Test Description

The Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT) is a pre-employment aptitude test that measures an individual's aptitude, or ability to solve problems, digest and apply information, learn new skills, and think critically. Individuals with high aptitude are more likely to be quick learners and high performers than are individuals with low aptitude. The CCAT consists of 50 items; very few people finish all 50 items in the 15 minute time limit.

Score Reports

Each individual is given a raw score and a percentile ranking. The raw score indicates how many questions (out of 50) the individual answered correctly, while the percentile ranking is a relative performance metric that indicates how the individual scored relative to others who have taken the test. For example, a percentile ranking of 45 means than an individual scored better than 45% of the group on which the test was normed.

Aptitude as a Predictor of Performance


Sample CCAT Question:


  1. 5
  2. 6
  3. 6.5
  4. 7
  5. 7.5

Answer: E

Validity Information

Construct Validity: The CCAT has been shown to be highly correlated to other leading measures of cognitive aptitude. Correlations with leading employment aptitude tests range from .55 to .8.

Predictive Validity: Various studies have shown that CCAT results correlate significantly with job performance for a wide variety of jobs, but it is an especially effective predictor of performance for jobs that require enhanced abilities in the areas of problem-solving, learning, critical thinking, and verbal and mathematical reasoning. Examples of jobs for which the CCAT has high predictive validity include managerial positions, software engineers and other technology workers, financial analysts, auditors, and many others.

Standardization Sample

Norms for the CCAT were developed using a sample of 985 individuals. The sample was made up of working adults aged 18 and older. These individuals were being assessed for employee selection purposes, and represented a mixture of individuals from over 50 companies whose current positions included managerial positions, technical services positions, customer service positions, and sales and sales-related positions.

Since the original norms for the CCAT were created, the CCAT has been administered over 500,000 times.

The mean score for the standardization sample for the CCAT is 24.2, the median score is 24, and the standard deviation is 8.58.

Mean Scores and Standard Deviations for Various Occupational Samples

Type of Sample N M SD
Applicants for sales associates position at direct marketing company 39 23.1 6.63
Applicants for marketing representative position at direct marketing company 74 25.1 6.63
Applicants for software engineer positions at a technology company 36 25.2 7.35
Incumbent bank tellers at a regional bank 17 22.7 7.52
Incumbent bank/branch managers at a regional bank 18 28.1 7.38
Incumbent auditors at claims recovery company 19 26.4 6.15
Total standardization sample (including all of the above and many other samples) 985 24.2 8.58