Persona Prep
Criteria (format family)Aptitude

CCAT-style practice test

Fifty questions, fifteen minutes — the CCAT's whole difficulty is pace. Train the three item families it mixes (math and logic, verbal, spatial series) as timed modules with a full worked solution on every item. Persona Prep is an independent platform, not affiliated with Criteria Corp; our items reproduce the FORMAT families, never the original questions.

or

Free to start. Every item is generated fresh, marked with a full worked solution, and ranked on a 1–9 stanine band that recalibrates as more candidates practise.

18s

per item, real pace

3

item families

1–9

stanine rank

A real item

Two questions from the exercise itself

Not a mock-up. The items below were produced by the same generator that runs inside the app, with the solution derived from the same model that built the question — which is why the answer key cannot drift from the item.

Motors produced by production team

Motors
Team A4,000
Team B2,500
Team C2,000
Team D3,500
Team E3,500

24% of motors from Team A had defects.

5% of motors from Team B had defects.

16% of motors from Team C had defects.

9% of motors from Team D had defects.

26% of motors from Team E had defects.

Which production team produced the most motors without defects?

  1. ATeam A
  2. BTeam B
  3. CTeam C
  4. DTeam DAnswer
  5. ETeam E

How it is solved

  • 1.The tallest bar is not the answer: each team's output has to be reduced by its own defect rate first.
  • 2.Calculation: A: 4,000 × 0.76 = 3,040 · B: 2,500 × 0.95 = 2,375 · C: 2,000 × 0.84 = 1,680 · D: 3,500 × 0.91 = 3,185 · E: 3,500 × 0.74 = 2,590

Revenue by division (€ thousands)

202120222023
Division A120149156
Division B220120100

By what percentage did the revenue of Division A grow between 2021 and 2023?

  1. A40 %
  2. B30 %Answer
  3. C20 %
  4. D36 %
  5. E23 %

How it is solved

  • 1.Percentage growth is measured against the starting year: (end − start) ÷ start.
  • 2.Calculation: (156 − 120) ÷ 120 = 36 ÷ 120 = 30%

What it measures

What CCAT-style Cognitive Aptitude is actually testing

The CCAT reads general cognitive speed: how many of 50 mixed items — arithmetic and word problems, verbal analogies and definitions, spatial series and matrices — you answer correctly in 15 minutes. Almost nobody finishes; the average candidate answers around half. What separates scores is not knowledge but triage: recognising each item family instantly and refusing to sink a minute into an item worth eighteen seconds.

The format

How the real assessment runs

Format
50 items in a fixed mix of math/logic, verbal and spatial families, four to five options each, no going back.
Timing
15 minutes for the full set — about 18 seconds per item. Our timed modules train the same per-item pace family by family.
Marking
Number correct, no penalty for guessing — an unanswered item is strictly worse than a guess.
Retake
Employers often re-test on site; the score to build is one you can reproduce under supervision.

Where marks are lost

The trap that costs the most marks

Sinking time. The items are individually easy; the test is engineered so the clock, not the content, defeats you. Candidates who treat item 12 like a puzzle worth solving lose the three items they never saw at the end. The trained reflex: answer in one read, guess and move on the moment an item resists, never look back.

Why practise here

What this practice gives you

01

The three CCAT item families as separate timed modules — numerical word problems, verbal reasoning, and abstract series

02

Every item computed fresh with a full worked solution, including why each wrong option tempts

03

A stanine rank per module so you see which family drags your total down

04

Pace training at the real 18-seconds-per-item rhythm

05

Two full exercises free, no card

Where you will meet it

Who uses this format

US hiring pipelines (very common first screen)Startups and tech recruitingFinance and operations rolesManagement and analyst screening

Hiring stages where this format is commonly used. Persona Prep is not affiliated with Criteria (format family) and does not reproduce their questions — we build practice in the same format, from our own generators.

With Persona Prep Pro

Everything you need to walk in ready

One subscription covers the whole assessment library, not just this exercise — because almost nobody is invited to sit only one module.

The full aptitude library

SHL Verify, Aon cut-e, Hogan and Saville formats — numerical, verbal, inductive, deductive, mechanical, checking and the interactive modules.

A rank, not just a score

Every run is placed on a 1–9 stanine band that recalibrates as the candidate pool grows, so you know your position.

A course per exercise

What it measures, the trap that costs marks, and worked items from every format — then the exercise itself.

Unlimited fresh items

Everything is generated, so you never run out and never memorise a bank.

Written + voice AI coach

Reads your results across exercises and tells you which two to fix first.

Personality practice too

SHL OPQ32, Hogan HPI/HDS/MVPI, Saville Wave, ADEPT-15 and 16PF, with full profile reports.

Start your CCAT-style Cognitive Aptitude practice

Free to start · fresh items every run · full worked solutions

Practise the rest of the battery

SHL

Verify Numerical Reasoning

Timed data interpretation in the Verify format: a table or chart, one question, four options, and a clock that does not wait. Every item here is generated fresh and marked with a full worked solution.

SHL

Verify Inductive Reasoning

A row of figures changes by one consistent rule. Find the rule, pick what comes next. No numbers, no words, no cultural loading — which is exactly why employers like it.

SHL

Verify Verbal Reasoning

A short business passage, a statement, and three buttons: True, False, Cannot say. The whole difficulty of this format lives in the third one.

Practice free — no account

Playable sample questions, worked solutions, instant feedback.

All free tests →

Preparing for a specific employer?

What candidates commonly report facing, and which format to train.

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