EEI SASS Practice Test - Free Questions, Examples & Study Guide [2026]

The SASS test is the pre-employment exam electric utilities use to screen candidates for clerical and administrative jobs. It was developed by the Edison Electric Institute to replace the older Clerical Assessment Battery, which had fallen behind the way office work is actually done since almost all of it moved onto computers.

EEI built the Support and Administrative Selection System with more than 20 investor-owned electric companies, drawing job data from over 3,000 supervisors and administrative employees. The result is a set of three validated test batteries that predict how well a candidate will perform in a utility office role. Employers using SASS testing include Entergy, Ameren, PSEG, and many other utilities hiring administrative assistants, clerks, receptionists, data entry operators, and support staff.

SASS Test Structure: 10 Tests Across 3 Batteries

The SASS exam contains ten separate tests, grouped into three batteries. Every test opens with its own instruction and practice session before the scored portion begins, so your total time at the testing center will be considerably longer than the scored minutes below.

You will not necessarily sit all ten. Which batteries you take depends on the role. Entry-level and general administrative positions typically sit the BCAB, often with the BKSB. The ACAB is reserved for senior administrative roles that require heavy software work. Confirm the exact combination with your employer before you start preparing.

BCAB - Basic Competency Assessment Battery

The Basic Competency Assessment Battery is the core of the SASS exam and the battery nearly every candidate takes. It contains four timed tests and is available in both paper-based and computer-based formats. None of the four tests deducts points for wrong answers, so you should answer every item rather than leave anything blank.

1. Classifying Test

This test measures how quickly and accurately you can scan lists of names, addresses, numbers, and codes and sort them according to a rule. You are given a category rule, then asked to work through a series of items and decide where each one belongs. The rules vary in complexity, and some require you to apply two or more conditions at once.

• Format: Four lists, 25 items per list, 100 items total
• Time: 12 minutes total, roughly 2 to 2.5 minutes per list
• Scoring: Total number of items classified correctly. No penalty for guessing
• Total time with practice session: approximately 25 minutes

The pressure here is pace, not difficulty. Any single item is straightforward. Getting through 100 of them in 12 minutes without your accuracy slipping is the actual test.

2. Spelling/Grammar Test

This test assesses basic spelling and grammar. You are given several paragraphs of text containing 50 missing words. For each gap, you choose the correct word from the options presented. The choices are designed around common traps: homophones such as brake and break, its versus it's, and words that sound identical but are spelled differently.

• Format: Several paragraphs with 50 missing words to complete
• Time: 8 minutes
• Scoring: Percentage of questions answered correctly. No penalty for guessing
• Total time with practice session: approximately 23 minutes

Eight minutes for 50 decisions works out to under ten seconds each. There is no time to deliberate, which is why recognizing the common error patterns in advance matters more than knowing grammar rules in the abstract.

3. Basic Mathematics Test

This test covers everyday office arithmetic: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and percentages. You are given five test problems, each presenting a scenario with information you then use to answer a series of related questions. Some questions require you to combine two or more operations to reach the answer.

• Format: 5 multi-part problems, each with several multiple-choice questions
• Time: 18 minutes
• Scoring: Percentage of correct answers. No penalty for guessing
• Aids: A calculator and scratch paper are provided
• Total time with practice session: approximately 25 minutes

Because a calculator is provided, the arithmetic itself is not what separates candidates. What costs points is misreading the question, most often confusing a request for a raw number with a request for a percentage.

4. Filing/Sorting Test

This test measures your ability to file or sort items according to a given set of rules. As with the Classifying test, the rules vary in complexity, and they may deliberately differ from the filing conventions you are used to. Reading the rule carefully before you start is the whole exercise.

• Format: 6 problems
• Time: approximately 6 minutes
• Scoring: Percentage of correct answers. No penalty for guessing
• Total time with practice session: approximately 10 minutes

BKSB - Basic Keyboard Skills Battery

The Basic Keyboard Skills Battery measures raw keyboard speed and accuracy. It contains two tests and is used for roles where the majority of the work is data collection and document production. Unlike the BCAB, both BKSB tests are scored on speed and accuracy together, so rushing at the cost of errors will not help your score.

1. Data Entry Test

This test measures how quickly and accurately you can transfer information from a paper form into a fixed-format screen on a computer. You are given three information forms and must enter the contents of each into the correct on-screen fields. The forms are not laid out the same way as the entry screen, so part of the task is locating the right piece of information before typing it.

• Format: 3 forms, entered into fixed-field screens
• Time: 2 to 4 minutes per form depending on the form, approximately 23 minutes including instruction and practice
• Scoring: Speed and accuracy combined

2. Production Typing Test

A straight typing test. You are given a text in paper format and must type it accurately within the time limit.

• Format: 1 text, typed from paper
• Time: 7 minutes, approximately 15 minutes including the practice session
• Scoring: Typing speed and accuracy

ACAB - Advanced Competency Assessment Batteries

The Advanced Competency Assessment Batteries are used for senior administrative and support roles that involve substantial computer work. ACAB contains four computer-based work samples that simulate real job tasks rather than testing abstract skills. If you have been asked to sit ACAB, expect a considerably longer testing session.

1. Simulation Work Sample

A computerized simulation that assesses multitasking, organization, and prioritization. You take on the role of an administrative assistant supporting six employees at a fictional company. You are given four tasks and can tackle them in any order, but while you work you receive incoming emails and phone calls that interrupt you and shift what is urgent. It functions much like an in-basket exercise.

• Format: 1 simulation, 4 assigned tasks, ongoing interruptions
• Time: 30 minutes after the instruction and practice section
• Measures: Prioritization, multitasking, information handling under interruption

2. Data Entry / Database Work Sample

A three-part test built around purchase order processing, assessing data entry and database competence at a higher level than the BKSB version.

• Part I: Enter a purchase order from a handwritten request that is formatted differently from the entry screen. 2 samples, 4 minutes each
• Part II: Enter a purchase order that is incomplete, using the supplied instructions to locate the missing information. 2 samples, 6 minutes each
• Part III: Review a purchase order for completeness and accuracy and correct it as needed. 2 samples, 4 minutes each
• Time: 28 minutes, approximately 65 minutes including practice
• Scoring: Parts I and II on speed and accuracy, Part III on accuracy only

3. Word Processing

Two tests measuring competence with word processing software.

• Revised Copy Typing: Proofread, correct, and type a document from paper. The source text contains errors, handwritten corrections, and formatting notations you must apply. 5 minute limit
• Text Editing: Perform editing functions such as centering, bold, italic, underline, changing font type and size, search and replace, and copy, cut, and paste. 5 items in 90 seconds
• Time: approximately 50 minutes for both tests including instruction and practice
• Scoring: Speed and accuracy

4. Spreadsheet

A three-part test of spreadsheet ability. It does not require any one specific application, since it uses procedures common to all major spreadsheet programs.

• Part I: Enter handwritten data into a spreadsheet and format the fields as instructed. 2 samples, 5 minutes each
• Part II: Create, copy, and modify spreadsheet formulas and format cells. 2 samples, 3 minutes each
• Part III: Review a spreadsheet against the source paperwork and correct any discrepancies. 2 samples, 4 minutes each
• Time: 24 minutes, approximately 65 minutes including practice
• Scoring: Parts I and II on speed and accuracy

The four questions below are drawn from the BCAB, the battery nearly every SASS candidate sits. They cover classifying, spelling and grammar, and basic mathematics, which together make up three of the four BCAB tests.

Get the most out of them by working the way you would on test day. Commit to an answer before you reveal it, and keep an eye on the clock, since every BCAB test is scored under real time pressure. Then read the explanation whether you got it right or wrong. On a test this fast, the method you used matters more than the answer you landed on, and the explanations show you the shortest route to each one.

The BKSB and ACAB tests cannot be shown as static questions. Data entry, production typing, the simulation work sample, word processing, and spreadsheets are all live computer-based tasks scored on speed and accuracy, so the only meaningful way to practice them is in a timed simulation.