CAT4 practice test: all eight tests, on the real clocks, free

168 questions · 72 minutes · scored the moment you finish · no sign-up

This free CAT4-style practice test has 168 original questions across all eight CAT4 tests, in GL Assessment's order and on GL's clocks: two non-verbal tests, two verbal, two number and two spatial, 72 minutes in all. Your child sees every kind of question CAT4 asks before the day it matters, and you see which formats feel new, with every answer explained in plain words.

168
questions, eight tests: 72 min
on GL's clocks: 8-10 min
for each test: Free
no sign-up

Last checked 13 November 2026 · Test names and timings from GL Assessment's CAT4 support pages and timing charts

168
questions
72 min
time limit
Free
instant score

8 timed parts, each on its own clock: Figure Classification, 24 questions in 10 minutes, then Figure Matrices, 24 questions in 10 minutes, then Verbal Classification, 24 questions in 8 minutes, then Verbal Analogies, 24 questions in 8 minutes, then Number Analogies, 18 questions in 10 minutes, then Number Series, 18 questions in 8 minutes, then Figure Analysis, 18 questions in 9 minutes, then Figure Recognition, 18 questions in 9 minutes. A part's clock starts when you begin it, and you cannot go back to an earlier part.

By the LifeScore Editorial Team · Updated 13 November 2026 · How we check facts · How this is scored

Why would my child do a CAT4 practice test?

So the formats are familiar. CAT4 is short, fast and full of question types most children have never seen, and a child who meets them for the first time under the clock can freeze and score below what they can really do.

Most children sit CAT4 at school with little warning, often at the start of Year 7 or before a move up, and the results are used to plan teaching, to group pupils, and in some schools to help decide a place. Eight tests of 8 to 10 minutes each, with shapes to fold in the mind and number rules to spot, can feel like a wall to a child who has never seen anything like it. Some rush, some stop, and some spend four minutes on the first question.

The aim here is the opposite: a child who has seen a folded square of paper before, knows that the number questions are about a rule and not long sums, and walks in calm. That child shows what they can do. That is all a practice test can honestly offer, and it is worth having.

GL Assessment says plainly that it advises against any kind of practice before CAT4 and does not endorse any practice materials, ours included, because CAT4 is not a test of learnt knowledge and coaching could make a score less accurate. We take that seriously. Our questions are for meeting the formats once or twice so nothing on the day is a shock, not for drilling a child towards a number.

What is on this CAT4 practice test?

All eight tests from CAT4 Levels A to G, in GL's order and on GL's clocks: 168 original questions with five answers each, from gentle openers to harder questions near the end of each test.

The eight CAT4 tests (GL Assessment) and their clocks
Test	Battery	Time	What your child does
Figure Classification	Non-verbal Reasoning	10 min	Three shapes that belong together; pick the one that goes with them
Figure Matrices	Non-verbal Reasoning	10 min	A grid of shapes with one missing; pick the shape that completes the pattern
Verbal Classification	Verbal Reasoning	8 min	Three words that belong together; pick the word that goes with them
Verbal Analogies	Verbal Reasoning	8 min	A pair of linked words; complete a second pair linked the same way
Number Analogies	Quantitative Reasoning	10 min	Pairs of numbers made by one rule; complete the last pair
Number Series	Quantitative Reasoning	8 min	A row of numbers made by a rule; pick the next one
Figure Analysis	Spatial Ability	9 min	A square of paper is folded and punched; pick how it looks unfolded
Figure Recognition	Spatial Ability	9 min	Find the design that hides a target shape, the same size and the same way round

What this practice test copies, and what it does not
Tests	All eight Level A to G tests, in GL's running order, each on GL's clock
Questions	168 original questions, five answers each: 24 for each verbal and non-verbal test, 18 for each number and spatial test, matching GL's battery totals
Clock	72 minutes of tests in all, 8 to 10 minutes each
Pictures	Shape, grid, fold and hidden-shape questions drawn on screen, each with one clearly correct answer
Not copied	The younger Pre-A, X and Y format, GL's exact questions, and GL's norms
The result	Percent correct for each test and battery and a practice band. Not a Standard Age Score, stanine or percentile

GL's sample report gives 48 verbal, 36 quantitative, 48 non-verbal and 36 spatial questions. GL does not say how each battery splits between its two tests on the pages we could read, so we split each one evenly. The exact count on your child's test may differ a little; the formats and the clocks are what matter.

How should my child take a CAT4 practice test at home?

In one or two calm sittings, at a table, with a parent nearby but not helping. Read the instructions together the first time, then let the clock run so the pace feels normal.

Pick a time when your child is fresh, not after a long school day. The whole test is 72 minutes of questions; splitting it after the four verbal and non-verbal tests is fine.
Explain that this is practice for the format, not a test of how clever they are, and that nobody gets every question right.
Let them work alone. If they are stuck, the right move is to skip and come back, which is what the real test rewards.
Afterwards, look at the results together and pick one format that felt strange. Try that one free drill another day.
Then stop. One full practice and a couple of drills is enough to know the formats; more than that is not what CAT4 is for.

Paper and screen versions of CAT4 have the same timings in GL's charts. Our test runs on screen; if your child's school uses paper, they will still have seen every format.

Can my child practise one part of CAT4 at a time?

Yes. Every one of the eight tests has a free 12-question drill at the real pace, on the guide for its battery.

CAT4 verbal reasoning
2 free drills
Verbal Classification and Verbal Analogies: how words are grouped and linked.
CAT4 quantitative reasoning
2 free drills
Number Analogies and Number Series: spotting the rule, with very little arithmetic.
CAT4 non-verbal reasoning
2 free drills
Figure Classification and Figure Matrices: patterns in shapes, without words.
CAT4 spatial reasoning
2 free drills
Figure Analysis and Figure Recognition: folding paper and finding hidden shapes.

What do CAT4 questions look like?

Short and quick, with five answers each. Here is one from each battery; two are worked step by step and the rest open when you tap.

CAT4-style question 1 · Figure classification
Which figure goes with the three that belong together?
1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D
5. E
Worked answer
B. All three are solid (filled in). Their shape, size and dots all change, so those do not matter. B, the solid hexagon, is the only solid option.
1. List what changes between the three: shape (triangle, circle, star), size and dots. Those cannot be the link.
2. List what stays the same: all three are solid.
3. Only B is solid. D is half shaded, which is not the same.
The trap: E, an outline star with one dot, copies the third figure's shape and dot. Matching one figure is not matching the link all three share.
CAT4-style question 2 · Verbal analogy
Which word completes the second pair in the same way as the first? puppy → dog kitten → ?
1. Alamb
2. Bcat
3. Cmilk
4. Dcub
5. Epurr
Show the worked answer
B: cat. A puppy grows up to be a dog; a kitten grows up to be a cat. The link runs from young to adult, in that order.
1. Make a sentence for the first pair: "a puppy grows up into a dog".
2. Use the same sentence on the second: "a kitten grows up into a ___".
3. Only "cat" fits.
The trap: "Cub" is another young animal: right family of words, wrong direction. Keep the sentence the same way round.
CAT4-style question 3 · Number analogy
The same rule turns the first number into the second in each pair. Which number completes the last pair? [3 → 9] [5 → 15] [8 → ?]
1. A14
2. B16
3. C24
4. D11
5. E21
Worked answer
C: 24. The rule is multiply by 3: 3 → 9, 5 → 15, so 8 → 24.
1. Try the simplest rule on the first pair: 3 to 9 could be "add 6" or "times 3".
2. Test both on the second pair: 5 + 6 = 11, not 15; 5 × 3 = 15. So it is "times 3".
3. Use it on 8: 8 × 3 = 24.
The trap: 14, from "add 6", which works for the first pair only. Always check the rule on both pairs.
CAT4-style question 4 · Folding and punching
The square of paper is folded, then holes are punched right through it. Which answer shows the paper unfolded?
1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D
5. E
Show the worked answer
B. The punch goes through both layers, so there are two holes. Unfolding mirrors the hole across the fold line in the middle: one in column 4 and one in column 1, both in row 2. That is B.
1. Count the layers: one fold makes two layers, so one punch makes two holes.
2. The hole is one cell in from the right edge, so its partner is one cell in from the left edge.
3. Same row, mirror position: row 2, columns 1 and 4. That is B.
The trap: D puts the second hole next to the fold. A mirror image is the same distance from the fold line on the other side, not beside it.

These were written for this page, so none is in a mock. More, each with the slip it catches, are on CAT4 sample questions.

After the free CAT4-style test

Seven more full mocks with new questions, and four more drills for each of the eight tests, every answer explained.

The CAT4 Pass Pack gives you 8 full mocks on the real clock, 32 drills of 12 questions for the sections that cost you points, and a predictor that turns your mocks into the odds of reaching your target. One payment, no subscription, and your free score stays free.

Prep courses for these tests usually cost $19 to $129. The CAT4 Pass Pack is US$39 (£29), once.

See the CAT4 Pass Pack How our questions are built and checked

8
timed mocks: 32
topic drills: 1
score predictor

How do I read my child's CAT4 practice result?

You see the percent correct for each test and battery and a practice band: Getting used to it, Finding the rhythm (45%+), Steady (60%+), Confident (75%+) or Very confident (88%+). These are our own bands, not CAT4 scores.

The real CAT4 gives Standard Age Scores, stanines and percentile ranks, which compare your child with thousands of children of exactly the same age. Only GL has those norms, so no practice test can produce a real SAS, and one that claims to is guessing. The CAT4 scores page explains what the real numbers mean.

What a practice result can show is useful in a different way. A battery well below the others usually means a format that has not clicked yet, not a gap in ability. A test with many blanks at the end means the clock, not the questions, was the problem. Both are things a calm second look can fix.

Whatever the score, keep the conversation about the formats. A child who hears "that one was new, let's look at how it works" goes into the real test calmer than one who hears a number.

What does more CAT4 practice cost?

The first full mock and a drill for every test are free. The CAT4 Pass Pack is £29 (US$39) once, with no subscription, for eight full mocks without repeated questions and four more drills for every test.

For comparison with other prep sites (prices seen on 13 November 2026): PiAcademy charges £79 for two full CAT4 practice tests, valid for a year, and Atom Learning charges £39.99 to £69.99 a month for its 11+ plans, with CAT4 mocks in a higher tier. Our Pass Pack is £29 once for eight.

You may well not need it. If the free mock goes smoothly and your child is relaxed about the formats, that is enough. The Pass Pack is for the child who found one battery strange and would like a few more goes at it, spread over a few weeks, or for a family preparing for a school that uses CAT4 in admissions.

Frequently asked questions

Is this the real CAT4?

No. It is CAT4-style practice with original questions written and generated for LifeScore. The real test belongs to GL Assessment and is run by schools.

Does GL Assessment recommend practice?

No. GL advises against practice and does not endorse any practice materials. We offer a look at the formats so nothing is a surprise, not coaching for a score.

How long is CAT4?

For Levels A to G the eight tests take 72 minutes, usually given in three sessions of about 40 minutes including instructions and practice questions.

What age is this practice test for?

Children taking Levels A to G, roughly Years 4 to 12. The younger Pre-A, X and Y levels use a different, shorter format that we do not copy.

Can this practice test give my child an SAS?

No. Standard Age Scores need GL's norms for children of the same age, which are not public. Our result is percent correct and a practice band.

Is the practice test free?

Yes, with no sign-up, and every test has a free drill. The Pass Pack, with seven more mocks and 32 drills, is one payment.

Let your child walk in calm

Eight full CAT4-style mocks on GL's clocks, four drills for every test and every answer explained, in one payment.