EIAT study guide: the official topics, worked examples and a four-week plan

NEIEP publishes a free EIAT study guide (a short PDF, linked in the sources below). It tells you the test's structure, the topics to review, and gives example questions for each section with an answer key, but no explanations. This page summarizes what that guide covers, shows how to work its example questions, and lays out a four-week plan to prepare.

What the official study guide says

• Format: 100 multiple-choice questions, administered on paper.
• Sections: reading comprehension (35), mechanical aptitude (35), mathematics (30).
• Purpose: "not an assessment of how much you already know about being an elevator constructor", but of the thinking skills needed to work and learn in the trade.

NEIEP's FAQ adds that the EIAT is pass/fail with 70% as the minimum passing grade, and that tool assessment answers count toward your interview score.

Topics to review, section by section

Section	Topics NEIEP lists	Our refresher
Mathematics (30)	Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, percentages; solving equations, manipulating formulas, basic algebraic expressions	Math section, fractions and decimals, order of operations
Mechanical aptitude (35)	Levers, pulleys and gears; hydraulics (area and pressure); fulcrums and balancing weights	Mechanical section, gears, levers, pulleys, hydraulics
Reading comprehension (35)	Identifying main ideas and key concepts; relationships between ideas; drawing conclusions	Reading section

Working NEIEP's example math questions

The study guide gives three math examples, each with five choices ending in "No answer". Here is how to do them by hand.

1. Dividing with decimals: 125.4 ÷ 6.2

Move the decimal point one place right in both numbers so you divide by a whole number: 1254 ÷ 62. Sixty-two goes into 125 twice (124), leaving 1; bring down the 4 to get 14, which 62 does not go into, so the next digit is 0. That gives 20 with 14 left over. Continue past the decimal point: 140 ÷ 62 = 2 remainder 16, then 160 ÷ 62 = 2. So the result is about 20.22, and NEIEP's key gives the option 20.2. Note that the keyed option is rounded to one decimal place, so compare your result at the precision the options are written in before reaching for "No answer".

2. Multiplying mixed numbers: 3 1/2 × 2/3

Convert the mixed number first: 3 1/2 = 7/2. Then 7/2 × 2/3: the 2s cancel, leaving 7/3, which is 2 1/3. Cancelling before you multiply keeps the numbers small.

3. Order of operations: (15.6 − (3.2 × 2)) ÷ 2.5, then ÷ 0.5

1. Innermost parentheses: 3.2 × 2 = 6.4.
2. Outer parentheses: 15.6 − 6.4 = 9.2.
3. Divide by 2.5: 9.2 ÷ 2.5 is the same as 92 ÷ 25 = 3.68.
4. Divide by 0.5, which is the same as doubling: 3.68 × 2 = 7.36.

Writing each intermediate result down is what stops a slip in step 3 carrying into step 4.

What the mechanical examples teach

NEIEP's four mechanical examples are all diagrams with three choices. Without reproducing them, the principles they test are:

• Gear trains: meshed gears turn in opposite directions, so trace the direction gear by gear to the output.
• A single fixed pulley: it only changes the direction of the pull. Pulling the rope sideways or straight down moves the load at the same speed as the rope, so the direction you pull makes no difference to speed.
• Ladder stability: a ladder whose foot is further from the wall pushes outward harder and is more likely to slip; the steeper ladder is more likely to stay up.
• Belts, gears and racks: follow the motion from a belt-driven pulley through gears to a toothed rack, noting where direction reverses.

What the reading example teaches

The reading example is a short passage with four numbered gaps and four word choices per gap. Every option is a real word, and several fit the grammar. The right one fits the meaning of the whole passage. Read to the end before answering, and predict the kind of word needed before looking at the options.

A four-week EIAT study plan

This plan assumes a few hours a week. The principle throughout: practice the way you will sit the test, on paper and against a clock. NEIEP's public materials do not say whether calculators are allowed, so leave yours out.

Week 1: find out where you stand

Work NEIEP's official examples, then take one timed section from each area plus tools on our EIAT practice page. Do not revise first; you want a baseline. The weakest section gets the biggest share of the next two weeks.

Week 2: rebuild the arithmetic

• Long division with decimals, until moving the decimal point is automatic.
• Mixed numbers to improper fractions, then multiplying and dividing them.
• Order of operations on nested expressions, writing every step down.
• Percentages built from 10% (5% is half of it, 15% is the two added).
• One-step and two-step equations.

Twenty minutes a day beats three hours on a Sunday.

Week 3: mechanical and tools

Learn the core rules: gears alternate direction and smaller gears turn faster; turning effect is force times distance from the pivot; count rope sections supporting a load; hydraulic force follows piston area; wide, low objects are hard to tip. Then spend an evening on reading a tape measure and common hand tools, since tool assessment answers count toward your interview score.

Week 4: full timed runs and the interview

Sit complete timed sections back to back on paper. Note where you slow down. Then switch to the interview, which is what ranks you: have clear answers for why this trade, what you know about the work, and examples of reliability and teamwork.

The day before

Do not cram. Reread your notes on the formats, check your test-day instructions and what to bring, and sleep. Hand arithmetic gets worse when you are tired.

Want questions to practice on right now? Try our free EIAT sample questions with answers.