How the Kenexa CAT works
IBM listed a CAT Combined Reasoning Test alongside separate adaptive verbal, numerical and logical tests, and SHL still sells the CAT tests, which it says use computer adaptive programming to cut testing time and improve security. The combined test puts all three question types in one sitting.
It is reported as 20 questions in 20 minutes from a bank of 174 or more. A correct answer makes the next question harder and a wrong one makes it easier, so the early questions set the level for the rest. You generally cannot return to a question once you have answered it.
Because of the adaptation, your score reflects the difficulty of the questions you reached, not only how many you got right. SHL notes that the CAT tests are not recommended to be used alone in the United States, so expect another assessment alongside it.
How to approach an adaptive test
Adaptive tests reward a different rhythm from fixed ones:
- Give the first few questions your best attention. A strong start moves you into harder, higher-scoring questions.
- Commit to each answer. There is no review, so do not plan to come back.
- Never let a question go unanswered. A considered guess is better than running out of time.
- Reset at each question. The next one may switch from a passage to a table or a shape sequence.
- Expect it to feel hard. If questions keep getting tougher, that usually means you are doing well.
Worked example
A numerical question of the kind that could appear mid-test: a team handled 1,240 calls in March and 1,457 in April. By what percentage did calls rise? A. 14.9%, B. 17.5%, C. 21.7%, D. 117.5%, E. None of these.
The rise is 1,457 − 1,240 = 217 calls. Divide by the March figure: 217 ÷ 1,240 = 0.175, so the answer is B, 17.5%. Option A divides by the April figure instead, and D is April as a percentage of March.
Get it right and the next question, perhaps a shape sequence, comes from a harder band. Get it wrong and the next one is easier, which lowers the level your score is built on.
Tips for the real Kenexa CAT
- Have a calculator and paper ready, because numerical questions arrive without warning.
- Brush up all three areas before the test, since one weak area drags the whole result down.
- Do not read too much into how hard a question feels. Just answer it as well as you can.
- Sit somewhere quiet. Every question counts towards where the test places you.
- Check whether your invitation names the combined CAT or a single CAT test, such as CAT Verbal, and practise that area most.
Practise the Kenexa CAT on CogniPrep
Ours gives you 20 questions mixing verbal, numerical and logical items, each with five options and its own 60-second clock, which keeps the reported 20-minute total. It starts at medium difficulty and adapts after every answer across three bands, drawing from a bank of 45. Submitting commits the answer; there is no Back and no skip, and a question that runs out of time is marked unanswered. Your score out of 100 leads with the hardest band you cleared, then accuracy and balance across the three areas, with a percentile against CogniPrep players. The per-question clock is ours.