EEI CAST Practice Test for Lineworkers and Skilled Trades [2026]

The EEI CAST test, officially the Construction and Skilled Trades Test, is a pre-employment cognitive assessment developed and owned by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) to evaluate candidates for lineman, electrician, substation technician, and transmission and distribution roles at U.S. investor-owned electric utilities. The exam includes 110 questions across four sections, Graphic Arithmetic, Mathematical Usage, Mechanical Concepts, and Reading Comprehension, completed in 90 minutes. It is administered as a paper-and-pencil test directly by the hiring utility rather than through general registration, and results are combined into a single index score from 1 to 10 instead of a simple pass or fail.

Utilities including Duke Energy, Entergy, Southern Company/Georgia Power, FirstEnergy, PSEG, and ComEd (an Exelon subsidiary) use the CAST test to screen candidates for skilled trades and field roles. Because the EEI does not set a universal passing score, each employer defines its own minimum requirement, so a strong result across all four sections matters regardless of which utility you're applying to.

The CAST-R (Construction and Skilled Trades Selection System - Revised) is an alternate version of the CAST test used by some utilities in place of the original. It keeps three of the same sections, Graphic Arithmetic, Mechanical Concepts, and Reading Comprehension, at the same difficulty level as standard CAST, but replaces Mathematical Usage with the Work Preferences Inventory (WPI), a behavioral assessment that measures work style and job fit rather than cognitive aptitude. Because the cognitive sections are shared between both versions, our CAST practice test questions and section-specific tests apply directly to CAST-R preparation as well, the WPI itself isn't something you study for, since it has no right or wrong answers.

Graphic Arithmetic is one of four sections on the CAST test, and it's unlike a typical math test. Instead of solving equations directly, you're given a diagram, such as a ladder, a trench, or a length of cable, with certain measurements labeled and others missing. Your task is to use the labeled measurements to calculate the missing ones. It's designed to reflect real field tasks, where linemen and other skilled trades workers must read technical drawings and do quick, accurate math on the job. 

In the Graphic Arithmetic CAST Test, you'll be given a diagram with various measurements. Your task is to determine and fill in the missing measurements using the information in the questions. 

Let's look at a few examples, taken from our online CAST Prep Course:

•  When answering these questions in the test – it is essential to work methodically, look for the fastest ways to calculate the required measurements, and make sure that there is no overlapping.
• It is recommended to write down the calculation and mark the answers to previous questions – as we will demonstrate how it can be useful for later questions in the test.
• It is important to keep this in mind, since the object in the drawing may appear from more than one viewpoint in the real exam.
• The drawing presented here represents a front view of the object, but in the real test, you may receive a top/bottom view as well, which makes the test far more challenging.

The next section of the test also includes mathematical skills – but this time instead of visual abilities you must be able to work with different measurements and conversions from a table. Let's continue!

The following questions are designed to test your intuition about fundamental mechanical concepts. They contain complex subjects broken down into simple answers. Understanding the subject in full can help you avoid common pitfalls.

Let's look at a few examples:

CAST Mechanical questions require a specific set of skills and knowledge. The final section, Reading for Comprehension, may look trivial but requires verbal, grammatical, and logical abilities. Let’s continue.

The Reading Comprehension Test assesses your ability to understand verbal communication, make logical inferences, and focus on the main idea of a passage. It also tests your familiarity with core mechanical vocabulary and terminology. It is a critical part of the CAST Test.

Let's review some examples:

The CAST test is used almost exclusively by investor-owned electric utilities to screen candidates for physically demanding, safety-critical field roles, most commonly the CAST test for lineman (electrical lineworker) roles, along with substation electrician and transmission and distribution technician positions. These are jobs where a single mistake, misreading a diagram, miscalculating a load, misunderstanding a safety procedure, can be fatal, both for the worker and for the public relying on the power grid they maintain. That's why utilities don't rely on interviews and resumes alone: the CAST test gives them a standardized, predictive measure of whether a candidate can read technical diagrams, do accurate math under time pressure, and follow written safety procedures before they're ever sent up a pole or near live equipment.

Because each utility administers the test directly rather than through any central registration system, passing isn't optional; it's a mandatory checkpoint in the hiring process. If you're applying for a skilled trades role at a utility that uses CAST, most employers won't move your application forward without a qualifying score. Below is a partial list of major utilities that use the CAST test as part of their hiring process: