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The CAST-R test

Construction and Skilled Trades Selection System (revised)

Same construction and skilled trades roles as CAST. Southern Company is the most prominent employer to advertise the test under the CAST-R name.

Take a full CAST-R mockFree demo: Graphic Arithmetic
Sections
4
Questions
197
Timed testing
110 min

As published in EEI's CAST-R test brochure.

The sections, in order

Each section has a free demo you can try now. Counts and time limits are the ones EEI's CAST-R brochure publishes for this battery — the same section can be timed differently in another one.

  1. 1.Graphic Arithmetic

    Standard16 questions · 30 min

    You work from drawings — a plan, an elevation, a pole or conduit layout, a simple schematic — and answer questions that need numbers taken off them. The arithmetic itself is everyday: adding, subtracting, scaling, percentages. The work is finding the right figures and not misreading a label or a scale.

    Calculator permitted, per EEI.

    Free demo Full practice

  2. 2.Mechanical Concepts

    Standard44 questions · 20 min

    Simple pictures of mechanical arrangements with a short question: which gear turns which way, which pulley takes less effort, where the pressure is highest, which load is more stable. No formulas are needed and nothing is measured; it is about understanding how everyday mechanisms behave.

    Free demo Full practice

  3. 3.Reading for Comprehension

    Standard32 questions · 30 min

    You read passages of the kind of writing the job involves — procedures, safety rules, equipment descriptions, work instructions — and answer questions on each. The wrong options are usually true-sounding statements the passage does not actually support, so the discipline is answering from the text rather than from what you already know.

    Four passages.

    Free demo Full practice

  4. 4.Work Preferences Inventory

    Standard105 questions · 30 min

    A long questionnaire of statements about work — how you prefer to plan, cooperate, handle routine and deal with pressure — each answered on an agree-to-disagree scale. There are no right answers and nothing to revise; the point of practicing is the format, the pace and answering consistently rather than second-guessing.

    Five-point scale.

    Free demo Full practice

About the CAST-R test

CAST-R is EEI's current version of the skilled trades battery, and the difference that matters is at the end. EEI's own material says the revised battery replaced Mathematical Usage with the Work Preferences Inventory: 105 statements in 30 minutes on a five-point agree-to-disagree scale. The first three sections are unchanged — Graphic Arithmetic (16 questions in 30 minutes), Mechanical Concepts (44 in 20) and Reading for Comprehension (32 in 30).

That makes the sitting longer on paper — 197 items and 110 minutes — but easier to pace, because the questionnaire is not a test of ability and the seven-minute math sprint is gone. The trap is treating the questionnaire as an afterthought: at about 17 seconds a statement it is quite possible to run out of time, and EEI publishes no practice for it at all.

Confusingly, most utilities still say "CAST" on their careers pages whichever version they administer. If you do not know which you are sitting, prepare for both: the overlap is three sections out of four, and both the math section and the questionnaire are included in Standard.

How it is scored

EEI's CAST-R material describes an index score from 1 to 10, as CAST does, with no penalty for guessing. Cut scores are set by the employer and none are published.

Worth knowing

  • EEI's own CAST-R material states the revised battery replaced Mathematical Usage with the Work Preferences Inventory.
  • EEI does not provide a practice test for the Work Preferences Inventory; its published position is that practice covers tests of basic ability, not preferred work style.
  • The CAST-R brochure is the only EEI document we have seen that says a calculator is permitted, and it says so only for Graphic Arithmetic.

Common questions

What is the difference between CAST and CAST-R?
EEI's CAST-R material says the revised battery replaced the Mathematical Usage section with the Work Preferences Inventory, 105 statements in 30 minutes. The Graphic Arithmetic, Mechanical Concepts and Reading sections are described the same way in both.
How do I know which version I will take?
Usually you won't until the day, because most employers advertise both as "CAST". Southern Company is the most visible employer using the CAST-R name. Preparing for both costs you one extra section.
Is there practice for the Work Preferences Inventory?
Not from EEI — it says its practice material covers tests of basic ability rather than preferred work style. Ours is an original questionnaire in the same format, which is there for familiarity and pacing, not for learning answers. There are none to learn.

Utility Tests is independent practice. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Edison Electric Institute or any utility, our questions are original and written from published descriptions, and nothing here is the real CAST-R test.