How to pace 50 questions in 15 minutes

The arithmetic is unforgiving and it is the entire test. Fifty questions in fifteen minutes is eighteen seconds each; in twelve minutes it is fourteen and a half. Nobody reads, thinks and answers in fourteen seconds on every question — which is why the skill being measured is not speed but triage.

The two clocks, side by side

CCATWonderlic
Questions5050
Minutes1512
Seconds a question1814.4
Penalty for a wrong answernonenone stated; guessing is discouraged
Calculatornot allowednot allowed
Expected to finish?fewer than 1% dono — publisher says so

Criteria’s candidate page and Wonderlic’s candidate FAQ, both read 25 August 2026. Both publishers say, in their own words, that finishing is not the expectation.

Two seconds to decide, not eighteen to fight

The useful way to spend the first two seconds of a question is deciding whether to answer it at all. Question types announce themselves: an opposite-word item, a series, a rotated figure, a word problem with two quantities. You already know which of those you do quickly and which one you do not.

The expensive failure is not getting a question wrong. It is spending forty seconds on a question you were never going to get, which costs the two easy questions that would have followed it. On a test where the average is 24 out of 50, two questions is a meaningful part of the result.

  • If you recognise the type and the route to the answer, do it.
  • If you recognise the type but not the route, move on immediately — that is the one that eats the clock.
  • If the arithmetic needs paper and more than one step, it is usually not worth eighteen seconds.
  • Never re-read a question you have already decided to skip.

What to do with the last thirty seconds

On the CCAT, fill in every remaining answer. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so blanks are strictly worse than guesses and there is no argument on the other side.

On the Wonderlic, Wonderlic itself says guessing is not likely to improve your score and that its scoring accounts for the effect of guessing. Spend the last thirty seconds finishing a question you can actually do rather than filling boxes.

This is the single practical difference between preparing for the two tests, and it is worth knowing which one you are sitting before the clock starts.

How to practise it

Untimed question sets teach you the types, and you do need that — but they cannot teach pace, because pace is a decision made under pressure and nothing about an untimed set is under pressure.

So: use the untimed sets until the types are familiar, then take full-length timed runs and look at two numbers afterwards. How many you reached, and how many of those you got right. Those two numbers have different fixes. Reaching few means you are fighting questions you should abandon. Reaching many and scoring low means you are rushing questions you could have had.

Now find out what the clock does to you.

A full-length timed run, free, with a score by section and an explanation for every question afterwards.

Take a timed test

Frequently asked

How many seconds per question on the CCAT?
15 minutes over 50 questions is 18 seconds each. Criteria describes it as approximately 20 seconds a question.
How many seconds per question on the Wonderlic?
12 minutes over 50 questions is 14.4 seconds each.
Should I guess if I run out of time?
On the CCAT yes — Criteria states there is no penalty for an incorrect response. On the Wonderlic, its publisher says guessing is not likely to improve your score, so use the time on a question you can do.
Is it better to answer more questions or to be accurate?
Accurate, up to a point: there is no bonus for reaching the end, and both publishers say candidates are not expected to finish. The goal is the most correct answers, which is usually fewer attempts than instinct suggests.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from one of the documents below, with the date it was read. Requirements change; if a source has moved on since that date, the source is right and this page is out of date.

Page facts last verified August 25, 2026.

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Hiring Test Practice is independent practice material and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by Criteria Corp or Wonderlic, Inc. CCAT® is a registered trademark of Criteria Corp; Wonderlic® is a registered trademark of Wonderlic, Inc. Test names are used only to describe what this material prepares you for. Every question here is original and none is taken from any actual assessment.