IBEW Aptitude Test Study Guide
Last updated: October 2026
The IBEW/NJATC aptitude test is an algebra refresher exam with a reading section bolted to it. 33 algebra and functions questions in 46 minutes, then 36 reading comprehension questions in 51 minutes, no calculator, scored 1–9. Most candidates lose points to rusty hand arithmetic and slow reading, not to material they never learned. This guide covers what to drill and how to pace it.
The algebra topics that actually appear
Nothing beyond first-year high-school algebra appears, and the section reuses the same handful of families:
- Order of operations — parentheses, then multiply and divide left to right, then add and subtract. Example: 7 + 4 × (12 − 3) = 43, not 99.
- Solving linear equations — 5x + 8 = 43 gives x = 7. Do the inverse operation on both sides, and check by substitution.
- Polynomials — expanding (x + 3)(x + 4) with FOIL gives x² + 7x + 12. Most wrong options come from losing the middle term.
- Function tables and rules — find the constant step in y as x rises by 1, then the y-value at x = 0. That gives the slope and the constant.
- Number series — check the gaps first, then the ratios. 3, 7, 11, 15 adds 4 each time; 2, 6, 18, 54 triples.
- Ratios, proportions, percentages — reduce to a per-unit rate and multiply, or use part = percent × whole.
- Exponents and roots — add exponents when multiplying the same base; a square root is the number that multiplies by itself.
- Formulas — substitute and solve for the remaining letter, for example V = I × R and P = V × I.
Pacing: 84 seconds a question, and it is not uniform
33 questions in 46 minutes is about 84 seconds each, and 36 in 51 minutes is about 85. The timings are close enough that one pace rule works for both sections:
- Spend 40–60 seconds on anything you recognise, and bank the time.
- A question you cannot start within 20 seconds gets a mark and a guess, not a struggle. There is no penalty, so nothing stays blank.
- Leave the last three minutes to catch unanswered items rather than to finish the item in front of you.
Reading section strategy
- Read once, then prove. Read the passage for what it says, then check each option against a specific sentence. If you cannot point at the sentence, it is not the answer.
- Distractors have patterns. True but not stated, true of the wrong subject, overstated, or contradicted. Naming the pattern is faster than re-reading.
- Detail questions outnumber big-picture ones in this section. Most items point at one sentence; read carefully the first time and you save the re-read.
- Vocabulary in context means the passage's meaning, not the dictionary's first sense.
Two-week plan
- Days 1–2 — one timed diagnostic battery, then list every algebra family you missed. Do not review anything you got right.
- Days 3–6 — drill the missed families by hand, no calculator, ten items at a time. Check each answer by substitution.
- Days 7–9 — reading passages under the clock. Two passages a session, proving every answer from the text.
- Days 10–13 — full 69-question batteries at 97 minutes. One per day is enough; review misses the same day.
- Day 14 — light review of the error list, no new material, early night. Bring photo ID to the test site.
Practise the real format
Full 69-question IBEW batteries at 97 minutes, with explanations after every item and a free 8-question sample to start.
Take the free IBEW sample