How EEI Test Scores Work: Index Scales Explained

EEI batteries do not report a percentage. They report an index score, and the scale is different for each battery: 1 to 10 for CAST and CAST-R, zero to 15 for POSS, a single combined index with no published range for MASS and TECH, and a plain verdict of "Recommended" or "Not Recommended" for SO/PD II. That index goes to the employer, not to you, and no employer publishes the level at which it hires.

What an index score is

Your raw answers on each test are converted to component scores, and those are combined into one number. The brochures describe what that number is for in terms of probability: MASS's says the index is translated into expected probabilities of successful job performance, and POSS's uses the same framing. The index is a prediction about job performance, not a mark out of ten.

That has a practical consequence. A CAST index of 7 does not mean you got 70% of the questions right, and a POSS index of 9 is not comparable to a CAST index of 9 — the scales are different lengths and are built from different tests. Comparing index numbers across batteries is meaningless, and a surprising amount of what circulates online does exactly that.

The scales, battery by battery

Battery	How it is reported
CAST	Single index score, 1 to 10
CAST-R	Index score, 1 to 10
POSS	Aptitude index score, zero to 15
MASS	One combined index score — no numeric range published
TECH	An overall score predicting likelihood of success — no numeric range published
SO/PD II	"Recommended" or "Not Recommended" — no index at all

The blanks in that table are as informative as the entries. EEI's MASS and TECH brochures describe a combined index and an overall score without ever giving a range, across more than one document vintage. If you find a site quoting a range for either, it did not come from a brochure.

Why nobody publishes the level you need

This is the question everyone asks, and the honest answer is that there is no public figure to give — not because it is secret in some sinister way, but because there is no single number to publish.

EEI's CAST brochure explains why, without ever naming a number. The battery was designed with administrative flexibility in mind, and it does not set a threshold: "cutoff scores on the CAST battery can be tailored to local company employment needs." Each utility decides for itself, for each job, and treats the result as internal. Southern California Edison is unusually direct about it in its own testing FAQ: it tells candidates that it does not provide cut-off scores and provides pass or fail results only, and that a candidate will not receive an actual numeric score or information about confidential cut-off levels. Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation likewise refers to a cut-off score in its process without ever naming a value.

So when you see a confident claim that "most utilities cut at X, aim for Y", understand what it is: somebody's guess, repeated. We are not going to repeat it, and you should discount any site that does — if they will invent that, consider what else they have invented.

What you will and will not be told

EEI does not give results to applicants. Its public page directs applicants to the employer for anything to do with testing and says EEI does not administer its employment tests to applicants directly. So your result reaches you through the utility, in whatever form that utility chooses — which for some employers is pass or fail and nothing more.

Turnaround varies widely and is worth asking about rather than guessing at. Entergy says results are typically available within five business days; Southern California Edison says five to seven; Southern Company says delivery should not exceed three weeks in most cases; Arkansas Electric Cooperative says results are available immediately when the test is taken on-site with its own administrator.

No penalty for guessing

One scoring rule is consistent and useful: EEI's brochures for CAST-R, POSS and MASS all state that there is no penalty for guessing or wrong answers. Your score is built from correct answers, so a blank and a wrong answer cost the same.

That converts directly into strategy. On the tightest sections — 44 mechanical questions in 20 minutes, 18 math questions in 7 — you should plan to spend the last fifteen seconds marking every unanswered item. Practice that ending, because doing it calmly under a real clock is a skill. Our Mechanical Concepts demo runs at the real pace so you can rehearse it.

How to use a score you cannot see

Since you will not get a numeric result and could not benchmark it if you did, the only sensible target is your own performance under time. That is measurable: how many of 44 mechanical questions you complete accurately in 20 minutes, whether you finish the math sprint, how many reading questions you leave blank. Those numbers move with practice, and they are the ones you control. Full battery practice reports them section by section, and access is one payment.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good score on the EEI CAST test?

There is no published answer. The battery reports an index from 1 to 10, EEI says cutoffs are tailored to each company's needs, and no utility publishes the level it hires at. Anyone quoting a specific number is guessing.

Will I be told my index score?

Not necessarily. EEI does not give results to applicants, so it depends on the employer — and at least one large utility states that candidates receive pass or fail only, with no numeric figure.

Why do the batteries use different scales?

They were developed at different times by different research teams for different jobs. CAST came from a 34-company consortium project, POSS from a 70-company one, and each was scaled independently. There is no conversion between them.

Does the Work Preferences Inventory affect the index?

CAST-R reports a single index built from its components, and EEI does not publish how the inventory is weighted within it. See our guide to that section.