I have an Ignite entry exam coming up in about 3 weeks and I'm having a hard time finding solid prep information. The program info sheet mentions math and reading comprehension but doesn't break it down any further. I've been out of school for 4 years working in retail management, so my math skills are functional but definitely rusty on anything beyond basic algebra.
I've been spending about 45 minutes a day on Khan Academy refreshing pre-algebra and doing reading comprehension exercises. My practice reading scores have been consistent around 80-85%, so I'm not worried about that section. The math is more variable — I'm hitting 70-75% on basic arithmetic and percentages but dropping to around 60% on anything involving fractions or ratios.
The program I'm applying for is a workforce training track, so I'm guessing the math ceiling isn't calculus or anything advanced. But I don't want to under-prepare and miss the cutoff because I assumed it was easier than it actually is. That's happened to me before on a different test.
Has anyone taken this recently? Specifically I want to know if there's any science section or if it really is just math and reading, and what the approximate passing threshold looks like.
Passing cutoff at my testing site was communicated as a 70% overall, but I've heard it varies by program track. Your reading scores alone put you in a strong position — just close the math gap on fractions specifically and you're probably fine.
Your 60% on fractions and ratios is the thing to focus on — that's exactly the category that shows up most. Two weeks of daily drill specifically on fraction operations and ratio word problems should get you into the 80% range, which is where you want to be going in.
I took the Ignite exam about 8 months ago for a healthcare workforce track. It was math, reading, and a short writing section — no science at all. The math didn't go beyond ratios, fractions, basic percentages, and word problems. Nothing that would trip up someone who's done solid prep on those specific areas.
The writing section caught me off guard because nobody mentioned it beforehand. It was just one short paragraph response to a prompt — maybe 150-200 words. They're looking for basic organization and grammar, not polish. Answer the prompt directly and use complete sentences and you're fine.
I took mine last spring and the math was way more about reasoning than computation. Fractions, percentages, basic algebra — nothing wild, but if you haven't touched it in a while it'll feel rusty. What actually helped me was going through each wrong answer and figuring out why it was wrong, not just marking the right one and moving on. Like if you picked C and the answer was B, make yourself explain what trap C was setting. That habit changed everything for me.
Reading comprehension is the same deal. Don't just find the answer and move on — ask yourself why the other three choices didn't work. Usually one of them is a "close but too extreme" trap and one is a detail that's technically in the passage but doesn't actually answer the question. Once you start seeing those patterns you're not really memorizing anything, you're just getting better at the test itself. Three weeks is enough time if you're consistent about it.
I took the Ignite entry exam back in March and the math section is where most people trip up. It's not just arithmetic -- there's a decent amount of fractions, percentages, and basic algebra. What actually helped me wasn't drilling answer choices but going back and figuring out exactly why I got something wrong. Like if I missed a percentage problem, I didn't just look at the right answer and move on, I worked through it step by step until I understood which part of my reasoning broke down. That shift made a huge difference.
For reading comprehension, the questions are designed to trick you into picking answers that sound right but aren't quite what the passage said. So when you're practicing, get in the habit of going back to the text and proving to yourself why each wrong answer is wrong, not just why the right one is right. It feels slower but it builds actual skill instead of just pattern matching. With three weeks you've got enough time if you're deliberate about it.