CAST practice test: free questions and how the index score really works

CAST at a glance, with the source for every line

Every row below is quoted from a document published by EEI and carries the date we checked it. Where EEI publishes nothing, the row says so instead of quoting a number from somewhere else.

What CAST is

The Construction and Skilled Trades (CAST) Selection System is a battery of skill and ability tests designed and validated to aid in the selection of candidates across a variety of construction and skilled trades occupations.Source: Edison Electric Institute CAST Practice Test Toolkit, published by the Center for Energy Workforce Development (February 2017), verified 7 August 2026

The four tests

Graphic Arithmetic · Mathematical Usage · Mechanical Concepts · Reading for Comprehension.Source: Edison Electric Institute CAST Practice Test Toolkit, published by the Center for Energy Workforce Development (February 2017), verified 7 August 2026

How it is scored

For the actual test, the four aptitude test scores are combined to form a single Index Score, ranging from 1 to 10. Candidates' index scores are then translated into expected probabilities of successful job performance.Source: Edison Electric Institute CAST Practice Test Toolkit, published by the Center for Energy Workforce Development (February 2017), verified 7 August 2026There is no published pass mark. This is the single most misreported fact about the CAST.

Official practice material

EEI developed practice tests to help test takers prepare for the EEI employment tests, accessible at eei.org/practicetests with login credentials supplied by the hiring utility. EEI notes that each practice test battery resembles the real test battery in both form and content, however the practice tests will differ in some ways from the real tests.Source: Edison Electric Institute CAST Practice Test Toolkit, published by the Center for Energy Workforce Development (February 2017), verified 7 August 2026

Passing score

Not published by EEI. There is no CAST passing score. EEI produces an index score from 1 to 10 and each hiring utility decides which index score it will accept, so no national pass mark exists to publish.Checked against: Edison Electric Institute CAST Practice Test Toolkit, published by the Center for Energy Workforce Development, verified 7 August 2026

Pass rate

Not published by EEI. EEI does not publish CAST pass rates, and could not meaningfully do so, because the cut-off belongs to the employer rather than to the test.Checked against: Edison Electric Institute CAST Practice Test Toolkit, published by the Center for Energy Workforce Development, verified 7 August 2026

Questions per subtest

Not published by EEI. No EEI source retrieved in this review publishes the question count or time limit for each of the four real subtests. The counts circulating online come from EEI's practice tests, which EEI states differ from the real thing.Checked against: Edison Electric Institute CAST Practice Test Toolkit, published by the Center for Energy Workforce Development, verified 7 August 2026

Calculator policy

Not published by EEI. EEI's instruction that calculators are not allowed appears in guidance for administering its practice tests, not as a stated rule for the real battery, so we make no claim. Ask the utility administering your test.Checked against: Edison Electric Institute CAST Practice Test Toolkit, published by the Center for Energy Workforce Development, verified 7 August 2026

Exam fee

Not published by EEI. The CAST is administered by the hiring utility as part of its selection process rather than sold to candidates, so there is no exam fee to publish.Checked against: Edison Electric Institute CAST Practice Test Toolkit, published by the Center for Energy Workforce Development, verified 7 August 2026

How long it takes

Not published by EEI. No EEI source retrieved in this review publishes a total testing time for the real CAST battery. The session lengths in circulation come from individual hiring utilities describing their own administration rather than from EEI, and they do not agree with each other, so we state no figure. Ask the utility administering your test.Checked against: Edison Electric Institute CAST Practice Test Toolkit, published by the Center for Energy Workforce Development, verified 7 August 2026

How long it is valid

Not published by EEI. Nothing is certified at the end of a CAST, so nothing expires. EEI produces an index score for the hiring utility rather than a credential, and how long a utility treats a past index score as current is its own policy.Checked against: Edison Electric Institute CAST Practice Test Toolkit, published by the Center for Energy Workforce Development, verified 7 August 2026

Always verify: the CAST is administered by the utility hiring you, and the index score it accepts is set by that employer, so confirm the format, timings and what you may bring with the utility’s recruiter before test day.

What our CAST question bank covers

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

What actually trips people up on the CAST

Treating it like a pass-or-fail exam

There is no passing score to aim at. Utilities set their own index-score thresholds and the competitive ones sit well above a bare minimum. Preparing to just get through is preparing for the wrong test.

Mathematical Usage is a speed test wearing a math test’s clothes

The arithmetic is not hard. Percentage increases, unit conversions, ratios. What is hard is doing them fast enough, on paper, without a calculator to lean on. Practice for pace, not for difficulty, and drill the operations you are slowest at rather than the ones you find most interesting.

Graphic Arithmetic is a reading problem before it is a math problem

The arithmetic is trivial once you have pulled the right numbers off the drawing or table. The errors come from reading the wrong row, missing a line item, or misreading a scale. Before you calculate, confirm you have captured every value the question needs.

Mechanical Concepts rewards principles, not memorized answers

A fixed pulley changes direction and gives no mechanical advantage. A lever’s advantage is effort arm divided by load arm. Get the three or four underlying rules solid and the question variations stop mattering. Memorizing individual scenarios does not transfer.

Reading for Comprehension is about the passage, not about your job

The passages use trade language and you will know more than they contain. The correct answer is the one the passage supports, not the one your experience supports. Answering from the field instead of from the text is a common and expensive habit.

How to study for the CAST: three weeks, every session on a timer

Three weeks, and after the first one every session runs against a timer. Ask your recruiter for the EEI practice-test login: it is free, it is the closest thing to the real battery, and utilities hand it out because they want you to pass.

Week 1: build accuracy without the clock

Work all four areas untimed and find out what you actually get wrong rather than what you get slow. Mechanical Concepts first, because the underlying principles are finite and everything else in that section is a variation on them. Let Smart Quiz map the gaps.

Week 2: put the clock on

Same material, now timed, and expect your accuracy to drop. That drop is the thing you are training. Run Topic Drill on Mathematical Usage daily, because it is the section where pace improves fastest with reps.

Week 3: full-length batteries, on paper

Run the Exam Simulator end to end so you experience the fatigue of four back-to-back timed sections. Do at least two of them with pencil and paper to rehearse the real mechanics. Then get EEI’s own practice tests from the utility hiring you and sit those last.

Is the CAST hard?

Question by question, no. Section by section, yes, because of the clock. Nothing on the CAST requires knowledge beyond high-school math and ordinary mechanical reasoning, which is exactly why speed becomes the discriminator: when everybody can do the problems, the score separates on how many you complete accurately.

That also makes it one of the more improvable tests we cover. Recall exams reward the last two weeks of study; aptitude batteries reward practice reps, and repetition genuinely moves an index score. Our bank leans hard on purpose, with 397 of 647 questions at difficulty 3 or 4, because practicing at exactly the level you expect on the day builds no margin, and margin is what turns into speed. The honest caution is that no amount of preparation converts a 1-to-10 index into a guarantee, because the threshold belongs to the employer and moves with the applicant pool.

There is no pass rate, because there is no pass. EEI reports an index score from 1 to 10 and the hiring utility decides what it accepts.

How the CAST differs from the exams beside it

The CAST is not a certification exam and treating it like one is the fastest way to prepare badly. Nothing is certified at the end. There is no pass mark, no certificate, no expiry date. EEI combines your four subtest scores into a single index score from 1 to 10, and the utility hiring you decides which index scores it will move forward. That is a genuinely different game: you are not clearing a bar, you are placing in a field of applicants. It also means there is no score to aim at: because the cut belongs to the employer, nobody can tell you in advance what will be competitive. Each subtest is separately timed, but EEI publishes no timing for the real battery that we could verify, so we give you no pace to rehearse. Practice for accuracy and let speed follow.

Questions people actually ask about the CAST

What is the passing score for the CAST test?

There isn’t one. EEI combines your four subtest scores into a single index score from 1 to 10, which is translated into expected probabilities of successful job performance. Each utility decides which index scores it accepts.

How long is the CAST test?

EEI does not publish a total testing time that we could verify. The figures in circulation come from individual hiring utilities describing their own sessions rather than from EEI, and they disagree with one another, so we state none. It is a four-part battery taken in one sitting; ask the utility administering yours.

What is on the CAST test?

Four areas: Graphic Arithmetic, Mathematical Usage, Mechanical Concepts and Reading for Comprehension. Graphic Arithmetic is arithmetic done from prints and drawings; Mathematical Usage is applied arithmetic against a tight clock.

Can I use a calculator on the CAST?

Ask the utility administering your test. EEI’s practice-test instructions say calculators are not allowed, but that appears in guidance for running the practice battery rather than as a stated rule for the real one, so we will not present it as fact. Prepare as though you cannot use one.

Is the CAST the same as the CAST-R?

They are related EEI selection instruments used for construction and skilled trades roles, and utilities differ in which they administer. Ask your recruiter which battery you are sitting so you practice the right one.

What happens if I do badly on the CAST?

Retest policy belongs to the utility, not to EEI, and waiting periods vary by employer. Ask the recruiter before test day so you know what one attempt costs you.

Where can I get official CAST practice tests?

From EEI at eei.org/practicetests, using login credentials the hiring utility gives you. EEI says the practice battery resembles the real one in form and content but differs in some ways, so treat it as a rehearsal rather than a preview.

Are these real questions from the actual CAST?

No. These are original questions written to the same four areas, formats and difficulty as the real battery, each with a full explanation. Reproducing live test items would be a copyright and test-security violation.