You got the email, or you saw the score, and your stomach dropped: you think you just failed the CCAT. Before you spiral, here is the honest answer you actually came for. In most cases, “failing” the CCAT is not the hard wall it feels like, because the CCAT does not have a built-in pass or fail line at all. This is the Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test, the 50-question, 15-minute pre-employment cognitive test from Criteria Corp, not the Canadian Cognitive Abilities Test used in schools. What actually happens next depends on the employer’s cutoff, whether they allow a retake, and how much weight they put on the score versus the rest of your application. This guide walks through each of those, honestly, including the cases where you genuinely can bounce back.
Quick takeaways
- The CCAT has no universal pass or fail. Each employer sets its own cutoff score per role, so you “fail” only relative to that one company’s bar.
- A rejection after the CCAT usually means an automated cutoff, but it does not always mean the score was the only reason.
- Many employers let you retake or reapply after a waiting period. At Crossover, for example, it is one attempt per six months.
- People do recover. Crossover states that many who fail on their first application go on to pass six months later, and some get hired.
- Your score is one input, not a verdict on you. Experience, interviews, and a later, better attempt all still count.
- There is no penalty for wrong answers, so a low score is often a time-and-pacing problem, which is very fixable.
You did not “fail the CCAT,” you missed one employer’s cutoff
Start here, because this single reframe changes everything about what happens next. The CCAT itself does not pass or fail anyone. Criteria Corp scores your test, hands the employer your raw score (how many questions you got right) and your percentile (how you compare to other test-takers), and then the employer decides what number is good enough for the specific role you applied to.
That means there is no fixed “passing grade” baked into the test. A score of 30 might clear the bar for one position and fall short for a more competitive one at a different company. So when you say “I failed the CCAT,” what actually happened is more precise and much less final: you scored below the threshold that one employer chose for that one role. You did not fail the test, you missed one employer’s cutoff.
Why does this matter so much? Because a cutoff is a moving target that varies by company, role seniority, and hiring priorities. The same score that stopped you here could sail through elsewhere. It also means the number is not a permanent grade on your intelligence. It is a snapshot of one timed test on one day, measured against one company’s preference. That is a very different, and much more recoverable, situation than “I failed.”
What a rejection after the CCAT actually means
If you got a rejection email after taking the CCAT, it is natural to assume the score sank you. Sometimes it did. But “we’ve decided to move forward with other candidates” is deliberately vague, and it is worth understanding what is really going on behind it.
In many hiring pipelines, the CCAT is an early screening filter. If your score fell below the employer’s cutoff, the rejection may well have been automatic, triggered by the number before a human even looked at your application. That is common, and it is not personal. It is a filter doing what filters do.
But the score is rarely the entire story. In other pipelines the CCAT is one input among several, weighed alongside your experience, your interviews, and how you fit the role. A rejection there might reflect a stronger candidate, a role that got filled, or a combination of factors where the CCAT was just one. You often cannot tell from the email which situation you are in, and that uncertainty is uncomfortable. Here is the useful move: rather than trying to decode a vague email, treat a below-cutoff CCAT as a fixable, specific problem, because that is the part you can actually control. And if you suspect the score was the wall, the good news is that a timed cognitive test is one of the most improvable things in a hiring process.
Can you retake the CCAT? The mechanics, in plain English
Yes, you often can, and this is where competitor pages get frustratingly vague, so let’s be concrete.
Retake and reapply rules are set by the employer and by Criteria Corp’s guidance, not by you, and they vary. The most-documented example comes from Crossover, one of the most visible CCAT-using employers. Crossover’s policy is one attempt per six months: you can reapply and retake after a six-month waiting period, and you must use the same email so your history is tracked. Applying again sooner, or with a different email to dodge the wait, gets the application rejected. Note that this six-month cooldown is Crossover’s specific policy, not a universal CCAT rule. Other employers set their own waiting periods, and some may not offer a retake for the same role at all.
So the practical steps if you want another shot are simple. First, do not immediately re-apply the next day, because that usually violates the waiting period and gets you auto-rejected. Second, find out the specific employer’s retake window if you can (it is sometimes stated in the rejection or on their careers page). Third, and this is the part that matters most, actually prepare in the meantime. A retake only helps if you show up with better pacing and more familiarity than last time. Reapplying with the same preparation tends to produce the same result.
Can you still get hired if you fail the CCAT? Often, yes
This is the question underneath all the others, and the honest answer is encouraging. Failing an assessment test does not automatically end your candidacy, and people recover from a low CCAT more often than the panic would suggest.
The clearest evidence comes from Crossover, which states directly that many applicants who fail the CCAT on their first application go on to pass six months later, and some even get hired. They frame persistence as a positive trait, not a strike against you. That is a real employer, in writing, saying a first failure is not the end. Reapplying after preparing is a normal, respected path, not a desperate one.
Beyond retakes, remember that the CCAT is usually one factor in a larger decision. Strong experience, a great interview, referrals, or a role where cognitive speed matters less can all outweigh a middling test score, depending on the employer. Some companies weight the CCAT heavily as a hard gate. Others treat it as a data point. You will not always know which, but the point stands: a low score is a setback, not a disqualification from every job that uses the test.
Why your low score is probably a pacing problem, not a ceiling
Here is the most practically hopeful part, and the reason a retake is worth the effort. Most low CCAT scores are not caused by a lack of ability. They are caused by the clock.
Recall the format: 50 questions in 15 minutes, which is less than 20 seconds per question, with no penalty for wrong answers. Fewer than 1% of people finish all 50, and the average test-taker gets 24 right. The material itself, verbal reasoning, basic math and logic, and spatial reasoning, is at a level most adults can handle with enough time. What separates a low score from a good one is almost always speed and composure under pressure, not raw intelligence.
That is genuinely good news, because pacing and format-familiarity are among the most trainable things in any hiring process. If you froze on a few hard questions, sank minutes you never got back, or did not know to guess on the questions you did not reach (a wrong guess costs the same as a blank, so you should always guess), those are specific, fixable mistakes. Fix them with timed practice, and a retake can land you well above the cutoff that stopped you the first time. The wall you hit was probably the clock, and the clock is beatable with reps.
FAQ
Can you fail the CCAT test?
Not in a universal sense, because the CCAT has no built-in pass or fail line. You receive a raw score and a percentile, and each employer decides the minimum they want for a given role. So you can only score below a specific company’s cutoff, which is what “failing” really means here. A score that misses the bar for one job may clear it for another.
What is a passing score for the CCAT?
There is no single passing score. It depends entirely on the employer and the role, since each company sets its own cutoff. As a rough reference, a score around the mid-30s is a common competitive benchmark, and one visible employer, Crossover, uses a baseline near 35 out of 50 for many roles. But many positions require less, and some demanding roles require more, so the right target is whatever the specific job asks for.
Do most people finish the CCAT?
No. By widely reported estimates, fewer than 1% of candidates answer all 50 questions in the 15-minute limit, and the average test-taker gets around 24 right. Not finishing is normal and expected, and it is not the same as failing. The test is deliberately built with more questions than almost anyone can complete.
Can you still get hired if you fail an assessment test?
Often, yes. A below-cutoff score is a setback, not an automatic disqualification. The CCAT is usually one input alongside your experience and interviews, and many employers allow you to reapply after a waiting period. Crossover, for example, notes that some applicants who fail on their first attempt go on to pass and get hired later.
How many people pass the CCAT?
There is no public or universal pass rate, and no meaningful single number to give, because the CCAT has no built-in passing line. Each employer sets its own cutoff for each role, so “passing” only exists relative to one company’s specific threshold. A score that clears the bar at one employer can fall short at another, which is exactly why no overall pass rate can be calculated or quoted.
Is 35 a good CCAT score?
Yes, for most roles a 35 is a strong score. It sits well above the average of 24 and lands in a high percentile, and it matches the baseline some employers, like Crossover, use for many positions. For the most senior or technical roles, employers may look for even higher, but 35 is a solid, competitive result in most contexts.
Can I retake the CCAT if I failed the first time?
Usually yes, after a waiting period set by the employer. Crossover’s documented policy is one attempt every six months using the same email, and other employers set their own windows. The key is to actually prepare during the wait, because reapplying with the same level of preparation tends to produce the same score.
Related on CCAT Tests
- Pillar. The complete CCAT test preparation guide. Turn a failed first attempt into a prepared, confident retake.
- Guide. What a good CCAT score actually is. Understand cutoffs and percentiles so you know what to aim for.
- Practice. Free CCAT practice tests. The single best way to beat the clock that beat you last time.
- Questions. CCAT question types explained. Know exactly what each of the three sections asks before you sit it again.
Try CCAT Tests
A failed CCAT is usually a beatable clock, not a closed door. Most low scores come from time pressure, not ability, and that is exactly what practice fixes. Our free tier lets you take a real, timed CCAT-style practice run across all three question domains, so you can see precisely where the clock caught you last time. And if your retake is riding on a specific company’s cutoff, our Elite tier includes an “until you pass” guarantee: you keep practicing with us until you clear the threshold you are aiming for, which takes the “what if I fail again” fear off the table entirely. To be clear, that guarantee is about continued access to our practice and prep until you hit your target score, not a promise of any particular employer’s hiring decision. Backed by our companion Udemy course with 1,200+ students and a 4.5/5 rating. If your next attempt involves more than just the CCAT, PrepClubs offers the same pass-guaranteed prep across 20+ other pre-employment tests.
