How the CCAT Is Scored: Raw Scores vs Percentiles Explained

Your recruiter said “we need a CCAT score” and now you are staring at a results email full of numbers, or you are about to take the test and want to know how it gets judged. Here is the direct answer: the CCAT gives you a raw score, the number of questions you got right out of 50, and then converts that raw score into a percentile that shows how you did compared to everyone else who has taken it. That is the whole scoring model. This guide breaks down exactly how those two numbers work, what your specific score means, and where people misread their own results. Quick note on the acronym: we are talking about the Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test, the workplace hiring test from Criteria Corp, not the Canadian Cognitive Abilities Test used for gifted-and-talented school admissions. Same letters, completely different test.

Quick takeaways

• Your raw score is simply how many of the 50 questions you answered correctly. Nothing else feeds into it.
• There is no penalty for wrong answers, so a guess can only help you (source: criteriacorp.com).
• Unanswered questions are not counted against you either. They just do not add points.
• Your raw score converts to a percentile, which tells you how you rank against other test-takers.
• The average raw score is about 24 out of 50, which sits at roughly the 50th percentile.
• A raw score near 31 puts you around the top 20%, which most employers treat as a strong score.
• Score reports also break performance down by section (verbal, math and logic, spatial), which is where you learn what to fix.

The two numbers on your CCAT report: raw score and percentile

Every CCAT result comes back with two headline numbers, and understanding the difference between them is the whole game.

Your raw score is the number of questions you answered correctly, out of a maximum of 50. According to Criteria Corp, the test’s publisher, this is a straight count: each correct answer is one point, and there is no penalty for a wrong answer. That last part matters more than most people realize. Because a wrong answer costs you nothing, leaving a question blank is never better than guessing. If you are running out of time, filling in a random answer for the last few questions is pure upside.

Your percentile is the number that actually tells you how you did. A percentile of 68 means you scored better than 68% of the people in the comparison group. It is not a percentage of questions correct, and this is where people trip up. A raw score of 24 out of 50 sounds like a failing 48% if you think of it like a school test. But because 24 is the average, that same score lands you at roughly the 50th percentile, meaning you did better than half of all test-takers. The CCAT is graded on a curve against a norm group, not against a fixed pass mark.

So when you see your report, read the percentile first. That is the number employers compare against their target range.

Raw score to percentile: the conversion table

Here is the anchor question everyone lands on this page for: what percentile does my raw score translate to? The table below maps raw scores to their approximate percentile, based on the norm-referenced conversions published across CCAT score guides and Criteria’s own sample score report. Treat these as close approximations. Criteria updates its norm group periodically, so a given company’s report may shift a point or two, but the shape holds.

A few things to pull from this table. The jump from a raw 24 to a raw 31 is only seven more correct answers, but it moves you from the 50th percentile to the 80th. In the middle of the distribution, every extra correct answer is worth a lot of percentile points, which is why shaving a few careless mistakes off your practice tests has an outsized effect on your ranking.

At the top end, the returns flatten. Going from 40 to 44 correct is four hard-won answers for only two percentile points. And per Criteria Corp, fewer than 1% of candidates answer all 50 questions. So if your goal is a top-tier score, aim for accuracy in the high 30s rather than a perfect run you almost certainly will not finish in 15 minutes.

What a “good” CCAT score actually is

There is no single passing score on the CCAT. Criteria Corp does not set one, and the test itself does not label you pass or fail. Instead, each employer picks a target range for the specific role, and your job is to clear their bar, not some universal number.

That said, here are the reference points that hold across most roles:

• Average: a raw score around 24, the 50th percentile.
• Good: a raw score around 31, roughly the top 20%. This is the most commonly cited “good score” threshold.
• Very strong: 33 to 36, roughly the top 8 to 10%.
• Excellent: 40 or above, the top 3%.

To answer two of the most-searched questions directly: Is 26 out of 50 good for the CCAT? It is a hair above average, landing you somewhere around the 58th to 60th percentile. It clears the bar for many customer-facing and operations roles but sits below the target range for competitive tech, analyst, and consulting positions. What is the 85th percentile for the CCAT? That corresponds to roughly a raw score of 33, which puts you comfortably into “very strong” territory for most roles.

The honest version of this: whether your score is “good” depends entirely on the role you applied for. A 28 might be well above the target for a front-desk position and well below the target for a data science role at a fast-scaling company. Always read your percentile against the role, not against a gut feeling about what a 28 out of 50 “should” mean.

The part most guides skip: your section scores

Here is where the standard “raw score plus percentile” explanation stops, and where the useful information actually starts. Your CCAT score report does not just give you one overall number. It breaks your performance down by the three question domains: verbal reasoning, math and logic, and spatial reasoning. Each gets its own sub-percentile.

The overall score is what employers weigh most heavily. But those section scores are the diagnostic. They tell you where the points leaked out. Two people can both score a raw 26, but one lost most of their points on spatial-reasoning questions while the other stumbled on the math word problems. Those are two completely different prep plans, and the composite score alone hides that.

This is the single most actionable thing on your report and the reason we built performance analytics into CCAT Tests. Instead of finishing a practice test and seeing only “27/50,” you get a heat-map of which question types are draining your time and your accuracy, plus drills aimed at your weakest domain. Enterprise assessment tools that offer that depth of breakdown often charge around $497 a month. We build it into a one-time purchase, because knowing you scored a 26 is far less useful than knowing that 26 came from a strong verbal section and a shaky spatial one.

A worked example: reading a real-looking report

Let’s walk through a concrete report so the numbers stop being abstract.

Say you take the CCAT and answer 28 questions correctly out of 50. You attempted 34 and got 6 wrong; the other 16 you never reached before time ran out.

• Raw score: 28. Only the 28 correct answers count. The 6 wrong ones cost nothing, and the 16 unreached ones cost nothing either. They simply did not earn points.
• Overall percentile: roughly the 68th. You outperformed about two-thirds of test-takers.
• Section breakdown: say your report shows verbal at the 80th percentile, math and logic at the 70th, and spatial at the 45th.

The read: your overall 68th percentile is solid and above average. But the story your sections tell is that spatial reasoning is dragging you down. If the role you are targeting expects the top 20% overall (a raw 31, an 80th percentile), the fastest path there is not “study everything.” It is drilling spatial-pattern questions until that section climbs from the 45th to the 70th percentile. That single move could lift your overall raw score by the three or four correct answers you need. That is the difference between a report that tells you a number and a report that tells you what to do next.

FAQ

Is 26 out of 50 good for the CCAT?

A raw 26 is slightly above the average of 24, landing you at roughly the 58th to 60th percentile. It is a solid, above-average result that meets the target range for many operations, sales, and customer-service roles, but it is usually below the bar for competitive tech, analyst, and consulting positions.

What is a good score on the CCAT?

There is no universal passing score. As a rule of thumb, a raw score around 31 (the top 20%, roughly the 80th percentile) is considered good, and 40 or above is excellent. What counts as “good” for you depends on the target range your specific employer set for the role.

What is the 85th percentile for the CCAT?

The 85th percentile corresponds to a raw score of roughly 33 out of 50. That is a strong, well-above-average result that clears the target range for most professional roles.

How do I interpret my CCAT results?

Read your percentile first, since it shows how you rank against other candidates. Then read your section sub-scores (verbal, math and logic, spatial) to see which domain lost you the most points. The overall number tells employers where you stand; the section scores tell you what to fix.

Does the CCAT penalize wrong answers?

No. Per Criteria Corp, there is no penalty for wrong answers. Your raw score is purely the count of correct answers, so guessing on a question you cannot solve is always better than leaving it blank.

Is the CCAT scored like an IQ test?

Not exactly. The CCAT measures cognitive aptitude and reports a raw score plus a percentile, which is conceptually similar to how an IQ test ranks you against a norm group. But it is a pre-employment aptitude test built to predict job performance, not a clinical IQ assessment, and it is scored against a working-adult norm group rather than the general population.

What is a composite score on the CCAT?

The composite (or overall) score combines your performance across all three question domains into a single raw score out of 50, which then converts to your overall percentile. It is the number employers weigh most heavily, while the individual section scores serve as a diagnostic breakdown.

Can I see which question types I got wrong?

The official employer report gives you percentiles by section but not a question-by-question breakdown. To see exactly which question types slowed you down, you need a practice platform with per-question analytics, which is what CCAT Tests provides in its heat-map view.

Related on CCAT Tests

• Pillar. The complete CCAT scores and results guide. Everything about percentiles, cutoffs, and role benchmarks in one place.
• Guide. What the CCAT actually tests, and how to prepare. Start here if you are new to the test.
• Practice. Free CCAT practice tests with a real score report. See your raw score and section breakdown before test day.
• Questions. CCAT question types explained. Understand what each section is scoring you on.

Try CCAT Tests

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