Electrician aptitude test › IBEW aptitude test
IBEW aptitude test: what's on it, how long it takes, and test day
Most IBEW/NECA apprenticeship programs (JATCs) give the electrical training ALLIANCE aptitude test, which its own pages still call the NJATC test. It has two timed parts: Algebra and Functions, 33 questions in 46 minutes, and Reading Comprehension, 36 questions in 51 minutes. You can't use a calculator. Plan on about three hours at the test center.
The two tests
| Test | Questions | Minutes | Time per question | What it measures, in the ALLIANCE's words |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algebra and Functions | 33 | 46 | about 84 seconds | "your ability to solve problems using algebra" |
| Reading Comprehension | 36 | 51 | about 85 seconds | "your ability to obtain information from written passages" |
In all: 69 questions in 97 minutes of testing, plus instructions and the break. The national pages, Applying for Apprenticeship and Preparing for the Test, still say "NJATC." Current local pages give the same numbers: Waterloo and Mason City (IBEW Local 288), Raleigh-Durham and Inland Empire (Spokane) all list 33 questions in 46 minutes and 36 in 51.
What the questions look like
The sample questions are multiple choice with four answers, and "Only one answer is correct for each question." The official sample has 5 algebra items and one short passage with 3 questions. Its algebra items are of five kinds:
- Plug numbers into a formula. You get a formula with brackets and two values, and work out the third. This tests order of operations.
- Find the equivalent formula. A formula in factored form, such as a number times two brackets, and four expanded versions to choose from. This is multiplying binomials (FOIL).
- Find the next number in a pattern. The sample's series alternates two steps, so you have to see both.
- Decide when a formula is positive or negative. A straight-line formula and four statements about it. This is a linear inequality in disguise.
- Match a table to the same relationship. A table of x and y values, and four other ways of writing a rule: an equation, a sentence, another table. This is function reading.
The reading test gives you a passage and several questions about it. The sample asks for a fact stated in the passage, a prediction you can make from it, and which statement it supports. The ALLIANCE warns that the sample passage "is shorter than those on the actual test," and Local 288 says the real test has "four separate passages with a total of 36 questions."
You don't need to know anything about electrical work. The ALLIANCE says "Previous knowledge of electrical work is not required" and that "there is no need to memorize certain formulas or factual material in order to do well." For worked examples of every item type, see the math on the electrician aptitude test and 18 free practice questions.
Test day rules
- Photo ID. "No ID, No Test, No Exceptions!"
- No calculator. Not on either test. A watch with a built-in calculator will be taken off you for the session.
- Materials are provided. "Pencils and all other materials will be provided." Warren JATC adds that scrap paper is provided for working.
- Arrive early. The ALLIANCE says at least 15 minutes early. Warren JATC doesn't admit late arrivals: "A late show is the same as a 'No Show.'"
- Block out about 3 hours at the test center, and arrange childcare: children aren't allowed in.
- You can't finish another day. If you leave early, your score is based on the questions you completed, and you can't test again for at least 90 days.
- If you're ill or have an emergency, contact your JATC to ask about another date. Rescheduling "is not guaranteed."
The national page doesn't say whether the test is on paper or on a computer, and locals may differ. Inland Empire, for example, says its results arrive "electronically immediately after the testing session." Ask your JATC what to expect.
Scoring and what happens next
Your score is the number of questions you answer correctly, and there is no penalty for guessing, so answer every item. The ALLIANCE says your JATC gets the results about two to four weeks after the test; Warren JATC says about two weeks, and Local 288 emails a score within two weeks.
The national page says you will learn only "whether or not you have received a qualifying score. Exact scores are not provided." Some locals do report a number on a 1 to 9 scale, and 4 is a common qualifying score. The passing score guide covers who reports what.
A qualifying score gets you an oral interview with a committee "representing both NECA and the IBEW." Based on the interview and a review of your qualifications, you get an overall ranking and go on an eligibility list for two years. Openings are filled from that list in rank order. If you aren't picked in two years, you reapply.
Retakes
"A full three (3) months (90 days) must elapse before you may retake the test." Test again sooner and that score isn't valid, and the 90-day clock starts over. Warren JATC says the wait applies "at any JATC in the country." The same national paragraph also says "The six month rule remains in effect after each subsequent retake of the test" without explaining it, so ask your JATC how it treats a second or third retake. Some locals, Local 288 among them, also require a new application before you test again.
Accommodations
If a disability, including a learning disability, may affect how you do on the test, tell your JATC before test day or as soon as you are scheduled. The ALLIANCE says requests made on the day "CANNOT be addressed that day," and you will usually need documentation of the disability and of the accommodation you need.
Not every program gives this test
Some large IBEW/NECA programs use the GAN battery from GAN Human Resources instead: JATC Local 26 (Washington, DC area), the Minneapolis JATC and Des Moines among them. GAN adds mechanical reasoning and paper folding to math and reading, and at those programs it ranks applicants rather than setting a pass mark. See the GAN aptitude test. Non-union programs run by IEC and ABC chapters set their own entrance tests, or none (see how IEC and ABC programs test you), and some utilities, such as PSEG, use EEI's CAST battery, a different test again. Check which test your program gives before you buy anything to prepare.
Is there a mechanical section? Not on the ALLIANCE test: its pages list only the two tests above. Some prep sellers say "some locals add a mechanical section"; where a local's page shows one, it is usually because the local gives GAN.
How to prepare
Take the free official sample first, timed. Local 288 points applicants to free algebra videos from "Khan Academy, Purple Math, Math Antics, and the Cool Math Guy," and Inland Empire says prep courses are available "through our national program": "The math course has a cost of $38 and the reading comprehension course is $17." Its office signs up applicants who ask. Paid practice packs and courses are compared, with prices read today, on the home page. One of them is ClassMetric's Union Aptitude Prep, $39 once: 20 lessons, 403 practice questions and two timed tests, algebra and reading; it has no mechanical reasoning or interview prep.