Canadian Forces Aptitude Test (CFAT) [MERGED]

[Burnsy]

Does anyone know what the minimum mark on the CFAT is, concerning officer positions?

 

[dano]

Minimum is 20. I scored 11.

Year before that was a 7 I think, they never told me.

I did worse on the math section.

 

[jutes85]

Just to be on the right track, we are talking about the Aptidute tests during reqruitment, right?

Anyways, after the CFAT I had my interview and the guy told me I scored a perfect score on my Math, but the English part was around 80%, probably because I was not born in Canada.

However, I did not recieve a list of trades I was qualified for, probably did not matter though .

Best advise I can give from experience is take your time and skip the questions you have trouble with and return later. It is not the hardest test in the world and anyone with atleast a grade 10 education and some concentration can pass it.

 

[pingu]

got my cfat tomorow morning..was wondering, i take it there are to calculators allowed? i know im gonna bomb the math part of it..ive been looking over some basic math just to get the feel...

:evil:

 

[ErorZ]

You are only allowed pen and paper... nothing else, Good luck for tomorrow!

 

[Ipsofacto]

As a recent applicant to the CAF, I‘d like to say how pleased I am to be a part of this little fraternity of hopefuls on ARMY.CA.

CFAT: what pearls of wisdom can you dispense regarding this thing? I‘ve seen suggestions to tackle the Graduate Recruitment Test as a means of preparation, but is this an accurate representation of what to expect when sitting for the CFAT? ‘Graduate‘ implies something other than high school, to my way of thinking, and I thought that the minimum criteria for the CAF was grade 10. Is there a humane way to prepare for CAFT apart from the practice GRT?

 

[D-n-A]

practice your math and english skills I guess

 

[bossi]

Well, it really wouldn‘t be an accurate test of YOUR aptitude if we coached you, would it ... ?

If you are still in school, you should still be in good shape when it comes to writing tests of any sort. And, you‘re right - the level of questions is geared towards the level of the traditional applicants (that‘s why the test can be more difficult for people who apply after they‘ve been out of school for a couple of years - they‘ve forgotten how to write tests or examinations ...)

Just for fun, you could look at some sample questions from a variety of sources - Law School Admission Test (LSAT), GMAT, or any other package that‘s readily available at the bookstore or school guidance counsellor (after all, you‘re just looking for some questions to keep your skills sharp, right?)

Once upon a time when I was in high school, there was a mathematics competition - our school even had a math club - you might find some similar material in your school.

Good luck - do your best - that‘s all anybody expects of you.

 

[Exodeus]

I wouldn‘t worry about the CFAT...Get a good night‘s rest and a large cup of Timmy‘s right before the test and you‘ll do fine! Just keep your mind open! Remember that it‘s not a test on what you know...it‘s your ability to learn!

 

[Trey]

I would for sure brush up on basic math skills, ala, dealing with fractions, multiplying/dividing by hand, ect. Easy stuff, but sometimes we rely on calculators too much, eh?

As for the English bit, I wouldn‘t sweat it. For things like that, you either know it or you don‘t; no sense worrying about it.

 

[ringo_mountbatten]

I think whomever told you to see use the GRT as a guide mark might be more than a little off. The CFAT doesn‘t for the most part have anything on it that is beyond grade 10 subject matter. The best pre-test stuff is what is on the public works website.

 

[venero]

Don‘t forget to fill In every question, I think that helped me a lot. I looked at the GRT to practice and I don‘t think that it is even close to what the CFAT was like.

 

[AlphaCharlie]

For infantry you need to score 18/60...

a little off topic, but what exactly is SigOp? I see everyone and their grandmothers trying to get into that trade.....

 

[GrahamD]

Originally posted by RJG:
[qb] The thing with the CFAT is that it is highly impractical, the vocabulary test is of words that nobody uses. The best way to answer them is to look at the type of word, for instance the word agressive, if you didn‘t know what it meant, you could guess on the very grounds that it sounds like anger. Ofcourse all the words you won‘t be able to guess that way, but try and see if there is any indications in even the spelling of the word.

For the Mathematical part, the best thing i found was to use a system of elimination. Eliminate the impossible and what you are left with, however improbable, must be the right answer. (I heard that somewhere, not sure where though.) So if you have a question for instance, what would $15,678.00 come to with taxes, you know right away its going to be above 17,000. and less than $19,000.

Skip answers you don‘t know and go back, try and eliminate some answers if possible. [/qb]

Saying that the pronounciation or spelling of a word should indicate its meaning is ludicrous. Unless you‘re talking about knowing the latin roots of the English language, you can‘t really problem solve a word. You might as well fill in the multiple choice A/C/D/C/A/C/D/C. Because you will get a similar result.

The math results will not be "improbable" they will be the precise answer to the question asked. The best way to solve the problem is to use the correct mathmatical formula for the problem.
If you don‘t know the formula for the question you are looking at you should skip it until you find a question you know. Then if you have time left over you can take some wild guesses at, or work through, the ones you skipped.

It‘s difficult to prepare for spacial ability outside of looking into some geometry text books.
The problems get pretty whacky though and you either know how to solve them or you don‘t.

As mentioned in the fitness forum, if you‘re struggling with the admission requirements, you‘re setting yourself up for a hard time. The CFAT was VERY easy, if you struggle to succeed at basic highschool (and elementray school) formulas and vocabulary while in the cozy environment of a CFRC after a good nights sleep with a minimum of pressure, I cringe to think of what will happen when you need to make some calculations in the field while people are firing automatic weapons at you.

 

[CWeb26F]

Graham, why are you saying that the spelling of a word can‘t be used to figure out what it means? For example, someone once posted somewhere that one of the words on the test was ‘Sequacious.‘ Now, I didn‘t know exactly what that meant, but hey, it sounds like, and is spelled like, ‘Sequence‘ is it not? If something is in a sequence, one thing follows another. Therefore, I deduced, ‘Sequacious‘ must have something to do with following. And hey, just checked Dictionary.com, and I‘m right.

The example used was maybe not the greatest, however. ‘Anger‘ is from the Old Norse root ‘angr-‘ while aggresive is ultimately from the Latin ‘aggressio.‘ Not the same word at all. However, no harm in using a word you DO know that sounds like/ is spelled like a test word you DON‘T know is there? Unless you‘re running out of time.

 

[bossi]

Etymology is extremely useful - U of Toronto even offers a course called "Greek and Latin in Scientific Terminology"! (and, no - don‘t confuse the origin of words with "entomology" - the study of insects ... although ... on some missions, you do run into some bugs ... chuckle!)

Etymology is also useful in the context of linguistics, and learning languages - as suggested earlier, you can make educated guesses about the meaning of words (which comes in REALLY handy when it‘s not your native language).

entomology - 1766, from Fr. entomologie (1764), coined from Gk. entomon "insect" + logia "study of." Entomon is neut. of entomos "having a notch or cut (at the waist)," so called by Aristotle in reference to the segmented division of insect bodies, from en- "in" + temnein "to cut." Compare insect.

Wow - visiting www.etymonline.com there‘s even a link for US Army careers in entomology!

US Army recruiting (related to entomology!)

 

[Michael OLeary]

Being able to bang out mathematical equations in a minute is no indication of how one will react while bullets are flying past your head.

Unless, of course, it‘s your job to make complex decisions under stress while being under assault: like making computations to develop gun data (mortar and gun position officers and NCOs), calculate the corrections to direct artillery fire (FOOs or other combat arms officers or NCOs), or direct the immediate tactical tasks of diverse combat organizations with various weapon systems (commanders at all levels, sect to brigade, in all trades on the potentially complex modern battlefield).

Not all expected reactions to incoming fire are simple reflexes. When it counts, soldiers do need the capacity for quick and accurate problem-solving, the CFAT is a very basic indication of mental agility and ability.

 

[koach]

The E-CFAT was introduced just recently and all centres have not yet been outfitted with the system.

With regards to the actual test, applicant are not permitted to discuss the contents of the test outside of the testing room.

The only part of the test that you could actually study for is math.

 

[MP1]

Needing to find out info on CFAT scoring for trade 811...Yes MP. Can anyone offer info?

"A COWARD DIES A THOUSAND DEATHS, A SOLDIER DIES BUT ONCE"

 

[MikeM]

Infantry would be combat arms, which he mentioned. Therefore yes, it is the same as infantry I have also heard the same thing as I was looking into MP, but I‘m going infantry.