What's a Good Score on the IBEW Aptitude Test?

You need a 4 out of 9 to qualify for an interview, but the IBEW aptitude test is a ranked list, so higher is much better. Here's how the 1-9 stanine works and what to aim for.

Short answer: most locals need at least a 4 out of 9 to qualify for an interview. But a 4 sits right around average, and because it's a ranked list, the higher you score the better your position. Treat a 4 as the door, not the goal. Aim for a 6 or better to be competitive, and an 8 or 9 to really stand out.

The scoring on this test confuses people, partly because it doesn't work like the tests you took in school. So let's break down what the number actually means and what you should be shooting for.

The 1 to 9 stanine scale

The IBEW aptitude test (run by the electrical training ALLIANCE and given through your local JATC) is scored on a stanine scale from 1 to 9. A stanine isn't the percentage of questions you got right. It's a comparison score: it places you against everyone else who took the test, not against an answer key.

On that scale, 5 is the exact middle. Scores of 1 to 4 fall at or below average, and 6 to 9 climb above it. So a 4, the number most locals ask for, is not a high score. It's roughly average, and it's the minimum bar to be considered.

What score you actually need

The common cutoff is a 4 to qualify for an interview. It varies a little by local: some will interview a candidate who scores a 3, and others hold the line at a 5. Your local JATC sets its own bar, so it's worth confirming theirs.

Why "just qualifying" is the wrong target

Here's the part that trips people up. Passing the aptitude test doesn't get you into the apprenticeship. It gets you onto a ranked list of applicants. Slots are filled from the top down, so your score doesn't just decide whether you move forward, it decides how far up the list you sit and how soon you get called.

That changes the goal. Scraping a 4 might technically qualify you and still leave you far enough down the list that you wait a long time, or don't get called before the list refreshes. A 6, 7, or higher moves you up meaningfully. If you're going to put in the study time, aim well above the cutoff.

The honest bit about the exact score

The official tables that convert your raw answers into a stanine aren't public, so no prep site can tell you the precise cutoff of correct answers for each level, and anyone who claims to is guessing. What everyone does agree on is the shape: 4 to qualify, 5 is average, higher is better.

That's why the useful thing isn't a promised number, it's an honest estimate of where you'd land right now. The free VLTG practice test gives you an estimated stanine along with the skills that are keeping it down, so you can see how much room there is between "qualifies" and "competitive," and close it.

Take the free practice test →: see your estimated stanine and what's holding it back.

Sources: electrical training ALLIANCE, "Applying for Apprenticeship"; Warren Electrical JATC (qualifying score of 4 or higher); and the standard definition of the 1-9 stanine scale. Qualifying scores vary by local, so confirm with your own JATC.