Common CBAT Mistakes That Cost Aspirants the Job

The CBAT fails candidates who can clearly do the questions. Almost every avoidable loss falls into one of these buckets.

1. Leaving questions blank

There is no negative marking. A blank is a guaranteed zero; a guess is a free chance. Mark something on every question before the timer ends.

2. Averaging instead of balancing

You need 42 in every battery. Practising your strongest battery to perfection while a weak one sits at 38 is the single most common way to lose the CBAT.

3. Practising 50-question sets only

The real test is 235 questions. Short sets never expose the concentration drop that arrives around question 150 — and that is exactly where marks leak.

4. Skimming the instruction screen

Each battery has its own rules, and the Following Directions battery is designed to punish partial reading. Spend the instruction time reading; it is not counted against your questions.

5. Wasting the memory study page

The study screen is the only place the material exists. Rehearse in clusters and quickly self-test before moving on, instead of passively re-reading.

6. Fighting one hard question

With under 20 seconds average per question, thirty seconds spent on one depth-perception pile costs you two easier questions elsewhere. Guess, move, return only if time allows.

7. Never reviewing battery-wise scores

A mock you do not review is entertainment. Read the five T-scores, name your weakest battery, and let that decide the next week of practice.