How do I know if I am taking a CCAT or a Wonderlic?

The invitation usually names it, and the time you are asked to allow gives it away: about 15 minutes for the CCAT, about 35 for Wonderlic Select. Asking the recruiter is entirely normal.

Neither, in content — both are ordinary questions at speed. The Wonderlic gives you less time per question (14.4 seconds against 18), and the CCAT is the one where guessing at the end is free.

Can I practise for both at once?

Largely, yes. The question types overlap heavily, so practise the types on either set of pages and then do full-length timed runs on whichever clock you will actually face.

Which test will my employer use

You usually find out from the invitation email, and it usually says less than you would like. Here is how to identify what is coming from what the email does say, and what changes about your preparation once you know.

Tell them apart by the clock and the publisher

The single most reliable tell is the total time the invitation asks you to set aside. Fifteen minutes means the CCAT. Half an hour or more means Wonderlic Select, because the untimed sections are what fill it.

	CCAT	Wonderlic
Published by	Criteria Corp	Wonderlic, Inc.
Full name	Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test	Wonderlic Select (formerly Wonscore)
Timed section	50 questions, 15 minutes	50 questions, 12 minutes
Other sections	none	personality (150 items), motivation (58 items), untimed
Total sitting	about 15 minutes	about 35 minutes

Publishers’ own candidate documents, read 25 August 2026.

If the email does not name the test

Look at the sending domain and the link — the assessment is hosted by the publisher, not the employer.
Look at the time you are asked to allow, as above.
Ask. Asking the recruiter which assessment you will be taking is an ordinary question and no employer treats it as one.
If it turns out to be neither of these, the pacing advice still transfers: nearly every pre-hire cognitive test is short, timed, and not designed to be finished.

What actually changes once you know

Less than you might think, and that is useful. Both tests draw on the same ordinary material — words, small arithmetic, patterns and shapes — and both are won or lost on triage rather than knowledge.

Three things do change. The clock: eighteen seconds a question against fourteen and a half. The end-of-test tactic: fill every blank on the CCAT, because there is no penalty; do not bother on the Wonderlic, whose publisher says guessing is unlikely to help. And the sitting: if it is Wonderlic Select, two thirds of your time in the chair is untimed sections with no right answers, so do not let them eat the concentration you need for the first twelve minutes.

One thing that never changes: nobody should ever charge you to sit the employer’s own assessment. Wonderlic says so in its own candidate material.

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 do I know if I am taking a CCAT or a Wonderlic?: The invitation usually names it, and the time you are asked to allow gives it away: about 15 minutes for the CCAT, about 35 for Wonderlic Select. Asking the recruiter is entirely normal.
Which is harder?: Neither, in content — both are ordinary questions at speed. The Wonderlic gives you less time per question (14.4 seconds against 18), and the CCAT is the one where guessing at the end is free.
Can I practise for both at once?: Largely, yes. The question types overlap heavily, so practise the types on either set of pages and then do full-length timed runs on whichever clock you will actually face.

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.

Criteria Corp — What to Expect on the Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT) Read August 25, 2026
Wonderlic — Wonderlic Select Test: Frequently Asked Questions from Candidates (Christopher Rosati, 2 October 2025) Read August 25, 2026
Wonderlic — Wonderlic Sample Questions (30 July 2024) Read August 25, 2026

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.