How the CBAT T-Score Works and What Actually Qualifies You

Most CBAT confusion comes from one sentence in the result: candidates are evaluated on T-scores, not marks. Understanding this changes how you practise.

What a T-score is

A T-score is a standardised score. It places your raw performance on a common scale so that a battery of 75 easy questions and a battery of 40 hard ones can be compared fairly. The scale is centred around 50, with most candidates falling between roughly 30 and 70.

The practical consequence: raising your raw score in a battery where everyone scores well moves your T-score only slightly, while gaining a few marks in a battery where most candidates struggle can move it a lot.

The 42 rule

1. Each of the five batteries is scored separately and converted to a T-score.
2. You must reach at least 42 in every battery.
3. Falling below 42 in even one battery ends your CBAT, regardless of the other four.

There is no aggregate, no best-of-four and no compensation between batteries. Treat the CBAT as five separate pass/fail tests taken back to back.

Reading your mock result

A useful mock gives you five T-scores, not one percentage. When you review a result, work down this list:

• Which batteries are below 42? Those are the only ones that matter this week.
• Where did you leave questions unattempted? With no negative marking, a blank is strictly worse than a guess.
• Where was your accuracy high but attempt count low? That is a pacing problem, not a knowledge problem.
• Where was your attempt count high but accuracy low? Slow down deliberately — rushing costs more than it earns.

A realistic target

Aim to sit comfortably above the bar rather than exactly on it. If your weakest battery hovers around 45 to 50 across several full-length mocks, you have a genuine margin for a bad exam-day screen or a distracting test centre.