CCAT vs PI Cognitive Assessment: what's different

How do the CCAT and the PI Cognitive Assessment compare?

The Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT), the hiring test from Criteria Corp, and the PI Cognitive Assessment from The Predictive Index look alike from a distance. Both measure general reasoning, both use 50 multiple-choice questions, and both are built so you run out of time. Up close they differ in the clock, the content and the score. Every row below is cited to the publisher's own public pages.

The time-per-question row is our arithmetic: 900 seconds over 50 questions, and 720 seconds over 50. It's the most important line in the table.

Which test gives you less time?

The PI test. Twelve minutes for 50 questions is 14.4 seconds each, against 18 seconds on the CCAT. That's 20% less time per question. Both publishers say the pressure is intentional. Criteria says fewer than 1% of candidates answer all 50 CCAT questions^C1. The Predictive Index says the number of questions answered correctly in the time frame determines the score^P3, so every question you leave unreached is a point you can't get.

In practice, both tests reward the same decision: recognize a question you can't solve fast, guess, and move on. Criteria tells CCAT candidates to make an educated guess if a question takes more than a minute^C1. On the PI test a minute is the cost of four other questions, so your cutoff should be tighter still. If you've been practicing for the CCAT, run some sets at 12 minutes before a PI test. Our pacing calculator shows what a given score needs per minute.

Do the two tests ask the same kinds of questions?

Mostly. Criteria describes three CCAT areas: verbal ability (precise word meaning, how words relate, context), math and logic (basic algebra, proportions, word problems) and spatial reasoning (rotating or flipping shapes, recognizing patterns, and spotting the item that doesn't belong)^C1. The Predictive Index describes verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning^P1, and its help center says the questions cover "simple math, basic logic, and language comprehension"^P3.

The clearest difference in the published descriptions is spatial. Criteria names rotations and mirror images; The Predictive Index's public pages describe abstract reasoning without listing those formats. If your test is the CCAT, practice rotations and reflections. If it's PI, focus on patterns and sequences. Our CCAT question types guide breaks the CCAT's three areas into formats you can drill.

Two examples of formats that fit both descriptions: a number sequence (numerical reasoning on PI, math and logic on the CCAT) and a visual sequence (abstract reasoning on PI, spatial reasoning on the CCAT).

How is each test scored?

Both start with the same raw number: questions answered correctly. What employers see after that differs.

CCAT. Criteria sends employers your raw score out of 50 and your percentile^C1, with sub-scores for its three areas^C2. The percentile compares you with a reference group of adults. Criteria reports the average as 24 correct^C1, and publishes suggested score ranges by job family. Our CCAT score guide lists them, and the CCAT score calculator estimates where a raw score sits.

PI Cognitive Assessment. The Predictive Index says the raw score is converted to a scaled score between 100 and 450^P2, with verbal, numeric and abstract sub-scores^P3. The employer compares your result with a Cognitive Target, a level it sets for the job by rating what the role demands^P4. PI's own help center tells employers that cognitive data "is just one data point"^P4.

You can't convert a CCAT raw score to a PI scaled score or back. Neither publisher offers a conversion, and the two tests are normed on different groups. Treat any online conversion table as a guess.

Retakes, extra time and who sees your results

Retakes. On the CCAT, retakes are the employer's call. Criteria's default setting lets an employer reuse your result for up to 12 months if you apply again^C4, and a different company will ask you to take its own test^C3. For PI, the help center says candidates get up to three attempts, and that an expired or abandoned attempt counts as one^P3. PI's 2018 administrator guide also says it's up to the company whether to allow a retest, and that if a candidate tests more than once the decision should use the highest score^P6. Plan for one sitting either way.

Extra time. Criteria's platform supports a 1.5x time adjustment, which makes the CCAT about 22 minutes^C5. The Predictive Index offers 18-minute and 24-minute versions as reasonable accommodations^P1. On both, you ask the employer, not the publisher, and you ask before you start.

Results. Criteria emails CCAT results to the employer and doesn't share them with other companies^C3. PI results live in the employer's PI account^P3. Whether you see your score depends on the employer in both cases.

Who uses each test?

Employers choose a test as part of a hiring platform, so the test you get follows from the software the company already uses. Criteria sells the CCAT alongside its other assessments. The Predictive Index sells its cognitive test as part of a hiring platform where the employer first sets a behavioral target for the job, then a cognitive one^P4. So a PI invitation may include a behavioral questionnaire beside the cognitive test.

The invitation tells you which test you're taking. Look at the sender's domain and the test name. If it says Criteria or CCAT, it's the CCAT. For CCAT employers, our list of companies that use the CCAT shows what's public about each one's process, with sources.

How do you prepare for each test?

What transfers between the two, and what doesn't:

• Transfers: fast arithmetic without a calculator, number sequences, word problems, analogies and vocabulary, visual pattern questions, and the guessing discipline both tests reward.
• CCAT only: rotations and mirror images, as Criteria describes them, and pacing for 18 seconds a question.
• PI only: pacing for 14.4 seconds a question, and PI's own sample questions if your invitation includes them. The Predictive Index says its sample questions cover the same content domains and style as the real item pool with no overlapping questions, and that they are not a preview of your score^P5.

Read your invitation's rules. PI's 2018 administrator guide suggests employers prohibit content "from an exam preparation company" specifically related to the PI test^P6. That's general advice to employers, not a rule we've seen every company adopt, but check yours. General reasoning practice is a different thing from material about a specific test.

Clever Cat Prep is CCAT practice. If your test is the CCAT, start with a free timed CCAT practice test: 50 questions, 15 minutes, mixed like the real thing. If your test is PI, the same questions are still useful reasoning practice; set yourself a 12-minute clock. Our CCAT vs Wonderlic comparison covers the other test people confuse with the CCAT.

Clever Cat Prep is not affiliated with Criteria Corp or The Predictive Index. PI Cognitive Assessment and The Predictive Index are trademarks of their owner. CCAT is a trademark of Criteria Corp.