CCAT FAQ
Last updated: October 2026
The CCAT is Criteria Corp's 50-question, 15-minute aptitude test. The two answers everyone needs first: there is no official pass mark (the employer's percentile cutoff is the bar), and about 24 correct of 50 is average. The rest of the questions are grouped below, each linking to the full guide.
Format
How many questions are on the CCAT?
50 multiple-choice questions in 15 minutes, which works out to about 18 seconds per question. It covers verbal, numerical, and spatial reasoning, and the questions get harder as you go.
Can you finish the CCAT?
Almost nobody finishes all 50 questions, and the test is calibrated that way. Treat it as a triage exercise: answer what you can quickly, cap any single question at about 30 seconds, then guess the remainder in the final minutes.
Do you lose points for wrong answers on the CCAT?
No. The CCAT scores by raw count of correct answers with no wrong-answer penalty, so an unanswered question is strictly worse than a guess. Never leave a blank.
How many math questions are on the CCAT?
Criteria Corp does not publish a per-category item count, so the exact split on the live test is not public. In our 840-question practice bank, 385 questions (45.8%) are numerical, 279 (33.2%) are spatial and 176 (21.0%) are verbal.
Scores
What is a good CCAT score?
There is no official passing score. About 24 correct of 50 is average (the 50th percentile), and the employers we could find data for commonly use around the 70th percentile — roughly 29 correct — as a floor. Selective roles and competitive markets screen higher.
How many correct answers do I need for a 90th percentile CCAT score?
By Criteria's published norm (mean 24.2, standard deviation 8.58), roughly 35 of 50 lands near the 90th percentile. The exact number moves with the test form and the norm group, which is why employers compare percentiles instead of raw scores.
Does the CCAT measure IQ?
No. The CCAT is a timed aptitude test built for pre-employment screening. It correlates with general reasoning ability, but it is not an IQ test and it should not be interpreted as one.
Can I retake the CCAT?
That depends on the employer. Some allow one retake, some treat the first score as final, and some never tell you the score at all. If you are allowed a retake, timed practice is what moves the number.
Preparation and pacing
How do I pass the CCAT?
There is no pass mark; the employer's percentile cutoff is the bar. A common target is the 70th percentile, about 29 of 50. The reliable path is timed full-length practice: two or three runs change the band. See the study plan.
What score do I need on the CCAT for a job?
It depends on the employer. Candidate reports cluster at the 50th–60th percentile for mid-market employers, around the 70th for PE-backed software companies (80th for product and strategy roles at Vista portfolio firms), and an 80th-percentile floor at Crossover.
How long should I study for the CCAT?
About a week of timed practice moves a full score band for most candidates. A compressed two-to-three-day version still helps, because the short-term gain lives in pacing calibration, not new knowledge.
Employers
Who uses the CCAT?
Roughly 7,000 employers administer it through Criteria Corp. It is dominant in private-equity-backed enterprise software, especially Vista Equity Partners portfolio companies, and common in mid-market fintech, healthtech, and edtech. Large tech firms like Amazon and Google do not use it.
Does Amazon or Google use the CCAT?
No. Amazon runs its own internal interview loop and Google relies on structured technical interviews; neither administers the CCAT.
Deeper answers: the CCAT test guide, the score guide, the score requirements by employer, and the study plan.