art form, not an instrument.
-
What number comes next in the series? 2, 4, 8, 16, ?
Correct answer: C. 32
Each number doubles the one before it: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32.
-
A jacket costs $40 after a 20% discount. What was the original price?
Correct answer: C. $50
$40 is 80% of the original price. $40 divided by 0.8 is $50.
-
What number comes next in the series? 3, 6, 11, 18, 27, ?
Correct answer: C. 38
The gaps between terms increase by 2 each time (3, 5, 7, 9), so the next gap is 11: 27 + 11 = 38.
-
If 5 machines take 5 minutes to make 5 widgets, how long do 100 machines take to make 100 widgets?
Correct answer: A. 5 minutes
Each machine makes 1 widget in 5 minutes regardless of how many machines run at once, so 100 machines make 100 widgets in the same 5 minutes.
-
A recipe needs 2 cups of flour for 12 cookies. How many cups of flour for 30 cookies?
Correct answer: C. 5 cups
The ratio is 1 cup per 6 cookies. Thirty cookies is 5 groups of 6, so 5 cups.
-
What comes next in the sequence? ● ▲ ● ▲ ● ?
Correct answer: B. ▲
The sequence alternates strictly between a filled circle and a filled triangle, so a triangle comes next.
-
How many circles come next? ○, ○○, ○○○○, ?
Correct answer: C. 8
Each group doubles the one before it: 1, 2, 4, so the next group has 8 circles.
-
What comes next in the sequence? △ ▽ △ ▽ △ ▽ ?
Correct answer: A. △
The pattern alternates upward and downward triangles in pairs. After ending on a downward triangle, an upward triangle repeats the cycle.
-
Which item does not belong with the others?
Correct answer: B. ● ● ▲
Three of the four groups are three matching filled circles. Only one group swaps a circle for a triangle.
-
What comes next in the sequence? A, C, F, J, ?
Correct answer: C. O
The gap between letters grows by one each time (skip 1, skip 2, skip 3, skip 4): A(+2)C(+3)F(+4)J(+5)O.
What the CCAT actually measures
The Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test is 50 multiple-choice questions in 15 minutes, covering three families: verbal word relationships and short logic, math and logic problems with no calculator allowed, and spatial pattern reasoning. Eighteen seconds a question is the average pace, and Criteria has said only a small fraction of test takers finish all 50. Not finishing isn't failing. It's the design.
You get a raw score (how many you got right) and a percentile against other test takers. Criteria positions the test as a measure of learning agility and general reasoning ability, not any specific job skill, and employers set their own benchmark percentile per role rather than reading against a universal pass mark.
What it costs, and why most small businesses skip it
Criteria Corp doesn't post a price online. The CCAT is sold through a subscription to Criteria's broader assessment platform, and you get a quote sized to your hiring volume after a sales conversation.
That works fine for a company running hundreds of candidates a year through a standardized cognitive screen. It's a heavier ask when you're a five-person shop hiring one bookkeeper, and the honest cost of finding out isn't just the subscription. It's the sales call itself, before you even know if the number fits your hiring volume.
A practice test at the real pace, without the sales call
The test above is Truffle's own: 15 original questions across verbal, math and logic, and pattern recognition, timed to roughly the CCAT's own 18-seconds-a-question pace. The pattern section uses text and symbol sequences as a stand-in for the CCAT's image-based spatial questions, since those require rotated shape graphics this format can't reproduce, but it exercises the same kind of pattern reasoning.
It isn't the actual CCAT and doesn't reuse Criteria's questions. Turn the timer off for an untimed run-through of the question types, or leave it on to feel the actual pressure a timed cognitive test puts on you. Either way, a fast score here says you reason quickly under a clock. It doesn't say you can do the job. Pair it with real, role-specific evidence before it decides anything.
Frequently asked questions
-
What is the CCAT?
The Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT) is a pre-employment cognitive test from Criteria Corp: 50 multiple-choice questions in 15 minutes covering verbal, math and logic, and spatial reasoning. Most people don't finish all 50, and that's by design. You get a raw score and a percentile against other test takers, not a universal pass mark.
-
Is this tool the actual CCAT?
No. This is Truffle's own practice test: 15 original questions we wrote, at roughly the same 18-second-per-question pace as the real thing. The pattern-recognition section is a text-based stand-in for the CCAT's image-based spatial questions, not a copy of it. It isn't affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Criteria Corp.
-
How much does the CCAT cost?
Criteria Corp doesn't publish pricing. It's sold as a subscription to Criteria's assessment platform, and you get a quote sized to your hiring volume after talking to sales.
-
What's a good score on this practice test?
There's no universal passing score, on this practice test or the real CCAT. Employers set their own benchmark per role. Use your score and section breakdown to see where you're fast and where you're not, not as a verdict.
-
Can a small business use a cognitive test like this to hire?
As one input among several, sized to what it actually measures: reasoning speed under a clock, not job skill. A financial analyst role and a warehouse lead role don't need the same bar, and neither role is fully explained by one number. Pair it with a structured interview and role-specific evidence like a skills test or work sample.
-
Is my result stored anywhere?
No. The whole test runs and scores in your browser. Your answers never leave it, and there's no email gate or sign-up.
More free hiring tools
- Assessments Work style profile A Big Five based self-assessment for work. See how you operate across five dimensions. No four-letter labels.
- Assessments Excel skills test Twenty timed questions across formulas, lookups, and pivot tables. Check yourself or preview what candidates see.
- Assessments Predictive Index test practice 18 timed questions in the PI Cognitive Assessment format. See your score, then what the real test measures and costs.
A timed score is one input. Give it company.
Truffle is candidate screening software built for small businesses: one-way video interviews, talent assessments, and resume screening in one plan, no company-wide subscription required. Pick role-based skills assessments from the test library, add a structured one-way interview, and let AI transcribe and surface the evidence against your criteria. You decide who moves forward.
7-day free trial. No credit card required.