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Criteria Corp assessment 2026: the complete guide

Updated April 2026 · 11 min read · CCAT, CBST, Employee Personality Index — widely used in US hiring

Company	Criteria Corp
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California, USA
Core products	CCAT (Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test) · CBST (Criteria Basic Skills Test) · Employee Personality Index (EPI) · EASy (English & Arithmetic Skills)
Primary market	US corporate hiring across all industries and role levels
CCAT format	50 questions · 15 minutes · mixed question types

Criteria Corp is a US-based assessment company best known for the CCAT (Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test) — one of the most widely used cognitive ability tests in US hiring. If you're applying to a US company (particularly in technology, SaaS, finance, or professional services) and asked to take a "cognitive assessment" through the Criteria platform, you are almost certainly taking the CCAT.

CCAT — format and scoring

50 questions in 15 minutes — 18 seconds per question. Similar speed to Wonderlic but with 3 additional minutes. Questions span verbal reasoning (analogies, sentence completion, antonyms), mathematical reasoning (percentages, arithmetic, number series, ratios), and spatial/abstract reasoning (matrix completion, shape patterns). Average score: approximately 24/50. Score of 31+ is approximately 70th percentile. Most tech companies set a minimum of 28–32 for individual contributor roles.

Optimal strategy

Don't get stuck. With 18 seconds per question, any question taking more than 25 seconds should be skipped and returned to later. Answer all easy questions first, then return. Guessing carries no penalty — always leave an answer, even if guessing. Verbal analogies and number series questions are typically fastest to answer with practice. Multi-step algebra or complex geometry questions are the most time-consuming — skip if not immediately solvable.

Worked example

A typical Criteria Corp question

Criteria Corp tests are designed to be fast and broad — 12 to 50 questions in 10 to 20 minutes, mixing numerical, verbal, spatial, and basic logic. The expectation is that nobody finishes all questions.

Q. A train leaves station A at 9:00 travelling at 60 km/h. Another leaves station B at 9:30 travelling at 80 km/h in the opposite direction. The stations are 200 km apart. At what time do the trains meet?

By 9:30 the first train has covered 30 km, leaving 170 km between them. Combined closing speed: 140 km/h. Time to cover 170 km: 170 ÷ 140 ≈ 1.21 h ≈ 1h 13m. Meeting time: 10:43.

The trick is not the maths — it's doing the maths in under 30 seconds while resisting the urge to draw diagrams.

Pacing

How to pace a Criteria Corp test

Criteria Corp tests run roughly 30 seconds per question on average. Unlike SHL Verify, you're not expected to finish — the test measures both accuracy and throughput.

Skip hard questions ruthlessly. A question you spend 90 seconds on costs you three easier ones you never saw.
Mental arithmetic beats working-out. Scratch paper is your friend but writing everything down costs time.
Don't second-guess answers. First instinct is right ~80% of the time on Criteria Corp-style fast tests; revision rarely helps.

Common traps

Common pitfalls on Criteria Corp

Perfectionism. The highest-scoring candidates on Criteria Corp skip harder questions and keep volume high. Spending 2 minutes to get one hard question right is a losing trade.
Calculator habit. Many Criteria Corp assessments disallow calculators. Candidates who rely on one in practice stall on test day.
Pattern fatigue. Question types rotate unpredictably — numerical followed by a 3-D rotation followed by vocabulary. Switching cost eats seconds; staying flexible is a trainable skill.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can TestSolve solve Criteria Corp tests?

Yes — TestSolve is purpose-built for Criteria Corp assessments. It reads the question on your screen, calculates the answer, and delivers it to your phone in under 5 seconds. Works on all standard Criteria Corp question formats including numerical, verbal, inductive, and situational judgement.

How accurate is TestSolve on Criteria Corp?

Very high accuracy across all Criteria Corp question types. Numerical reasoning and verbal reasoning typically achieve the best results due to the structured nature of the questions. Every answer displays a confidence score so you always know how certain the AI is before submitting.

Can Criteria Corp detect TestSolve?

No. TestSolve operates outside the browser at the operating-system level. Criteria Corp's monitoring detects tab switching, clipboard activity, and browser focus changes — none of which happen when you press F8. The answer arrives on your phone, not on your test screen, so there is no on-screen artifact for the test platform to detect.

Does TestSolve work for Criteria Corp tests in other languages?

Yes. TestSolve reads the question in the original language and returns the explanation in that same language. Numerical, abstract and inductive reasoning work natively across every language. Verbal reasoning is strongest in English, Deutsch, Français, Español, Italiano, Português and Nederlands. Letter answers (A/B/C/D) are kept as-is.

How long does a Criteria Corp test take?

Standard Criteria Corp assessments run 15–30 minutes per test, with 15–30 questions. The average time per question is 30–60 seconds depending on section. TestSolve typically returns an answer in 3–6 seconds, leaving ample time to read, verify, and submit.

Is Criteria Corp hard to pass?

The real difficulty on Criteria Corp tests is time pressure — most candidates run out of time before they run out of ability. That's exactly where TestSolve helps most: it removes the calculation bottleneck so you can focus on reading the question correctly and interpreting edge cases.

How much does TestSolve cost?

One free solve to try, no signup needed. After that, question packs start at $14.99 for 30 questions (valid 7 days) or $19.99 for 50 questions (valid 14 days). No subscription, no auto-renewal.

If you want a shortcut: TestSolve reads each test question on your screen and sends the answer to your phone in about 5 seconds. Free first solve, no signup. Pricing.