This CAST cheat sheet distills the EEI Construction and Skilled Trades battery into a printable rundown of the mechanical, math, and reading facts the test rewards most. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Reinforce it with the rest of your free CAST toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
CAST exam at a glance
- Questions: 110 across 4 separately timed sections (legacy CAST)
- Time: ~87 minutes of testing (sessions run ~2 hours with instructions and breaks)
- Scoring: One EEI Index score, 1-10 — no universal pass mark; each utility sets its own minimum
- Administered by: Individual EEI member utilities (online, paper, or test center)
- Cost: No candidate fee — paid for by the hiring utility
What’s on the CAST cheat sheet
- Mechanical Concepts (44 Qs · ~40%) — the largest section — read pulley, lever, gear, and hydraulic setups fast, anchored to mechanical advantage = output force ÷ input force.
- Reading for Comprehension (32 Qs · ~29%) — answer only from the work passage in front of you; tell a stated detail from the main idea and an inference.
- Mathematical Usage (18 Qs · ~16%, legacy) — fast applied arithmetic — formulas, unit conversions, percentages, and ratios at roughly 23 seconds each.
- Graphic Arithmetic (16 Qs · ~15%) — pull dimensions off a print, apply the stated scale, then compute lengths, areas, and ratios.
How to use it in your final week
- Give Mechanical Concepts the most reps — at 44 questions it's the largest section and the biggest mover of your EEI Index score.
- Rehearse the section clocks separately (Mathematical Usage is 18 questions in about 7 minutes) so pacing is automatic — you can't borrow time between sections.
- Memorize the fraction-to-percent conversions on the sheet (1/4 = 25%, 1/8 = 12.5%) for instant recall on the fast math section.
- Read the sheet the morning of the test for a final pass on the mechanical-advantage rules and the scale-conversion steps.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your CAST practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.
CAST cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — the CAST cheat sheet downloads as a PDF at no cost and with no sign-up. It sits alongside Career Employer's free CAST practice test, study guide, and flashcards, so your whole EEI prep stack is free.
It condenses the highest-yield facts from all four EEI sections into a single quick reference: mechanical-advantage rules for pulleys, levers, gears, and hydraulics; graphic-arithmetic scale conversions; the fast Mathematical Usage setups; and reading-for-comprehension tactics. Everything is grouped by section so you can drill your weakest area first.
No — there is no universal passing score. Your four section scores combine into one EEI Index score on a 1-to-10 scale that predicts job success, and each hiring utility sets the minimum it accepts. Many want at least a 4 or 5, and competitive roles look for a 6 or higher, so the sheet frames your goal as the highest index you can earn, not a fixed cut line.
Yes — the sheet teaches all four cognitive sections, so it fits either version. The current CAST-R keeps Graphic Arithmetic, Mechanical Concepts, and Reading for Comprehension and swaps Mathematical Usage for the Work Preferences Inventory, a work-style questionnaire you answer honestly rather than study. Confirm which version your utility administers.
Use the download button or the preview card at the top of this page to open the PDF instantly. Bookmark the page so you can pull it up again for a final review the morning of your test.
References
- 1.Edison Electric Institute. “Employment Test Batteries (CAST-R Brochure).” Edison Electric Institute, 2026. ↑
- 2.Edison Electric Institute. “CAST-R Student Practice Tests (© 2020 EEI).” Southern Company (EEI-licensed). ↑
- 3.Southern California Edison. “Information Guide — EEI CAST (Test #5108).” Southern California Edison (EEI-licensed). ↑
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