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For questions or information:

Choosing between Objective and Subjective Test Items

Multiple-Choice Test Items

True-false test items, matching test items, completion test items, essay test items, problem solving test items, performance test items.

Two Methods for Assessing Test Item Quality
Assistance Offered by The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning (CITL)
References for Further Reading

I. Choosing Between Objective and Subjective Test Items

There are two general categories of test items: (1) objective items which require students to select the correct response from several alternatives or to supply a word or short phrase to answer a question or complete a statement; and (2) subjective or essay items which permit the student to organize and present an original answer. Objective items include multiple-choice, true-false, matching and completion, while subjective items include short-answer essay, extended-response essay, problem solving and performance test items. For some instructional purposes one or the other item types may prove more efficient and appropriate. To begin out discussion of the relative merits of each type of test item, test your knowledge of these two item types by answering the following questions.

Quiz Answers

1 Sax, G., & Collet, L. S. (1968). An empirical comparison of the effects of recall and multiple-choice tests on student achievement. J ournal of Educational Measurement, 5 (2), 169–173. doi:10.1111/j.1745-3984.1968.tb00622.x

Paterson, D. G. (1926). Do new and old type examinations measure different mental functions? School and Society, 24 , 246–248.

When to Use Essay or Objective Tests

Essay tests are especially appropriate when:

the group to be tested is small and the test is not to be reused.
you wish to encourage and reward the development of student skill in writing.
you are more interested in exploring the student's attitudes than in measuring his/her achievement.
you are more confident of your ability as a critical and fair reader than as an imaginative writer of good objective test items.

Objective tests are especially appropriate when:

the group to be tested is large and the test may be reused.
highly reliable test scores must be obtained as efficiently as possible.
impartiality of evaluation, absolute fairness, and freedom from possible test scoring influences (e.g., fatigue, lack of anonymity) are essential.
you are more confident of your ability to express objective test items clearly than of your ability to judge essay test answers correctly.
there is more pressure for speedy reporting of scores than for speedy test preparation.

Either essay or objective tests can be used to:

measure almost any important educational achievement a written test can measure.
test understanding and ability to apply principles.
test ability to think critically.
test ability to solve problems.
test ability to select relevant facts and principles and to integrate them toward the solution of complex problems.

In addition to the preceding suggestions, it is important to realize that certain item types are better suited than others for measuring particular learning objectives. For example, learning objectives requiring the student to demonstrate or to show , may be better measured by performance test items, whereas objectives requiring the student to explain or to describe may be better measured by essay test items. The matching of learning objective expectations with certain item types can help you select an appropriate kind of test item for your classroom exam as well as provide a higher degree of test validity (i.e., testing what is supposed to be tested). To further illustrate, several sample learning objectives and appropriate test items are provided on the following page.

After you have decided to use either an objective, essay or both objective and essay exam, the next step is to select the kind(s) of objective or essay item that you wish to include on the exam. To help you make such a choice, the different kinds of objective and essay items are presented in the following section. The various kinds of items are briefly described and compared to one another in terms of their advantages and limitations for use. Also presented is a set of general suggestions for the construction of each item variation.

II. Suggestions for Using and Writing Test Items

The multiple-choice item consists of two parts: (a) the stem, which identifies the question or problem and (b) the response alternatives. Students are asked to select the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. For example:

Sample Multiple-Choice Item

*correct response

Advantages in Using Multiple-Choice Items

Multiple-choice items can provide...

versatility in measuring all levels of cognitive ability.
highly reliable test scores.
scoring efficiency and accuracy.
objective measurement of student achievement or ability.
a wide sampling of content or objectives.
a reduced guessing factor when compared to true-false items.
different response alternatives which can provide diagnostic feedback.

Limitations in Using Multiple-Choice Items

Multiple-choice items...

are difficult and time consuming to construct.
lead an instructor to favor simple recall of facts.
place a high degree of dependence on the student's reading ability and instructor's writing ability.

Suggestions For Writing Multiple-Choice Test Items

Item alternatives.

13. Use at least four alternatives for each item to lower the probability of getting the item correct by guessing.

14. Randomly distribute the correct response among the alternative positions throughout the test having approximately the same proportion of alternatives a, b, c, d and e as the correct response.

15. Use the alternatives "none of the above" and "all of the above" sparingly. When used, such alternatives should occasionally be used as the correct response.

A true-false item can be written in one of three forms: simple, complex, or compound. Answers can consist of only two choices (simple), more than two choices (complex), or two choices plus a conditional completion response (compound). An example of each type of true-false item follows:

Sample True-False Item: Simple

Sample true-false item: complex, sample true-false item: compound, advantages in using true-false items.

True-False items can provide...

the widest sampling of content or objectives per unit of testing time.
an objective measurement of student achievement or ability.

Limitations In Using True-False Items

True-false items...

incorporate an extremely high guessing factor. For simple true-false items, each student has a 50/50 chance of correctly answering the item without any knowledge of the item's content.
can often lead an instructor to write ambiguous statements due to the difficulty of writing statements which are unequivocally true or false.
do not discriminate between students of varying ability as well as other item types.
can often include more irrelevant clues than do other item types.
can often lead an instructor to favor testing of trivial knowledge.

Suggestions For Writing True-False Test Items

In general, matching items consist of a column of stimuli presented on the left side of the exam page and a column of responses placed on the right side of the page. Students are required to match the response associated with a given stimulus. For example:

Sample Matching Test Item

Advantages in using matching items.

Matching items...

require short periods of reading and response time, allowing you to cover more content.
provide objective measurement of student achievement or ability.
provide highly reliable test scores.
provide scoring efficiency and accuracy.

Limitations in Using Matching Items

have difficulty measuring learning objectives requiring more than simple recall of information.
are difficult to construct due to the problem of selecting a common set of stimuli and responses.

Suggestions for Writing Matching Test Items

5. Keep matching items brief, limiting the list of stimuli to under 10.

6. Include more responses than stimuli to help prevent answering through the process of elimination.

7. When possible, reduce the amount of reading time by including only short phrases or single words in the response list.

The completion item requires the student to answer a question or to finish an incomplete statement by filling in a blank with the correct word or phrase. For example,

Sample Completion Item

According to Freud, personality is made up of three major systems, the _________, the ________ and the ________.

Advantages in Using Completion Items

Completion items...

can provide a wide sampling of content.
can efficiently measure lower levels of cognitive ability.
can minimize guessing as compared to multiple-choice or true-false items.
can usually provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability.

Limitations of Using Completion Items

are difficult to construct so that the desired response is clearly indicated.
are more time consuming to score when compared to multiple-choice or true-false items.
are more difficult to score since more than one answer may have to be considered correct if the item was not properly prepared.

Suggestions for Writing Completion Test Items

7. Avoid lifting statements directly from the text, lecture or other sources.

8. Limit the required response to a single word or phrase.

The essay test is probably the most popular of all types of teacher-made tests. In general, a classroom essay test consists of a small number of questions to which the student is expected to demonstrate his/her ability to (a) recall factual knowledge, (b) organize this knowledge and (c) present the knowledge in a logical, integrated answer to the question. An essay test item can be classified as either an extended-response essay item or a short-answer essay item. The latter calls for a more restricted or limited answer in terms of form or scope. An example of each type of essay item follows.

Sample Extended-Response Essay Item

Explain the difference between the S-R (Stimulus-Response) and the S-O-R (Stimulus-Organism-Response) theories of personality. Include in your answer (a) brief descriptions of both theories, (b) supporters of both theories and (c) research methods used to study each of the two theories. (10 pts. 20 minutes)

Sample Short-Answer Essay Item

Identify research methods used to study the S-R (Stimulus-Response) and S-O-R (Stimulus-Organism-Response) theories of personality. (5 pts. 10 minutes)

Advantages In Using Essay Items

Essay items...

are easier and less time consuming to construct than are most other item types.
provide a means for testing student's ability to compose an answer and present it in a logical manner.
can efficiently measure higher order cognitive objectives (e.g., analysis, synthesis, evaluation).

Limitations In Using Essay Items

cannot measure a large amount of content or objectives.
generally provide low test and test scorer reliability.
require an extensive amount of instructor's time to read and grade.
generally do not provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability (subject to bias on the part of the grader).

Suggestions for Writing Essay Test Items

4. Ask questions that will elicit responses on which experts could agree that one answer is better than another.

5. Avoid giving the student a choice among optional items as this greatly reduces the reliability of the test.

6. It is generally recommended for classroom examinations to administer several short-answer items rather than only one or two extended-response items.

Suggestions for Scoring Essay Items

Examples essay item and grading models.

"Americans are a mixed-up people with no sense of ethical values. Everyone knows that baseball is far less necessary than food and steel, yet they pay ball players a lot more than farmers and steelworkers."

WHY? Use 3-4 sentences to indicate how an economist would explain the above situation.

Analytical Scoring

Global quality.

Assign scores or grades on the overall quality of the written response as compared to an ideal answer. Or, compare the overall quality of a response to other student responses by sorting the papers into three stacks:

Read and sort each stack again divide into three more stacks

In total, nine discriminations can be used to assign test grades in this manner. The number of stacks or discriminations can vary to meet your needs.

Try not to allow factors which are irrelevant to the learning outcomes being measured affect your grading (i.e., handwriting, spelling, neatness).
Read and grade all class answers to one item before going on to the next item.
Read and grade the answers without looking at the students' names to avoid possible preferential treatment.
Occasionally shuffle papers during the reading of answers to help avoid any systematic order effects (i.e., Sally's "B" work always followed Jim's "A" work thus it looked more like "C" work).
When possible, ask another instructor to read and grade your students' responses.

Another form of a subjective test item is the problem solving or computational exam question. Such items present the student with a problem situation or task and require a demonstration of work procedures and a correct solution, or just a correct solution. This kind of test item is classified as a subjective type of item due to the procedures used to score item responses. Instructors can assign full or partial credit to either correct or incorrect solutions depending on the quality and kind of work procedures presented. An example of a problem solving test item follows.

Example Problem Solving Test Item

It was calculated that 75 men could complete a strip on a new highway in 70 days. When work was scheduled to commence, it was found necessary to send 25 men on another road project. How many days longer will it take to complete the strip? Show your work for full or partial credit.

Advantages In Using Problem Solving Items

Problem solving items...

minimize guessing by requiring the students to provide an original response rather than to select from several alternatives.
are easier to construct than are multiple-choice or matching items.
can most appropriately measure learning objectives which focus on the ability to apply skills or knowledge in the solution of problems.
can measure an extensive amount of content or objectives.

Limitations in Using Problem Solving Items

require an extensive amount of instructor time to read and grade.
generally do not provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability (subject to bias on the part of the grader when partial credit is given).

Suggestions For Writing Problem Solving Test Items

6. Ask questions that elicit responses on which experts could agree that one solution and one or more work procedures are better than others.

7. Work through each problem before classroom administration to double-check accuracy.

A performance test item is designed to assess the ability of a student to perform correctly in a simulated situation (i.e., a situation in which the student will be ultimately expected to apply his/her learning). The concept of simulation is central in performance testing; a performance test will simulate to some degree a real life situation to accomplish the assessment. In theory, a performance test could be constructed for any skill and real life situation. In practice, most performance tests have been developed for the assessment of vocational, managerial, administrative, leadership, communication, interpersonal and physical education skills in various simulated situations. An illustrative example of a performance test item is provided below.

Sample Performance Test Item

Assume that some of the instructional objectives of an urban planning course include the development of the student's ability to effectively use the principles covered in the course in various "real life" situations common for an urban planning professional. A performance test item could measure this development by presenting the student with a specific situation which represents a "real life" situation. For example,

An urban planning board makes a last minute request for the professional to act as consultant and critique a written proposal which is to be considered in a board meeting that very evening. The professional arrives before the meeting and has one hour to analyze the written proposal and prepare his critique. The critique presentation is then made verbally during the board meeting; reactions of members of the board or the audience include requests for explanation of specific points or informed attacks on the positions taken by the professional.

The performance test designed to simulate this situation would require that the student to be tested role play the professional's part, while students or faculty act the other roles in the situation. Various aspects of the "professional's" performance would then be observed and rated by several judges with the necessary background. The ratings could then be used both to provide the student with a diagnosis of his/her strengths and weaknesses and to contribute to an overall summary evaluation of the student's abilities.

Advantages In Using Performance Test Items

Performance test items...

can most appropriately measure learning objectives which focus on the ability of the students to apply skills or knowledge in real life situations.
usually provide a degree of test validity not possible with standard paper and pencil test items.
are useful for measuring learning objectives in the psychomotor domain.

Limitations In Using Performance Test Items

are difficult and time consuming to construct.
are primarily used for testing students individually and not for testing groups. Consequently, they are relatively costly, time consuming, and inconvenient forms of testing.
generally do not provide an objective measure of student achievement or ability (subject to bias on the part of the observer/grader).

Suggestions For Writing Performance Test Items

Prepare items that elicit the type of behavior you want to measure.
Clearly identify and explain the simulated situation to the student.
Make the simulated situation as "life-like" as possible.
Provide directions which clearly inform the students of the type of response called for.
When appropriate, clearly state time and activity limitations in the directions.
Adequately train the observer(s)/scorer(s) to ensure that they are fair in scoring the appropriate behaviors.

III. TWO METHODS FOR ASSESSING TEST ITEM QUALITY

This section presents two methods for collecting feedback on the quality of your test items. The two methods include using self-review checklists and student evaluation of test item quality. You can use the information gathered from either method to identify strengths and weaknesses in your item writing.

Checklist for Evaluating Test Items

EVALUATE YOUR TEST ITEMS BY CHECKING THE SUGGESTIONS WHICH YOU FEEL YOU HAVE FOLLOWED.

Grading Essay Test Items

Student evaluation of test item quality , using ices questionnaire items to assess your test item quality .

The following set of ICES (Instructor and Course Evaluation System) questionnaire items can be used to assess the quality of your test items. The items are presented with their original ICES catalogue number. You are encouraged to include one or more of the items on the ICES evaluation form in order to collect student opinion of your item writing quality.

IV. ASSISTANCE OFFERED BY THE CENTER FOR INNOVATION IN TEACHING AND LEARNING (CITL)

The information on this page is intended for self-instruction. However, CITL staff members will consult with faculty who wish to analyze and improve their test item writing. The staff can also consult with faculty about other instructional problems. Instructors wishing to acquire CITL assistance can contact [email protected] .

V. REFERENCES FOR FURTHER READING

Ebel, R. L. (1965). Measuring educational achievement . Prentice-Hall. Ebel, R. L. (1972). Essentials of educational measurement . Prentice-Hall. Gronlund, N. E. (1976). Measurement and evaluation in teaching (3rd ed.). Macmillan. Mehrens W. A. & Lehmann I. J. (1973). Measurement and evaluation in education and psychology . Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Nelson, C. H. (1970). Measurement and evaluation in the classroom . Macmillan. Payne, D. A. (1974). The assessment of learning: Cognitive and affective . D.C. Heath & Co. Scannell, D. P., & Tracy D. B. (1975). Testing and measurement in the classroom . Houghton Mifflin. Thorndike, R. L. (1971). Educational measurement (2nd ed.). American Council on Education.

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Problem solving test: Pre-employment screening assessment to hire the best candidates

Summary of the problem solving test.

This Problem Solving test evaluates candidates’ ability to define problems and analyze data and textual information to make correct decisions. This test helps you identify candidates who use analytical skills to evaluate and respond to complex situations.

Covered skills

Creating and adjusting schedules, interpreting data and applying logic to make decisions, prioritizing and applying order based on a given set of rules, analyzing textual and numerical information to draw conclusions, use the problem solving test to hire.

Any role that involves managing constantly shifting variables with tight deadlines. This may include administrative assistants, project managers, planners, and people working in hospitality or sales.

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About the Problem Solving test

Effective problem-solving requires a broad skill set that enables individuals, teams, and businesses to advance towards stated objectives. It involves the ability to define a problem, to break it down into manageable parts, to develop approaches to solve the (sub)problem using creativity and analytical thinking, and to execute flawlessly.

This problem solving test allows you to identify candidates who display these abilities. The test presents candidates with typical problem-solving scenarios like scheduling on the basis of a diverse set of conditions, identifying the right sequence of actions based on a number of business rules, and drawing conclusions based on textual and numerical information.

The test requires candidates to identify the right answers to the questions in a limited amount of time. Successful candidates can quickly identify the key elements of the problem and work through the problem at speed without making mistakes. This is a great test to include to check candidates' overall analytical skills.

The test is made by a subject-matter expert

The global IT industry has benefited from Anirban’s talents for over two decades. With a flawless reputation that precedes him, Anirban has earned a status as a sought-after agile project manager and consultant. He’s worked internationally as a Senior Project Manager with companies such as Ericsson, IBM, and T-Mobile.

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Why problem-solving is a crucial skill

We’ve all been thrown a curveball at work. An unexpected problem crops up and we need to make a plan to solve it. This is called problem-solving and it’s an important skill in most job roles because employees will encounter difficult or complex situations or problems that need to be solved.

Interestingly, unlike some career skills, problem-solving translates to both an individual’s personal and professional lives, making it crucial to potential success. But this may make it harder for recruiters to find the right candidate for a job where problem-solving skills are needed. In this case, a problem-solving test can help you find the best candidate capable of handling situations that influence business functions.

Problem-solving in the workplace

In business, problem-solving relies on a candidate’s ability to create processes that mitigate or remove obstacles that prevent the company from achieving its goals. Consequently, these issues or situations can create a gap between desired outcomes and actual results. This means that problem-solving plays an important role in how employees meet this challenge and work through it.

Roles such as project management, administrative assistance, and planning work with changing circumstances and tight deadlines on a day-to-day basis. When recruiting for these roles, finding candidates who have good problem-solving skills is crucial to their success in the role.

To gain insight into a candidate’s skill in this area, you can use a problem-solving test. Through expert formulation, a skill-specific test can help you understand a candidate’s level of proficiency. And testing your applicants before you start the interview process can highlight the candidates with the skills most relevant to the role.

A process-driven skill

In the workplace, there are important steps that can contribute to a candidate’s ability to successfully solve problems. Let’s take a look:

Identify the problem

Problem-solving begins with accurately identifying the problem. This determining factor looks at whether a candidate can find the origin and the implications of the problem. It includes:

• Differentiating between fact and opinion

• Compiling data to determine the problem

• Identifying underlying causes

• Recognizing which processes are affected• Pinpointing the process standard

By accurately identifying the problem, individuals can proceed to the next step to solve the problem.

Determine alternative solutions

Once an individual has established the source of the problem, they can determine alternative solutions. The goal of plotting solutions to the problem is to remedy it and realign it with business goals. A creative problem-solving test may identify whether an individual has the competency to determine solutions. Key competencies in seeking solutions include:

• Establishing alternative solutions that align with business goals

• Determining whether a problem needs short- or long-term solutions

• Evaluating how solutions may impact on resources; and determining if there are any barriers to implementing the solutions.

Although any problem can have multiple solutions, the simplest or fastest one may not always be the best course of action. This is where solution comparison comes into play.

Compare solutions and plot a course

Once all possible solutions are determined, it is important to compare them. This involves evaluating each solution without bias to determine the optimal solution to the problem.

Through the evaluation process, the individual should rule out options that do not align with company goals, may take too much time and/or resources, or are unrealistic in their approach.

Some considerations when determining the best solution include the likelihood of solution implementation, whether all parties involved will accept the solution, and how it fits in with business goals. Additionally, it is important to note that the goal of the optimal solution is to solve the problem without causing additional or unanticipated problems.

In essence, problem-solving is about finding solutions that cause as little disruption as possible and correcting a project’s course.

Implement the solution

The last stage in problem-solving is the implementation of the final step. This step focuses on the remedial solution and requires continuous evaluation to ensure its effective implementation. For you as a recruiter, knowing if a candidate can find a solution as well as implement it may be important to the goals of the role.

Continually evaluating the solution will give the individual insight into whether the project goals are aligned, whether all stakeholders accept the new solution and whether the outcomes are managed effectively.

Considerations for recruiters

When hiring for a role in which problem-solving skills are crucial, it may be beneficial to test a candidate’s ability to define problems and analyze data and textual information to make decisions that best serve the business. Some of the considerations for a problem-solving test include:

Schedules are living documents that need to adapt as eventualities come into play. Candidates should be able to understand what they can realistically achieve with the time and how to adjust schedules to account for variable outcomes.

Data-driven decision-making should inform a course of action before an individual commits to it. For recruiters, this means candidates should have an aptitude for aligning data with business goals and making actionable decisions.

By using prioritization rules and supporting information, candidates can determine which project tasks take priority. This system aims to optimize resources for project delivery.

Examining textual and numerical information to reveal patterns, relationships, and trends can tell the candidate what connection exists among variables. Conclusions can then be drawn from the data to gain an accurate assessment of the overall situation.

When broken down, problem-solving is a skill that relies on a variety of disciplines to achieve success. Although this skill is transferable to many job roles, determining candidates’ proficiency can be difficult, so it can be beneficial to recruiters to use a problem-solving test to review candidates’ aptitude when recruiting for a role.

Using a pre-formulated problem-solving test will enable you to quickly assess your candidates and help you recruit the best person for the role.

An assessment is the total package of tests and custom questions that you put together to evaluate your candidates. Each individual test within an assessment is designed to test something specific, such as a job skill or language. An assessment can consist of up to 5 tests and 20 custom questions. You can have candidates respond to your custom questions in several ways, such as with a personalized video.

Yes! Custom questions are great for testing candidates in your own unique way. We support the following question types: video, multiple-choice, coding, file upload, and essay. Besides adding your own custom questions, you can also create your own tests.

A video question is a specific type of custom question you can add to your assessment. Video questions let you create a question and have your candidates use their webcam to record a video response. This is an excellent way to see how a candidate would conduct themselves in a live interview, and is especially useful for sales and hospitality roles. Some good examples of things to ask for video questions would be "Why do you want to work for our company?" or "Try to sell me an item you have on your desk right now."

Besides video questions, you can also add the following types of custom questions: multiple-choice, coding, file upload, and essay. Multiple-choice lets your candidates choose from a list of answers that you provide, coding lets you create a coding problem for them to solve, file upload allows your candidates to upload a file that you request (such as a resume or portfolio), and essay allows an open-ended text response to your question. You can learn more about different custom question types here .

Yes! You can add your own logo and company color theme to your assessments. This is a great way to leave a positive and lasting brand impression on your candidates.

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We offer the following cognitive ability tests : Numerical Reasoning, Problem Solving, Attention to Detail, Reading Comprehension, and Critical Thinking.

Our cognitive ability tests allow you to test for skills that are difficult to evaluate in an interview. Check out our blog on why these tests are so useful and how to choose the best one for your assessment.

Related tests

Basic math calculations, mechanical reasoning, understanding instructions, attention to detail (visual), intermediate math, basic triple-digit math, basic double-digit math, attention to detail (textual), numerical reasoning, critical thinking.

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Self-Assessment • 20 min read

How Good Is Your Problem Solving?

Use a systematic approach..

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Good problem solving skills are fundamentally important if you're going to be successful in your career.

But problems are something that we don't particularly like.

They're time-consuming.

They muscle their way into already packed schedules.

They force us to think about an uncertain future.

And they never seem to go away!

That's why, when faced with problems, most of us try to eliminate them as quickly as possible. But have you ever chosen the easiest or most obvious solution – and then realized that you have entirely missed a much better solution? Or have you found yourself fixing just the symptoms of a problem, only for the situation to get much worse?

To be an effective problem-solver, you need to be systematic and logical in your approach. This quiz helps you assess your current approach to problem solving. By improving this, you'll make better overall decisions. And as you increase your confidence with solving problems, you'll be less likely to rush to the first solution – which may not necessarily be the best one.

Once you've completed the quiz, we'll direct you to tools and resources that can help you make the most of your problem-solving skills.

How Good Are You at Solving Problems?

Instructions.

For each statement, click the button in the column that best describes you. Please answer questions as you actually are (rather than how you think you should be), and don't worry if some questions seem to score in the 'wrong direction'. When you are finished, please click the 'Calculate My Total' button at the bottom of the test.

Answering these questions should have helped you recognize the key steps associated with effective problem solving.

This quiz is based on Dr Min Basadur's Simplexity Thinking problem-solving model. This eight-step process follows the circular pattern shown below, within which current problems are solved and new problems are identified on an ongoing basis. This assessment has not been validated and is intended for illustrative purposes only.

Below, we outline the tools and strategies you can use for each stage of the problem-solving process. Enjoy exploring these stages!

Step 1: Find the Problem (Questions 7, 12)

Some problems are very obvious, however others are not so easily identified. As part of an effective problem-solving process, you need to look actively for problems – even when things seem to be running fine. Proactive problem solving helps you avoid emergencies and allows you to be calm and in control when issues arise.

These techniques can help you do this:

PEST Analysis helps you pick up changes to your environment that you should be paying attention to. Make sure too that you're watching changes in customer needs and market dynamics, and that you're monitoring trends that are relevant to your industry.

Risk Analysis helps you identify significant business risks.

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis helps you identify possible points of failure in your business process, so that you can fix these before problems arise.

After Action Reviews help you scan recent performance to identify things that can be done better in the future.

Where you have several problems to solve, our articles on Prioritization and Pareto Analysis help you think about which ones you should focus on first.

Step 2: Find the Facts (Questions 10, 14)

After identifying a potential problem, you need information. What factors contribute to the problem? Who is involved with it? What solutions have been tried before? What do others think about the problem?

If you move forward to find a solution too quickly, you risk relying on imperfect information that's based on assumptions and limited perspectives, so make sure that you research the problem thoroughly.

Step 3: Define the Problem (Questions 3, 9)

Now that you understand the problem, define it clearly and completely. Writing a clear problem definition forces you to establish specific boundaries for the problem. This keeps the scope from growing too large, and it helps you stay focused on the main issues.

A great tool to use at this stage is CATWOE . With this process, you analyze potential problems by looking at them from six perspectives, those of its Customers; Actors (people within the organization); the Transformation, or business process; the World-view, or top-down view of what's going on; the Owner; and the wider organizational Environment. By looking at a situation from these perspectives, you can open your mind and come to a much sharper and more comprehensive definition of the problem.

Cause and Effect Analysis is another good tool to use here, as it helps you think about the many different factors that can contribute to a problem. This helps you separate the symptoms of a problem from its fundamental causes.

Step 4: Find Ideas (Questions 4, 13)

With a clear problem definition, start generating ideas for a solution. The key here is to be flexible in the way you approach a problem. You want to be able to see it from as many perspectives as possible. Looking for patterns or common elements in different parts of the problem can sometimes help. You can also use metaphors and analogies to help analyze the problem, discover similarities to other issues, and think of solutions based on those similarities.

Traditional brainstorming and reverse brainstorming are very useful here. By taking the time to generate a range of creative solutions to the problem, you'll significantly increase the likelihood that you'll find the best possible solution, not just a semi-adequate one. Where appropriate, involve people with different viewpoints to expand the volume of ideas generated.

Tip: Don't evaluate your ideas until step 5. If you do, this will limit your creativity at too early a stage.

Step 5: Select and Evaluate (Questions 6, 15)

After finding ideas, you'll have many options that must be evaluated. It's tempting at this stage to charge in and start discarding ideas immediately. However, if you do this without first determining the criteria for a good solution, you risk rejecting an alternative that has real potential.

Decide what elements are needed for a realistic and practical solution, and think about the criteria you'll use to choose between potential solutions.

Paired Comparison Analysis , Decision Matrix Analysis and Risk Analysis are useful techniques here, as are many of the specialist resources available within our Decision-Making section . Enjoy exploring these!

Step 6: Plan (Questions 1, 16)

You might think that choosing a solution is the end of a problem-solving process. In fact, it's simply the start of the next phase in problem solving: implementation. This involves lots of planning and preparation. If you haven't already developed a full Risk Analysis in the evaluation phase, do so now. It's important to know what to be prepared for as you begin to roll out your proposed solution.

The type of planning that you need to do depends on the size of the implementation project that you need to set up. For small projects, all you'll often need are Action Plans that outline who will do what, when, and how. Larger projects need more sophisticated approaches – you'll find out more about these in the article What is Project Management? And for projects that affect many other people, you'll need to think about Change Management as well.

Here, it can be useful to conduct an Impact Analysis to help you identify potential resistance as well as alert you to problems you may not have anticipated. Force Field Analysis will also help you uncover the various pressures for and against your proposed solution. Once you've done the detailed planning, it can also be useful at this stage to make a final Go/No-Go Decision , making sure that it's actually worth going ahead with the selected option.

Step 7: Sell the Idea (Questions 5, 8)

As part of the planning process, you must convince other stakeholders that your solution is the best one. You'll likely meet with resistance, so before you try to “sell” your idea, make sure you've considered all the consequences.

As you begin communicating your plan, listen to what people say, and make changes as necessary. The better the overall solution meets everyone's needs, the greater its positive impact will be! For more tips on selling your idea, read our article on Creating a Value Proposition and use our Sell Your Idea Skillbook.

Step 8: Act (Questions 2, 11)

Finally, once you've convinced your key stakeholders that your proposed solution is worth running with, you can move on to the implementation stage. This is the exciting and rewarding part of problem solving, which makes the whole process seem worthwhile.

This action stage is an end, but it's also a beginning: once you've completed your implementation, it's time to move into the next cycle of problem solving by returning to the scanning stage. By doing this, you'll continue improving your organization as you move into the future.

Problem solving is an exceptionally important workplace skill.

Being a competent and confident problem solver will create many opportunities for you. By using a well-developed model like Simplexity Thinking for solving problems, you can approach the process systematically, and be comfortable that the decisions you make are solid.

Given the unpredictable nature of problems, it's very reassuring to know that, by following a structured plan, you've done everything you can to resolve the problem to the best of your ability.

This assessment has not been validated and is intended for illustrative purposes only. It is just one of many Mind Tool quizzes that can help you to evaluate your abilities in a wide range of important career skills.

If you want to reproduce this quiz, you can purchase downloadable copies in our Store .

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4 logical fallacies.

Avoid Common Types of Faulty Reasoning

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Critical Thinking Tests

228 questions

Critical thinking tests, sometimes known as critical reasoning tests, are often used by employers. They evaluate how a candidate makes logical deductions after scrutinising the evidence provided, while avoiding fallacies or non-factual opinions. Critical thinking tests can form part of an assessment day, or be used as a screening test before an interview.

What is a critical thinking test?

A critical thinking test assesses your ability to use a range of logical skills to evaluate given information and make a judgement. The test is presented in such a way that candidates are expected to quickly scrutinise the evidence presented and decide on the strength of the arguments.

Critical thinking tests show potential employers that you do not just accept data and can avoid subconscious bias and opinions – instead, you can find logical connections between ideas and find alternative interpretations.

This test is usually timed, so quick, clear, logical thinking will help candidates get the best marks. Critical thinking tests are designed to be challenging, and often used as part of the application process for upper-management-level roles.

What does critical thinking mean?

Critical thinking is the intellectual skill set that ensures you can process and consider information, challenge and analyse data, and then reach a conclusion that can be defended and justified.

In the most simple terms, critical reasoning skills will make sure that you are not simply accepting information at face value with little or no supporting evidence.

It also means that you are less likely to be swayed by ‘false news’ or opinions that cannot be backed with facts – which is important in high-level jobs that require logical thinking.

For more information about logical thinking, please see our article all about logical reasoning .

Which professions use critical thinking tests, and why?

Typically, critical thinking tests are taken as part of the application process for jobs that require advanced skills in judgement, analysis and decision making. The higher the position, the more likely that you will need to demonstrate reliable critical reasoning and good logic.

The legal sector is the main industry that uses critical thinking assessments – making decisions based on facts, without opinion and intuition, is vital in legal matters.

A candidate for a legal role needs to demonstrate their intellectual skills in problem-solving without pre-existing knowledge or subconscious bias – and the critical thinking test is a simple and effective way to screen candidates.

Another industry that uses critical thinking tests as part of the recruitment process is banking. In a similar way to the legal sector, those that work in banking are required to make decisions without allowing emotion, intuition or opinion to cloud coherent analysis and conclusions.

Critical thinking tests also sometimes comprise part of the recruitment assessment for graduate and management positions across numerous industries.

The format of the test: which skills are tested?

The test itself, no matter the publisher, is multiple choice.

As a rule, the questions present a paragraph of information for a scenario that may include numerical data. There will then be a statement and a number of possible answers.

The critical thinking test is timed, so decisions need to be made quickly and accurately; in most tests there is a little less than a minute for each question. Having experience of the test structure and what each question is looking for will make the experience smoother for you.

There are typically five separate sections in a critical thinking test, and each section may have multiple questions.

Inference questions assess your ability to judge whether a statement is true, false, or impossible to determine based on the given data and scenario. You usually have five possible answers: absolutely true, absolutely false, possibly true, possibly false, or not possible to determine.

Assumptions

In this section, you are being assessed on your ability to avoid taking things for granted. Each question gives a scenario including data, and you need to evaluate whether there are any assumptions present.

Here you are given a scenario and a number of deductions that may be applicable. You need to assess the given deductions to see which is the logical conclusion – does it follow?

Interpretation

In the interpretation stage, you need to read and analyse a paragraph of information, then interpret a set of possible conclusions, to see which one is correct. You are looking for the conclusion that follows beyond reasonable doubt.

Evaluation of Arguments

In this section, you are given a scenario and a set of arguments that can be for or against. You need to determine which are strong arguments and which are weak, in terms of the information that you have. This decision is made based on the way they address the scenario and how relevant they are to the content.

How best to prepare for a critical thinking test

The best way to prepare for any type of aptitude test is to practice, and critical thinking tests are no different.

Taking practice tests, as mentioned above, will give you confidence as it makes you better understand the structure, layout and timing of the real tests, so you can concentrate on the actual scenarios and questions.

Practice tests should be timed. This will help you get used to working through the scenarios and assessing the conclusions under time constraints – which is a good way to make sure that you perform quickly as well as accurately.

In some thinking skills assessments , a timer will be built in, but you might need to time yourself.

Regular practice will also help you to identify if there are any sections of the critical thinking test that you need to work on. Most tests will provide an explanation to each answer, as in the examples above.

Publishers of critical thinking tests

The watson glaser critical thinking test.

The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (W-GCTA) is the most popular and widely used critical thinking test. This test has been in development for 85 years and is published by TalentLens .

The W-GCTA is seen as a successful tool for assessing cognitive abilities, allowing recruiting managers to predict job success, find good managers and identify future leaders. It is available in multiple languages including English, French and Spanish.

The test itself can be used as part of an assessment day or as a screening assessment before an interview. It consists of 40 questions on the 5 sections mentioned above, and is timed at 30 minutes. Click here for more information on Watson Glaser tests .

SHL critical reasoning test

SHL is a major aptitude test publisher, which offers critical thinking as part of its testing battery for pre-employment checks.

SHL tests cover all kinds of behavioural and aptitude tests, from logic to inference, verbal to numerical – and with a number of test batteries available online, they are one of the most popular choices for recruiters.

Cornell critical thinking test

The Cornell critical thinking test was made to test students and first developed in 1985. It is an American system that helps teachers, parents and administrators to confidently predict future performance for college admission, gifted and advanced placement programs, and even career success.

Prepare yourself for leading employers

5 Example critical thinking practice questions with answers

In this section, you need to deduce whether the inferred statement is true, false or impossible to deduce.

The UK Government has published data that shows 82% of people under the age of 30 are not homeowners. A charity that helps homeless people has published data that shows 48% of people that are considered homeless are under 30.

The lack of affordable housing on the sales market is the reason so many under-30s are homeless.

Definitely True
Probably True
Impossible to Deduce
Probably False
Definitely False

The information given does not infer the conclusion given, so it is impossible to deduce if the inference is correct – there is just not enough information to judge the inference as correct.

The removal of the five-substitution rule in British football will benefit clubs with a smaller roster.

Clubs with more money would prefer the five-substitute rule to continue.

Assumption Made

Assumption Not Made

This is an example of a fallacy that could cause confusion for a candidate – it encourages you to bring in any pre-existing knowledge of football clubs.

It would be easy to assume the assumption has been made when you consider that the more money a club has, the more players they should have on the roster. However, the statement does not make the assumption that the clubs with more money would prefer to continue with the five-substitute rule.

All boys love football. Football is a sport, therefore:

All boys love all sports
Girls do not love football
Boys are more likely to choose to play football than any other sport

In this section we are looking for the conclusion that follows the logic of the statement. In this example, we cannot deduce that girls do not love football, because there is not enough information to support that.

In the same way the conclusion that all boys love all sports does not follow – we are not given enough information to make that assumption. So, the conclusion that follows is 3: boys are more likely to choose football than any other sport because all boys like football.

The British Museum has a range of artefacts on display, including the largest privately owned collection of WWII weaponry.

There is a larger privately owned collection of WWII weaponry in the USA.

Conclusion Follows

Conclusion Does Not Follow

The fact that the collection is in the British Museum does not make a difference to the fact it is the largest private collection – so there cannot be a larger collection elsewhere.

The Department for Education should lower standards in examinations to make it fairer for less able students.

Yes – top grades are too hard for lower-income students
No – less fortunate students are not capable of higher standards
Yes – making the standards lower will benefit all students
No – private school students will suffer if grade standards are lower
The strongest argument is the right answer, not the one that you might personally believe.

In this case, we need to assess which argument is most relevant to the statement. Both 1 and 4 refer to students in particular situations, which isn’t relevant to the statement. The same can be said about 2, so the strongest argument is 3, since it is relevant and addresses the statement given.

I’ve practiced hundreds of numerical questions and still have plenty more to try.

Critical Thinking Tests FAQs

What are the basics of critical thinking.

In essence, critical thinking is the intellectual process of considering information on its merits, and reaching an analysis or conclusion from that information that can be defended and rationalised with evidence.

How do you know if you have good critical thinking skills?

You are likely to be someone with good critical thinking skills if you can build winning arguments; pick holes in someone’s theory if it’s inconsistent with known facts; reflect on the biases inherent in your own experiences and assumptions; and look at problems using a systematic methodology.

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Critical Thinking Tests Tips

The most important factor in your success will be practice. If you have taken some practice tests, not only will you start to recognise the way questions are worded and become familiar with what each question is looking for, you will also be able to find out whether there are any parts that you need extra practice with.

It is important to find out which test you will be taking, as some generic critical thinking practice tests might not help if you are taking specific publisher tests (see the section below).

2 Fact vs fallacy

Practice questions can also help you recognise the difference between fact and fallacy in the test. A fallacy is simply an error or something misleading in the scenario paragraph that encourages you to choose an invalid argument. This might be a presumption or a misconception, but if it isn’t spotted it can make finding the right answer impossible.

3 Ignore what you already know

There is no need for pre-existing knowledge to be brought into the test, so no research is needed. In fact, it is important that you ignore any subconscious bias when you are considering the questions – you need logic and facts to get the correct answer, not intuition or instinct.

4 Read everything carefully

Read all the given information thoroughly. This might sound straightforward, but knowing that the test is timed can encourage candidates to skip content and risk misunderstanding the content or miss crucial details.

During the test itself, you will receive instructions that will help you to understand what is being asked of you on each section. There is likely to be an example question and answer, so ensure you take the time to read them fully.

5 Stay aware of the time you've taken

This test is usually timed, so don’t spend too long on a question. If you feel it is going to take too much time, leave it and come back to it at the end (if you have time). Critical thinking tests are complex by design, so they do have quite generous time limits.

For further advice, check out our full set of tips for critical thinking tests .

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20 Questions | 20 Minutes

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Reviews of our Watson Glaser tests

What our customers say about our Watson Glaser tests

Jozef Bailey

United Kingdom

April 05, 2022

Doesn't cover all aspects of Watson-Glaser tests but useful

The WGCTA uses more categories to assess critical thinking, but this was useful for the inference section.

April 01, 2022

Just practicing for an interview

Good information and liked that it had a countdown clock, to give you that real feel in the test situation.

Jerico Kadhir

March 31, 2022

Aptitude test

It was OK, I didn't understand personally whether or not the "cannot say" option was acceptable or not in a lot of the questions, as it may have been a trick option.

Salvarina Viknesuari

March 15, 2022

I like the test because the platform is simple and engaging while the test itself is different than most of the Watson Glaser tests I've taken.

Alexis Sheridan

March 02, 2022

Some of the ratios were harder than I thought!

I like how clear the design and layout is - makes things very easy (even if the content itself is not!)

Cyril Lekgetho

February 17, 2022

Mental arithmetic

I enjoyed the fact that there were multiple questions pertaining to one passage of information, rather than multiple passages. However I would've appreciated a more varied question type.

Madupoju Manish

February 16, 2022

Analytics are the best questions

I like the test because of its time schedule. The way the questions are prepared makes it easy to crack the original test.

Chelsea Franklin

February 02, 2022

Interesting

I haven't done something like this for ages. Very good for the brain - although I certainly experienced some fog whilst doing it.

[email protected]

January 04, 2022

Population/exchange rates were the hardest

Great test as it felt a bit time pressured. Very different types of questions in terms of difficulty.

faezeh tavakoli

January 02, 2022

More attention to detail + be more time conscious

It was asking about daily stuff we all deal with, but as an assessment it's scrutinising how we approach these problems.

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Critical Thinking Test: Sample Questions with Explanations (2024)

Employers value and seek candidates who demonstrate advanced critical thinking skills. They often administer critical thinking tests as part of their hiring process. Critical thinking tests can be very difficult for those who don’t prepare. A great way to start practicing is by taking our critical thinking free practice test.

What Does The Critical Thinking Test Include?

The Critical Thinking Test assesses your capacity to think critically and form logical conclusions when given written information. Critical thinking tests are generally used in job recruitment processes, in the legal sector. These tests measure the analytical critical thinking abilities of a candidate.

Why Is Critical Thinking Useful?

Critical thinking is put into action in various stages of decision-making and problem-solving tasks:

Identify the problem
Choose suitable information to find the solution
Identify the assumptions that are implied and written in the text
Form hypotheses and choose the most suitable and credible answers
Form well-founded conclusions and determine the soundness of inferences

What is Watson Glaser Test and what Critical Thinking Skills it Measures?

The most common type of critical thinking test is the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (W-GCTA). Typically used by legal and financial organizations, as well as management businesses, a Watson Glaser test is created to assess candidates’ critical thinking skills.

The test consists of 10 questions to be answered in 10 minutes approx (although there is no timer on the test itself). Our test is slightly harder than the real thing, to make it sufficiently challenging practice.

You need to get 70% correct to pass the test. Don’t forget to first check out the test techniques section further down this page beforehand.

Questions 25

Pass percentage 70%.

The test is broken down into five central areas:

Assumptions
Interpretation

Critical Thinking Course

1 BONUS Interview Prep Video Guide Buy this Course: Get full access to all lessons, practice tests and guides.

The Five Critical Thinking Skills Explained

1. recognition of assumption.

You’ll be presented with a statement. The statement is then followed by several proposed assumptions. When answering, you must work out if an assumption was made or if an assumption was not made in the statement. An assumption is a proclamation that an individual takes for granted. This section of the tests measures your ability to withhold from forming assumptions about things that are not necessarily correct.

1: Assumption Made
2: Assumption Not Made

Although the passage does state that Charlie’s fundraising team is doing its best so that the charity event can meet its goal, nowhere did it state that their team is leading the event.

2. Evaluation of Arguments

You will be presented with an argument. You will then be asked to decide whether the argument is strong or weak. An argument is considered strong if it directly connects to the statement provided, and is believed to be significant.

No, participation awards should not be given in every competition because studies have shown that this would cause the participants to put in less effort because they will get a prize no matter what the outcome is.

1: Strong Argument
2: Weak Argument

This is a strong argument as it provides evidence as to why participation awards should not be given in every competition

3. Deductions

In deduction questions, you will need to form conclusions based solely on the information provided in the question and not based on your knowledge. You will be given a small passage of information and you will need to evaluate a list of deductions made based on that passage. If the conclusion cannot be formed for the information provided, then the conclusion does not follow. The answer must be entirely founded on the statements made and not on conclusions drawn from your knowledge.

In a surprise party for Donna, Edna arrived after Felix and Gary did. Kelly arrived before Felix and Gary did.

1: Conclusion Follows
2: Conclusion Does not Follow

For questions like this, jot down the clues to help you out. Use initials as a quick reference.

K | F&G | E

Looking at the simple diagram, “K”, which stands for “Kelly,” arrived before Edna “E” did. The answer is A.

4. Interpretation

In these questions, you are given a passage of information followed by a list of possible conclusions. You will need to interpret the information in the paragraph and determine whether or not each conclusion follows, based solely on the information given.

A number of students were given the following advice:

“The use of powerful words is a technique, which makes you a better writer. Your choice of words is very important in molding the way people interaction with the article. You should use powerful words to spice up your article. Power words should be used liberally to enhance the flavor of what you write! ”

In the fourth sentence, it is stated, “Power words should be used liberally to enhance the flavor of what you write!”

Thus, if you were to write an essay, using powerful words can give more flavor to it.

5. Inferences

An inference is a conclusion made from observed or supposed facts and details. It is information that is not apparent in the information provided but rather is extracted from it. In this section, you will be provided with a passage of information about a specific scene or event. A list of possible inferences will then be given, and you will need to decide if they are ‘true’, ‘false’, ‘possibly true’, ‘possibly false’, or whether it is not possible to say based on the information provided.

With the advancement of technology, the need for more infrastructure has never been higher. According to the plan of the current U.S. Administration, it aims to put a $1 trillion investment on improving infrastructure, a portion of which will include priority projects and technologies that can strengthen its economic competitiveness such as transportation, 5G wireless communication technology, rural broadband technologies, advanced manufacturing technologies, and even artificial intelligence.

It stated that it expects to work with Congress to develop a comprehensive infrastructure package, which is expected to have a budget of $200 billion for certain priorities.

2: Probably True
3: Not Enough Information
4: Probably False

Although it was mentioned in the passage that the U.S. government is to allocate $200 billion on certain priorities, it did not specify if these certain priorities were for ‘transportation, 5G wireless communication technology, rural broadband technologies, advanced manufacturing technologies, and artificial intelligence’ or if the aforementioned priorities will have a different allocation.

What we can be sure of, however, is that at least a portion of the $1 trillion infrastructure budget will be used on the mentioned priorities regardless, meaning that there is a chance that $200 billion will be used on those aforementioned areas.

Improve Your Score with Prepterminal’s Critical Thinking Course

The Critical Thinking test is difficult, but not impossible to overcome with practice. At PrepTerminal our psychometric test experts have developed a critical thinking preparatory test to provide you with the material you need to practice for your critical thinking test. Prepare with us to increase your chance of successfully overcoming this hurdle in the recruitment process.

Prepterminal’s preparatory critical thinking course features a structured study course along with critical thinking practice tests to help you improve your exam score. Our course includes video and text-based information presented in a clear and easy-to-understand manner so you can follow along at your own pace with ease.

Created by: Matt

Psychometric tutor, prepterminal test expert, 414 students, 4.7 , 73 reviews.

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How Good Is Your Problem Solving?

Use a systematic approach.

Good problem solving skills are fundamentally important if you're going to be successful in your career.

But problems are something that we don't particularly like.

They're time-consuming.

They muscle their way into already packed schedules.

They force us to think about an uncertain future.

And they never seem to go away!

Once you've completed the quiz, we'll direct you to tools and resources that can help you make the most of your problem-solving skills.

How Good Are You at Solving Problems?

Instructions.

Your last quiz results are shown.

You last completed this quiz on , at .

Score Interpretation

Answering these questions should have helped you recognize the key steps associated with effective problem solving.

Figure 1 – The Simplexity Thinking Process

Below, we outline the tools and strategies you can use for each stage of the problem-solving process. Enjoy exploring these stages!

Step 1: Find the Problem

(Questions 7, 12)

These techniques can help you do this:

PEST Analysis helps you pick up changes to your environment that you should be paying attention to. Make sure too that you're watching changes in customer needs and market dynamics, and that you're monitoring trends that are relevant to your industry.
Risk Analysis helps you identify significant business risks.
Failure Modes and Effects Analysis helps you identify possible points of failure in your business process, so that you can fix these before problems arise.
After Action Reviews help you scan recent performance to identify things that can be done better in the future.
Where you have several problems to solve, our articles on Prioritization and Pareto Analysis help you think about which ones you should focus on first.

Step 2: Find the Facts

(Questions 10, 14)

Step 3: Define the Problem

(Questions 3, 9)

Step 4: Find Ideas

(Questions 4, 13)

Don't evaluate your ideas until step 5. If you do, this will limit your creativity at too early a stage.

Step 5: Select and Evaluate

(Questions 6, 15)

Decide what elements are needed for a realistic and practical solution, and think about the criteria you'll use to choose between potential solutions.

Step 6: Plan

(Questions 1, 16)

The type of planning that you need to do depends on the size of the implementation project that you need to set up. For small projects, all you'll often need are Action Plans that outline who will do what, when, and how. Larger projects need more sophisticated approaches – you'll find out more about these in the Mind Tools Project Management section. And for projects that affect many other people, you'll need to think about Change Management as well.

Step 7: Sell the Idea

(Questions 5, 8)

Step 8: Act

(Questions 2, 11)

Problem solving is an exceptionally important workplace skill.

Given the unpredictable nature of problems, it's very reassuring to know that, by following a structured plan, you've done everything you can to resolve the problem to the best of your ability.

This site teaches you the skills you need for a happy and successful career; and this is just one of many tools and resources that you'll find here at Mind Tools. Subscribe to our free newsletter , or join the Mind Tools Club and really supercharge your career!

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Comments (220)

Over a month ago Sonia_H wrote Hi PANGGA, This is great news! Thanks for sharing your experience. We hope these 8 steps outlined will help you in multiple ways. ~Sonia Mind Tools Coach
Over a month ago PANGGA wrote Thank you for this mind tool. I got to know my skills in solving problem. It will serve as my guide on facing and solving problem that I might encounter.
Over a month ago Sarah_H wrote Wow, thanks for your very detailed feedback HardipG. The Mind Tools team will take a look at your feedback and suggestions for improvement. Best wishes, Sarah Mind Tools Coach

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Practice Logical Reasoning Test Example Questions – 2024

Logical Tests
Free Example Questions

One of the most popular, and perhaps most dreaded, type of psychometric test is the logical reasoning test. These screening questions won’t ask you for formulas or equations. You’ll have to rely solely on your own ingenuity to solve these problems.

You’ll need a great deal of concentration to succeed on a logic test. Logic tests are really designed to assess your intelligence. Similar to I.Q. tests in design, these aptitude assessments test your problem-solving skills, your critical thinking skills, and your creativity.

Below, we’ll explain a little bit more about the logic test questions you can expect on logic pre-employment exams and how you should approach them. We’ll also discuss some of our best tips for logic tests, so make sure to take notes! When you’re done, click over to the second tab and try your hand at our logical reasoning sample questions.

What Is a Logical Reasoning Test?

A logical reasoning test, as opposed to a numerical or verbal reasoning test , requires solely your reasoning ability. While you will have to know how to read, you won’t need to know any grammar, and you certainly won’t need to know how to multiply numbers.

Based on deductive and inductive reasoning, logical thinking questions will take one of two forms. Either you’ll be presented with a series of shapes and asked about the patterns they make, or you’ll be given a series of statements and asked to state what you know to be certain. We’ll go through both of these types of questions.

Why Do I Need to Take Logical Reasoning Tests?

Employers want to know, first and foremost, that you know how to analyze information and learn new skills quickly. These so-called “soft skills” are really far more important to a company than you might imagine, and they’re nearly impossible to really measure in an interview.

Logical questions help employers to see how well applicants recognize patterns, overcome adversity, and concentrate for extended periods of time. The skills you’ll need to pass a logical reasoning test are the same ones that will help you anticipate pitfalls, develop winning strategies, and start new initiatives.

Logical aptitude tests are designed, very simply, to test for intelligence. In fact, you’ll probably see a lot of the same questions on an I.Q. test. As it turns out, intelligence and success are very closely linked. The more intelligent someone is, the more quickly he learns and masters new skills, the better he remembers information told to him, and the more easily he overcomes problems.

How to Answer Logical Reasoning Questions:

Every logical reasoning question is different, and while you should be able to recognize patterns after a while, there are no shortcuts or one-size-fits-all responses. Here we have a few principles you should keep in mind. However, if you find that you’re still struggling with logic, then make sure to check out the free logic examples we have printed in our questions tab.

Identify a Major Pattern: Whenever dealing with diagrams, you’ll want to focus on patterns. The series or matrix will be assembled of various sequences, and it’s your job to figure out what they are. Once you’ve identified a major pattern, you’ll want to see if you can also identify a minor pattern. Typically, series and matrices use at least two different patterns.

For example, if Jenny’s coat is both long and blue, we can logically assume that any red or green coats we may find do not belong to Jenny. On the other hand, if Jenny’s coat is either long or blue, we have a different set of criteria.

Logic also makes use of if–>then statements. For example, “If Jenny buys a new coat, she’ll buy one that is long and blue.” In that case, we know that Jenny can only buy a long, blue coat if, in fact, she buys a new coat. If her brother buys a coat for her, she won’t have bought a long, blue coat. These facts may seem redundant if you’ve never studied logic before, but they become quite significant when programming computers, for instance.

Diagrammatic Abstract Reasoning

This non-verbal form of logical reasoning usually involves series or matrices made up of shapes or figures arranged in a certain pattern.

To solve these questions, you’re going to use inductive reasoning. Your goal as the job-seeker is to identify the pattern and complete the task. Here are the four different kinds of tasks you can expect on non-verbal logic test questions.

Series In a series question, you’ll be shown 4-6 pictures and asked to choose the next figure in the series from several choices. You might also find that one of the figures in the middle of the series has been left out, and you’ll have to choose which picture best completes the pattern.
Matrices Matrices are very similar to series except they extend in two directions. While a series only goes from left to right, a matrix has patterns both horizontally and vertically. Not only will you have to make sure that the figure you choose completes the pattern in its row, but you’ll also have to check to see whether it agrees with the figures above and below it.
Odd One Out Sometimes you’ll be given a set of figures and asked to identify the outlier. While the figures won’t be lined up in a series, they will have something in common. It will be your job determine which characteristics are relevant and to group the pictures based on these similarities.
A/B Groups In A/B grouping questions, you’ll be given two groups of figures and one figure on its own. You’ll have to decide why the figures were grouped the way they were. You’ll then have to place the single figure in one of the two groups.

Verbal Logical Reasoning

While diagrammatic questions require inductive reasoning, verbal questions call for deductive reasoning. On a verbal question, you’ll be given a series of statements, premises, said to be true, and you’ll have to determine whether the conclusion necessarily follows from those statements.

All men are mortal.
Socrates is a man.
Therefore, Socrates is mortal
If it rains, the school will cancel the picnic.
If the school cancels the picnic, the children will watch a film instead.
Therefore, if it rains, the children will watch a film.
Either I will go swimming or hiking.
I will go swimming.
I will not go hiking.
Order Other deductive questions will ask you to put a set of people or items in order based on certain descriptions. For instance, they might tell you that “Sam is not last,” or that “Jaimie is before Paul,” but it will be up to you to figure out exactly where they are in line.

Logical Reasoning Test Tips:

Make sure you read our top tips for logical aptitude tests before heading out to the assessment center.

Write Everything Down: Logic questions are particularly tricky. Instead of trying to keep everything straight in your head, try to write down the details on a piece of paper. Diagrams can be especially helpful when recording important facts.

For example, if the grass is wet, we can assume it probably rained. Logically, though, we can’t state for certain that it rained if we have no proof. It could have been the gardener who left the sprinklers on overnight.

Focus on Truth Values: Make sure you know the difference between words like some, many, and all or words like sometimes, always, and never. These qualifying words can completely change the truth value of a statement.
Pay Attention to All Details: When completing diagrammatic tests, be very careful to pay attention to all relevant details. A pattern may be based on multiple dots and lines, and if you rush, you’ll miss subtle aspects of the pattern.

Final Thoughts on Logical Questioning:

While most of us study science and history in school, very few of us ever study formal logic. In fact, unless you went to graduate school for law, engineering, philosophy, or abstract mathematics, logic as a concept in and of itself is probably pretty foreign to you.

If this is the case, then don’t fret. Logic is, not coincidentally, fairly logical. As long as you’re familiar with some of the basic fundamentals, you shouldn’t have too much trouble. Click over to the second tab to prepare with some of our online practice questions. Then read the answer explanations to see whether or not your reasoning was on track.

Free Logical Reasoning Practice Test

Practice4Me’s experts designed an example test for your needs to get you familiarized with various question types and to improve your chances of scoring high. This free test is a printable PDF file that includes questions and answers.

Download our free logical reasoning practice test PDF here .

Free Example Questions to Practice

Questions 4 and 5 deal with the following information:

Given the following premises, state whether the conclusions are true, false, or unknown:

All athletes are coaches, but not all coaches are athletes. All coaches live in Chicago. No students are athletes, but all students are coaches. Some teachers are both athletes and students. Some parents are teachers, but no parents are students or athletes.

Explained Answers:

B: Notice how the middle shape alternates between the three dots and the stripes. The figures on either side are in a three-way rotation with a circle, a bow, and a diamond.
C: Picture C is the odd picture out because it’s the only one in which the bars don’t dip down below the line.
C: Deanna—the order is: Clayton, Billy, Deanna, Annie, Elise

Free Logical Reasoning Test Practice Answer 4

B: All students are coaches, but as you can see in the picture, there may be many coaches who are not students. So, the answer is false.

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What is a problem-solving exam?

What are some strategies for studying for problem-solving exams, what are some strategies for writing problem-solving exams, what can i do after the exam.

Analyze Exam Errors

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More help: Studying

Book Studying Appointments
Problem-solving exams come in a variety of formats, from multiple choice, to short answer, to long calculations.
They frequently test your ability to apply the problem-solving skills you’ve learned in lectures, labs, and readings to new types of questions.
Pay attention to example problems emphasized in class, the text, and assignments, especially those that appear in more than one of these places.
Don’t assume, however, that the same or similar problems will appear on the exam. The exam will likely test your ability to apply what you’ve learned about solving problems to new types of questions, rather than your ability to memorize and regurgitate examples you’ve already seen.
Focus on the process the instructor used for solving the problem. Think about your own problem-solving strategies.
Practise, practise, practise! The more problems, and more importantly, the more types of problems you solve, the better prepared you’ll be.
Look for connections between concepts and equations and note how to choose the correct equation in complex practice problems.
Generate your own test questions with a study group or partner. Practise answering questions within a limited time frame.
Review previous tests, quizzes, or midterms, and figure out why you lost marks before.
Look over the entire exam before beginning and budget your time according to how much each question is worth. Leave enough time to read over your answers at the end of the exam.
Before starting, find a blank page on your exam and write down equations, concepts, and constants that you memorized.
Do the easy questions first to warm up your brain and calm exam nerves.
Read the questions carefully and rephrase them in your own words.
Keep track of all units. Convert values to keep the units consistent. Be aware of +/- signs.
Clearly mark assumptions, if they are necessary, and place them at or near the beginning of the solution whenever possible.
It can be helpful to look over your exam if you get it back to see where you have gone wrong, and what you have done well. If your instructor doesn’t routinely return exams, ask if you can see your exam to learn from your errors.
Use this information to help you study more effectively next time.
Check out the error analysis LibGuide to help you go over feedback.
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Last Updated: Jun 22, 2023 8:01 AM
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What Is the Saville Wave Test?

The Saville Wave test is a personality questionnaire that comes in different versions to suit all sorts of job roles and levels of seniority.

Created by Saville Assessment, the Wave tests are designed to be the ‘best-in-class predictor of workplace performance and potential’.

They blend digital innovation and science to cover aspects of competency, potential, motivation, talent and preferred company culture in one short assessment.

The Wave tests are usually used in recruitment and selection, but they are also used for talent management and succession planning.

There are two main types of Wave tests used in recruitment:

The Wave Focus Styles
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A Guide to the Thomas International PPA (and Tips)

It is becoming increasingly common for employers to ask potential new employees to complete a variety of assessments as part of their recruitment processes.

One example of this is the Thomas International PPA assessment , which is a personality test commonly used by employers who are looking for individuals with specific personality types or strengths in defined areas.

In this article, you’ll learn what the Thomas International PPA Test is, what you can expect if you are asked to take the assessment and how your test will be scored.

We have also included plenty of helpful tips and free Thomas International PPA sample test questions to help you prepare ahead of taking the Thomas PPA assessment.

Best CV Writing Services in the UK in 2024

The current job market is an incredibly competitive place, with people doing their best to stand out to potential employers to successfully complete recruitment processes and secure their dream roles.

Having a well-written CV is one of the best ways to create a good first impression.

However, this can be a challenge for those who struggle to promote themselves or those who require a specialised CV for a specific or technical job role.

This is where a professional CV writing service can help.

The NWEA MAP Test – Practice Test Guide and Tips

The NWEA MAP Growth Test is used in thousands of schools across the US to assess children academically.

The test can be given three times in a school year and helps teachers to plan their lessons so that children can reach their potential and continue to grow throughout their time in education.

In this article, you will learn more about the different levels of the test and the way it is structured to suit different grades, what types of questions are on the tests and how best to prepare your child for success.

A Guide to the NNAT Test: Examples and Tips

If your child is under the age of 12 and aims to get into a gifted school program, they will most likely be required to take the NNAT test to assess their skills.

If you know that your child is expected to take the exam, you can help them prepare for it by letting them know what to expect.

This article contains the most relevant information concerning the NNAT test, including its purpose, scoring system and levels.

You will also receive plenty of helpful tips on how to help your child prepare for the exam by completing a Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test sample and working on their weaknesses in each question type.

A Full Guide to the Hogan Business Reasoning Inventory (HBRI) Test + Example Questions + Expert Tips

The Hogan Business Reasoning Inventory (HBRI) is a scientifically-based aptitude test.

It is designed to assess cognitive ability and a candidate’s preferences for using qualitative and quantitative reasoning skills.

The HBRI is a popular tool for pre-employment screening, particularly in the management, sales and marketing sectors.

If you have been asked to take the HBRI, your test results will offer prospective employers insight into your decision-making skills, problem-solving abilities, approach to processing information and ability to learn from past experiences.

In this article, you can learn what to expect when taking the Hogan Business Reasoning Inventory HBRI test, see examples of the type of Hogan Business Reasoning Inventory questions you might be faced with and guidance on how to prepare for the assessment.

The MAP Kindergarten Test is a computer-adaptive test that measures your child’s progress throughout their academic career.

The grades K through 2 tests assess mathematics and reading abilities.

The results from these tests allow teachers to identify the gaps in your child’s knowledge and to better understand their ability to learn and retain information.

The MAP test is administered three times in the academic year to ensure your child’s progress is properly recorded.

A Guide to the Ramsay Mechanical Aptitude Test: Examples & Tips

The Ramsay Mechanical Aptitude Test is used as part of the pre-employment screening process for a number of roles in different industries.

It is an excellent indicator of how well you can learn on the job, as well as your ability to use basic physics principles and mechanical knowledge to solve problems.

In this article, you will learn more about which job roles require completion of the Ramsay MAT as part of the application process, and what different types of tests are available.

The format of the assessment, as well as the number of questions and the time limit, will also be discussed. You’ll also learn how the Ramsay MAT is scored and what happens next.

There will be example questions that are similar to those you are likely to find on the assessment, as well as some top tips for success.

A Guide to the Saville Assessment (& Tips)

The Saville assessments are used worldwide by companies during the recruitment process to assess a candidate’s suitability for a given role.

This series of tests measures numerical, verbal, spatial and abstract reasoning . You may also be assigned a situational judgement test and a personality questionnaire. Some roles may even require a mechanical reasoning test .

A Guide to the SHL Personality Test with Tailored OPQ32 (& Tips)

The SHL OPQ32 test is the flagship personality test from SHL.

Used by major organizations all over the world, it is considered to be one of the best psychometric assessment tools currently available on the market.

It is a trait-based personality test that is designed to gauge a candidate’s personality attributes and behavioral preferences in the workplace.

A candidate’s test results are analyzed by recruiters, helping them to decide whether a candidate is a good match for the job role they have applied for.

One of the career paths in the public sector is that of a law enforcement officer, also known as a peace officer, in the United States of America.

As the name suggests, this role involves the enforcement of laws across the country. Peace officers can come in many forms, including police officers, customs officers, sheriffs, state troopers and probation officers.

In states such as California, aspiring peace officers must take a test called the PELLETB. This aptitude test measures writing and reading skills to determine if the candidate is ready to become a peace officer.

Standing for POST-Entry-Level Law Enforcement Test Battery, the PELLETB assessment is considered one of the most difficult police entry exams in the US.

In this article, you will learn all you need to know to prepare and succeed, so you can take one step closer towards your dream career. To help with your preparation, we've also included PELLETB exam practice test questions and answers.

A Guide to the OLSAT Test: Examples & Tips

OLSAT stands for Otis-Lennon School Ability Test.

Children take the test to help schools decide admissions into their gifted-and-talented programs.

Preparing your children for taking the OLSAT is a good idea as it could determine their eligibility and acceptance to extra academic programs that are offered by their schools.

A Guide to the CritiCall 911 Dispatch Test: Examples & Tips

If you are looking for a career working with the emergency services, then becoming a 911 call handler and dispatcher might be just the role for you.

If you can handle working under pressure, helping the public and are able to deal with difficult and uncomfortable situations with a calm head, then you might have what it takes to be the first port of call in an emergency.

Becoming a 911 call handler and dispatcher means you will need to have some very specific skills and abilities, and as part of the recruitment process, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate your suitability by taking the CritiCall 911 dispatch test .

Used throughout the US for recruiting people for 911 roles, the CritiCall test does not assess your previous experience or your knowledge of the role.

Instead, it is designed to assess candidates on the inherent aptitudes that are needed to be successful in the role.

This article will discuss what the CritiCall test is assessing, the types of questions that you are likely to face and what the recruiters will be looking for.

There will be some example questions, as well as details about what mark you will need to achieve to pass the test.

Finally, there are some CritiCall test prep tips to help you prepare for the assessment and what to think about on the day.

A Guide to the McQuaig Word Survey: Examples & Tips

The McQuaig Word Survey is a type of personality assessment.

Survey responses are used to measure a candidate’s key personality traits and compare these with how they are currently behaving in the workplace.

The results from the survey indicate whether a candidate is behaving naturally in their current role, or whether they are making changes to their behaviour.

This article will help you pass the McQuaig Word Survey assessment test by giving you all the tools and practice questions you will need.

The Caliper test is an assessment used by employers to gain a better understanding of a candidate’s personality traits, cognitive abilities and motivations.

The Caliper test is used to help employers predict a candidate's suitability for a role.

In this article, we'll take a detailed look at what the Caliper test is and how it is scored.

We’ll also share some tips on how you can perform at your best when taking your Caliper assessment test.

A Guide to the Wonderlic Test: Examples & Tips

While no test is 100% accurate in assessing a candidate’s full capabilities, the Wonderlic test gives recruiters a good insight into a candidate’s ability to perform certain roles.

Since the Wonderlic test can be what stands between you and your dream job, you need to prepare to perform as best as you can.

This article will explain what the Wonderlic test is, what the format is, provide Wonderlic sample questions and present tips on how to prepare for your Wonderlic test .

Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) Assessment

The Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) is a personality test developed by Hogan Assessments, designed to explore human personality traits, behavioral preferences and characteristics.

This style of personality test is often encountered during the early stages of a company’s recruitment process to assess both alignments with workplace culture and values and give insight into the strengths and qualities of candidates.

Hogan produces well-respected, science-based assessments that many top employers and large organizations rely upon when hiring new staff.

The company serves over half of the Fortune 500 and administers its assessments across 56 countries and in 47 languages.

The Hogan Personality Inventory (as part of the Hogan Personality Assessment) is grounded in over 40 years of research and is trusted to provide a good prediction of future performance and leadership potential.

This article will introduce you to the HPI assessment and its purpose, along with what to expect from the test and how it is scored.

You'll also find free Hogan Personality Test example questions. We'll also cover how you can prepare for your upcoming HPI test to give you the best chance at success.

A Guide to the CogAT Test: Examples & Tips

The CogAT is a K–12 assessment comprised of three sections.

The questions are designed to measure a student’s reasoning abilities, and their scores are compared against other students of the same age and grade to identify those who are particularly academically adept.

Schools often choose the CogAT assessment as a way of identifying students who are suitable for gifted and talented programs.

A Guide to the Edison Electric Institute Tests (EEI): Examples & Tips

Many employers use psychometric assessments and aptitude tests as part of the employee hiring process.

Competition for job roles is fierce in every sector, so EEI tests are a useful tool for talent identification in the energy industry.

If you are applying for roles in the energy sector, you will likely be asked to sit one of the Edison Electric Institute Tests.

Sometimes referred to as EEI tests or the Edison test, these assessments are designed to measure your competency in skills and abilities required to work in a specific job role and in the energy industry as a whole.

If you are asked to take an EEI test, the recruiter will use your results to decide whether you have the appropriate skill mix to perform well in the job role that you have applied for.

In this article, you can find out what to expect when taking an EEI test, get free EEI practice test questions and the steps you can take to achieve the best possible score.

The School and College Ability Test (SCAT) is used by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY).

The results determine a student’s eligibility for gifted and talented programs .

This article focuses on what to expect in this challenging test. It includes SCAT test practice questions and tips on preparing your child for success.

A Guide to the CCAT Test: Examples & Tips

More and more employers are choosing to use psychometric testing as a part of their recruitment processes as it helps to highlight those candidates who are most likely to be suited to the roles they are looking to fill.

Employers will often use this form of testing when recruiting for mid-to-high level managerial roles or positions that require a specific set of skills.

Using the results of assessments, recruiters and employers are able to see the strengths and skills of individuals as well as being able to predict future performance.

One of the most popular options for psychometric testing is the Criteria Cognitive Aptitude test – more commonly known as the CCAT.

A Guide to the Elevator Industry Aptitude Test (EIAT): Examples & Tips

The elevator industry is one of the most financially rewarding trades, offering numerous career opportunities. If you want to build a career in this industry, the best way to start is by joining a recognized apprenticeship program.

Among these, the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP) is probably the most prestigious apprenticeship scheme. To secure a place in this program, you must pass the Elevator Industry Aptitude Test (EIAT) , a subsequent interview and a tool assessment exam. I

This article will provide information about the EIAT assessment test, including its structure and what type of questions you may be required to answer. You will also be given several handy tips to help you prepare for the EIAT exam and perform well enough to secure an apprenticeship.

A Guide to the Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test: Examples & Tips

The Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test (BMCT) , also referred to as the Bennett Mechanical Aptitude Test, is considered the most popular mechanical aptitude test.

However, it is also believed to be the hardest one to pass.

The BMCT requires you to have a knowledge and understanding of physical principles and answer 55 questions about the application of these concepts within 25 minutes.

You typically need to score in the top 20% of candidates to progress to the next stage of recruitment.

CAT4 认知能力测试是一种旨在衡量学生学业进步的考试。

CAT4 测试评分完成后，家长和老师将收到一份有关学生学业潜力的总结。

任何参加测试的学生都需要回答一些将要衡量他们的逻辑推理能力、文字推理能力、数字推理能力和空间意识的问题。

在这篇文章中，您将了解更多关于在考察这些技能时需要回答的题目类型。

除此之外，这里还提供更多有关不同 CAT4 测试级别的信息。这将有助于您了解不同年龄段的 CAT4 测试评分机制。

在这些信息之后，会提供一些一般性建议和技巧以帮助孩子取得好的成绩。这里还给出了老师、家长和参加 CAT4 测试的学生经常问到的常见问题。

A Guide to the BKSB Assessment Test: Examples & Tips

If you have applied for a job, apprenticeship or college course in the UK or Australia, you may have been asked to complete a Basic and Key Skills Builder or BKSB assessment) .

The initial BKSB assessment determines suitable applicants for an apprenticeship or places a student in the correct class level on a college course. The assessment tests you on your maths and English skills to identify areas that need improvement.

This guide will explain the BKSB assessment in detail, provide example questions, and answer your queries about the test content and format.

There are a variety of tests and assessments that can be used by companies for candidates applying for jobs.

One of those is the Thomas GIA Test .

This article will define what the Thomas GIA Test is and who it is for, in addition to looking at what the test involves, how it is scored and tips for the next chance to pass the test.

You will also find Thomas GIA test examples and explanations for each answer.

A Guide to the ieGAT Test: Examples and Tips

The IE Global Admissions Test (ieGAT) is an entrance exam for the IE University (IEU) in Spain.

It covers numerical , logical and verbal reasoning .

Not every IE program requires an ieGAT score. However, as the programs that do are highly competitive, those who take the ieGAT Test must prepare themselves to achieve the best score possible.

This article will help you understand:

What the ieGAT is
The structure
ieGAT scoring
How to register for the ieGAT
The best ways to prepare

Sova Assessment Testing Guide: Logical Reasoning Answers

More and more companies are introducing psychometric testing as a part of their recruitment processes.

This means that, if you are considering changing careers or applying for a new role within your existing industry, you may need to take an assessment.

One of the most popular tests for corporate employers is the test by Sova Assessment .

Postal Exam 474: Questions, Answers & Expert Tips

The United States Postal Service (USPS) provides extensive career opportunities and seemingly endless possibilities for professional development.

However, anyone looking to work at the USPS must pass a Virtual Entry Assessment designed to find suitable applicants for the role they are trying to fill.

This article covers the Postal Exam 474 , including its main parts, how to pass it and how to prepare for the Virtual Entry Assessment.

Let's start by looking at what exactly the 474 Virtual Entry Assessment is.

A Guide to the Hogan Assessment: Examples & Tips

Developed by Drs Joyce and Robert Hogan in the 1980s, the Hogan assessment is a collection of tests designed to assess personality traits, leadership skills and cognitive abilities.

The Hogan assessment is generally used as a pre-employment test for management roles.

This article will guide you through the online Hogan tests , provide a range of sample questions, discuss how the Hogan Assessment results are calculated and recommend ways that you can prepare to take the Hogan assessment yourself.

The Swift (Saville) Analysis Aptitude Test

If you’ve recently applied for a managerial or executive role, you may have been asked to take a Saville Analysis Aptitude Test , also known as the Swift Aptitude test.

The Swift Analysis Aptitude Test was created by Saville Assessment, which is a huge name in the test publishing market.

The CAT4 cognitive ability test is an examination designed to measure a student’s academic progress.

When the CAT4 test is scored, teachers and parents will be given a summary of the academic potential of the student.

Any student taking the test will be asked questions that will measure their non-verbal reasoning abilities, verbal reasoning skills, quantitative reasoning abilities and spatial awareness .

In this article, you’ll learn more about what types of questions are asked to examine these skills.

A Guide to the RAF Aptitude Test: Examples & Tips

The RAF aptitude test is designed to check your suitability for recruitment into the Royal Air Force.

The test contains different sections that check for your strengths and weaknesses. The results will indicate which roles you’re most likely to excel in.

The Royal Air Force ( RAF ) offers numerous career opportunities, including in areas you may not have considered, such as:

Airspace monitoring
Enforcing security protocols
Responding to potential threats

For any job with the RAF , you will have to take an aptitude test before joining. This test includes several sections that evaluate your memory, reasoning and comprehension skills.

This article takes you through examples for each section and a thorough explanation of how the RAF aptitude test is scored. You'll also get an insight into what it takes to prepare for the RAF officer aptitude test and helpful advice on how to get the highest score possible.

Let’s get started.

How to Pass the Korn Ferry Leadership Potential Assessment (KFALP) in 2024

The Korn Ferry Leadership Potential Assessment (KFALP) is used to test candidates to see if they have the potential to become leaders and managers.

It uses seven different categories, known as Seven Signposts, to assess potential leaders:

Learning Agility
Leadership Traits
Derailment Risks

This article will examine the theory behind the assessment, the different topics that are tested and how the assessment is scored.

There will also be example questions so that you know what to expect when you take the KFALP and some tips to help you score as highly as possible when you take the test.

Pymetrics tests identify specific behavioral characteristics and traits.

This article examines why pymetrics tests are used and what to expect in your assessment.

Tips are included to help you get the best results.

McQuaig Mental Agility Test (MMAT): Examples & Tips 2024

The McQuaig Mental Agility Test (MMAT) is a 15-minute timed test that is designed to assess your ability to think quickly.

In this short test, you will face questions that will allow you to demonstrate your speed of thought and general mental agility, which are useful aptitudes when it comes to many jobs in different industries.

In this article, find out more about the structure of the test, the different types of McQuaig Mental Agility test questions and what to expect on the day. You’ll also get some mental agility practice test questions and top tips to help you be successful in the MMAT.

USPS Postal Exam MH 475 Study Guide (Examples & Tips)

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is the second biggest employer in the US and offers great job security, so many people consider a career there.

Depending on the job you are applying for, there are several different assessments, as USPS roles are sought after.

USPS introduced the 475 exam , also known as the USPS Virtual Assessment - MH (475) for Mail Handler positions in April of 2019 when it retired the previous USPS Postal exam 473.

Candidates also need to:

Be over 18 years old
Have a high school diploma
Pass criminal and medical tests

In October of 2021, it added two new sections, so when you are looking up information about the 475, make sure you are getting the latest details.

What Is the USPS Exam 475?

The USPS Postal Exam 475 is a virtual entry assessment specifically designed for people who are applying to be a Mail Handler, Mail Handler Assistant or Casual Mail Handler in the US Postal Service. As a part of the hiring process, Postal Exam 475 is designed to check your thought processes and cognitive abilities, rather than just intelligence.

This test is designed to check your thought processes and cognitive abilities, rather than just intelligence.

It wants to see if you suit the role of mail handler.

Once you begin your online application, you only have 72 hours (three days) to complete the 475 assessment.

The 475 postal exam is self-administered and non-proctored – which means there is no one watching or invigilating.

It’s taken through the USPS online portal and takes 45 minutes.

If it times out, you do not get a chance to resit for another year, so be sure that you have a proper internet connection.

The best way to take the USPS 475 assessment is on a tablet or computer, rather than on your phone.

4 Sections of the USPS 475 Postal Exam with Questions & Answers

It’s important to get familiar with the different sections of the assessment and the skills it is testing for. You cannot go back to edit your answers, so take the time to understand the questions and get as many correct answers as you can.

The USPS tests are designed to be unusual – so practicing and getting familiar will help your confidence.

There is no set time for each section, so when you are preparing, take note of which parts are harder for you and bear that in mind when dividing your attention on the actual test.

Section 1 of the US Postal Exam 475: Work Scenarios

The first section of the Assessment 475 is ‘Work Scenarios’ and contains nine questions.

It tests your knowledge of the United States Postal Service and your skill in knowing what both customers and the company is looking for, as well as your general common sense.

A Guide to the FBI Phase 1 Test (Examples & Tips)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is responsible for the enforcement of federal law and the protection of national security in the US.

Working for the FBI can be highly stressful. As a special agent for the FBI, the working week is likely to be 50 hours or more.

Special agents must be willing to be based anywhere in the world. They are expected to carry a firearm and work in potentially dangerous situations.

With this in mind, the FBI has a rigorous application and selection process for potential new recruits. It can take more than 20 months to complete the entire process and commence employment with the FBI.

A Guide to the USPS Postal Exam 955 – Examples & Tips

This guide to the USPS postal exam 955 will take you through the different sections of the test, including example questions, provide tips on how you can prepare for the exam and answer several frequently asked questions.

The USPS postal exam 955 is used to screen applicants for mechanic and technician positions , such as electronic technicians or motor vehicle mechanics. It also sometimes referred to as the postal maintenance 955 exam, USPS maintenance mechanic 955 test or the 955 maintenance exam.

It tests applicants’ suitability by assessing personal characteristics, work experience, and electronic and technical knowledge and skills.

The USPS postal exam 955 replaced the previous 931, 932 and 933 exams .

The USPS postal exam 955 is free of charge , but you will need access to the internet and an email address.

Most companies nowadays require candidates to undergo a series of recruitment stages when they apply for a role.

Each stage is designed to assess a different aspect of the candidates’ suitability for the role.

Amazon is no different from other companies in this respect. Potential employees will be expected to undertake a series of assessments and interviews before being offered a job.

One of the stages of the Amazon interview process is the Amazon technician test (also called the Amazon Ramsay Test).

The Amazon technician test involves several different sections including verbal, non-verbal and workplace simulation questions.

Recruiters will then use this information to decide who would be the best possible candidate for the available position.

It forms a common part of the recruitment process for roles as engineering technicians, specifically Maintenance Technician; or Reliability, Maintenance and Engineering Technician roles.

This article will look at what the Amazon maintenance technician assessment test is and what to expect before, during and after the assessment, plus how best to prepare for it.

Postal Exam: USPS Virtual Entry Assessment – MP 476

If you are looking to work in the United States Postal Service, you will need to pass the USPS Postal Exam 476.

The USPS Postal Exam 476 is an online test that screens for the best candidates. The exam is used to find suitable candidates for a range of positions, including mail processing clerk, data conversion operator and clerk-related positions.

This article will outline what the USPS Postal Exam 476 includes, with particular attention to the separate sections of the examination.

In addition to this, how the exam is scored and how you can best prepare for it will be covered. There will also be a list of frequently asked questions for you to refer to if you have any doubts.

A List of Amazon Assessment Tests Available for Practice in 2024

Amazon Work Simulation Assessment
Amazon Maintenance Technician Test
Amazon Coding Assessment
Amazon Workstyle Assessment
Amazon Area Manager Assessment
Amazon Operations Manager Assessment
Amazon Online MBA Assessment
Amazon RME Apprenticeship Skills Battery Test
Amazon Financial Analyst Assessment
Amazon ATA Technical Assessment
Amazon Control Systems Technician Test
Amazon Warehouse Assessment Test

The Amazon assessment test is an essential way for the corporation to find the best-suited employees.

It is a series of challenges used to evaluate all its candidates during the recruitment process.

Amazon online assessments typically include both numerical and verbal reasoning tests.

These types of tests examine a potential candidate’s logical skills.

Candidates will also have to sit work-style assessments that simulate the working environment at Amazon.

Other Amazon exams include:

The Amazon coding assessment (also known as the Amazon SDE online assessment)
The work sample simulation
An Amazon versant test

These last two, amongst others, will be discussed later in this article.

This Amazon reviewer job article will also discuss how to pass the Amazon assessment tests, some Amazon assessment answers you should know and what you need to do to best prepare yourself.

There is also a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions from those who are interested in taking these Amazon job tests to find employment with the company.

SHL Verbal Reasoning Tests: A Rough Guide

What Is the SHL Verbal Reasoning Test?

The SHL Verbal Reasoning Test is a graduate-level and above pre-employment aptitude test that is used in graduate and management recruitment for many roles across different industries.

The test is usually taken online, and it is designed to evaluate candidates on their ability to understand written information and make informed, reasoned and logical decisions based on that information.

SHL is a well-established test publisher, providing tests for more than 10,000 companies around the world. It offers a range of tests, including psychometric, behavioural and personality assessments that are based in occupational psychology and aptitude science.

The tests have specific aims – and recruitment teams use SHL tests like the Verbal Reasoning Test to filter through similarly qualified candidates to find the applicants who have what it takes to be successful in a graduate or management level role.

When taking a verbal reasoing test, bear in mind that you might also be asked to take numerical reasoning tests, logical reasoning tests or personality tests along side.

What Is an IQ Test? (with Example Questions and Answers)

IQ stands for intelligence quotient and is usually thought to represent the reasoning skills of individuals.

The idea of intelligence relates to how quickly people can solve problems or puzzles, use logic to answer questions, or quickly recall information and facts they’ve heard.

The first type of IQ test was created by a French psychologist named Alfred Binet.

The assessment that he made is still used and is known as the Stanford-Binet intelligence test.

Best Mock Aptitude Tests and Online Psychometric Tests (Full List). Free & Paid Resources.

Are you looking for mock aptitude tests and aptitude test practice ?

This article provides a complete list of all types of online resources for mock aptitude tests and will help you improve your performance at taking these difficult tests.

You came to the right place.

Aptitude Tests (Short Intro)

Aptitude tests are most often used as an assessment tool, usually by an employer, as part of an interview process.

They can be difficult and are often timed.

Your score will be compared to the scores of other candidates, and usually only the top performing candidates will be invited to progress through an interview process.

This is why you must perform to the best of your ability when you take these tests.

Your score is very important.

Improving Your Performance At Aptitude Tests

There are many different types of aptitude test .

Some variations are:

Numerical reasoning tests
Verbal reasoning tests
Abstract reasoning tests

If you want to perform well in an aptitude test , you must find out exactly what type of aptitude test , or tests, you will be taking and prepare for these tests.

The best way to practice is to take mock aptitude tests .

Doing so will help you become familiar with these tests and the types of questions you will be asked and help you improve how you answer these questions.

Online Mock Aptitude Tests (Full List)

There is a wide selection of mock aptitude tests available online.

We have compiled an extensive list below of all the different types of online resource.

All of these resources offer free practice and mock aptitude tests .

Employers Websites: Mock Tests

Many employers offer example mock tests to candidates, so that candidates can get an idea of what to expect when they take a real test.

PwC : Practice psychometric test on PwC website. ( UPDATE January 2021: this test has been removed from the PwC website but you can still find PwC practice tests on JobTestPrep).

KPMG : Practice numerical and verbal test on KPMG website. ( UPDATE January 2021: this test has been removed from the KPMG website but you can still find KPMG practice tests on JobTestPrep).

If you will be taking an aptitude test for an employer and they offer a mock test to you, you must take it.

It will probably be very good preparation for your real test.

The good thing about mock tests on employers sites is that they are free to take.

The bad things about these tests, is that there are often only one or two mock tests to take, you might not always get answers, and the answers often do not have fully explained answers.

Getting full explanations to questions is an important part of your practice because they will help you learn how to improve your performance.

University Careers Services: Mock Tests

Almost all University Careers Service websites offer some form of mock aptitude test , but these are almost always only available to current students (student login required).

If you are a University student, contact your careers service to find out what options are available.

Here's an example of a locked page on a University careers service website.

UCL : This university careers service offers free access to two paid aptitude test sites, but only for current students at UCL.

How to Cheat on the GMAT and Why You Shouldn’t: GMAT Prep Guide

Considering cheating on your GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) Exam?

Want to know how to do it, if you should do it and what the consequences will be?

Well you came to the right place!

Read on to find out more about cheating on the GMAT exam, but be warned...

... it's certainly not something I advise!

3 Best Online Aptitude Test Preparation Websites (3 Free sites + 3 Paid sites)

Do you have an upcoming online aptitude test ?

Are you looking for the best aptitude test prep material to give you the very best chance of getting the highest possible grade?

If so, this article will help you.

Aptitude tests are a crucial part of your job search, and you usually only have one chance to showcase your skills.

Psychometric aptitude tests can measure many different aptitudes and skill sets, in many different formats:

Numerical reasoning
Verbal reasoning
Diagrammatic or inductive reasoning
Mechanical reasoning
Personality types
Situational judgement and work environment tests
Work style tests

Aptitude tests can be challenging and it is important to be fully prepared before you attend your job interview or assessment centre.

Several free and paid aptitude test preparation websites offer preparation packs to help you score the best you can.

The Ultimate Guide to the USPS (United States Postal Service) Exam (with 5 Practice Test Questions!)

Those hoping to secure a career with the USPS (United States Postal Service) will likely face a USPS Virtual Assessment Exam .

These exams include a series of questions designed to test your cognitive ability and personality traits . Many of the questions are situation based, giving the employers an excellent insight into whether you would be a great fit for the role.

What Are the USPS Exams?

As mentioned, the USPS test is a crucial element of the hiring process for many positions at the Post Office. Depending on the specific position you have applied for, you may face the 474 , 475 , 476 or 477 assessment.

Those dreaming of working for the TSA will most likely need to take a challenging exam called the TSA CBT Test during the hiring process. Here we’ll look at exactly what it involves and how you can make sure you pass it. Read on to find out more.

If you plan to work as an inspector, manager, marshal or security officer in any agency governed by the Transportation Security Administration, you must pass the TSA CBT test as part of your application process.

Read on to learn more about this assessment, including its purpose, what types of questions it has, how challenging it is and how to prepare for it.

You'll also be provided with a few example questions to help you get an idea of what this test looks like.

Aptitude Tests: 10 Sample Questions and Answers

Aptitude tests are administered to understand your inherent abilities to reason and respond to specific tasks.

They are widely used in various forms to screen candidates or evaluate existing employees for a future job role.

The most generic and widely used aptitude tests are curated to measure different facets of your abilities, mainly on the following areas:

Abstract Reasoning
Numerical Reasoning
Logical Reasoning
Verbal Reasoning
Attention to Detail

Apart from these base types, there are various other specialized aptitude tests which you may face in specific industries or based on your role in different career stages.

We have discussed each of the most common job related aptitude tests in detail.

Illustrative examples and helpful hints are provided throughout to aid your preparation.

Read on to find out more.

Cognify Tests: Game Based Assessments Explained

The Cognify test is a game-based cognitive assessment designed to measure an individual's cognitive aptitude to measure key job performance linked abilities and skills in a prospective candidate.

The Cognify test was once a product of Revelian, an Australian assessment company, but was later acquired by CriteriaCorp.

Moving away completely from the question-answer based template of traditional tests, Cognify uses an innovative approach where candidates don't face a series of questions on a screen.

Instead, the Cognify Assessment comprises 6-7 timed game-based mini-tests categorized into three cognitive abilities categories:

Problem-Solving
Verbal Knowledge

Well, before you start raising your eyebrows at the mention of ‘game-based’ and dismiss it as just another fad, pay attention!

Cognify assessment is credited as having brought a paradigm shift in the field of psychometric testing.

Many Tier-I graduate recruiters globally have started using this assessment in their candidate selection process.

Train Driver Tests Guide: with Example Questions + Answers

The train driver test is used to establish whether a candidate is suitable for work as a train driver. This unique suite of tests includes psychometric assessment tools such as:

The Group Bourdon Test (GBT)
Test of Everyday Attention (TEA-OCC)
Adaptive Tachistoscopic Traffic Perception Test (ATAVT)
Situational judgement tests
Vigilance tests
Written communication tests

What Is the Train Driver Test?

In most countries, you will need to sit the train driver online test if you want to work as a train driver. If you have been asked to sit the assessments, there is no train driver psychometric test cost associated with the train driver exam.

Working as a train driver is a challenging and demanding role. As a train driver, you must be able to ensure the safety of passengers at all times.

The UK’s train driving tests are some of the most challenging. As well as testing aptitude for the job role, they are used to assess whether candidates have the mental abilities to cope with the stress and demands of the job role.

The train driver test is used to establish whether a candidate is suitable for work as a train driver. The train driver test is a unique group of psychometric tests for train drivers designed to assess the psychomotor and cognitive skills needed to work safely as a train driver.

Predictive Index Tests Fully Explained [With Example Questions + Answers]

The Predictive Index (PI) test is a popular type of pre-employment testing used to accurately measure an individual’s cognitive ability and behavioral profile during the hiring process in a wide range of industries and organizations. They are most commonly used during the early stages of the recruitment process.

The PI cognitive test assesses verbal, numerical and analytical reasoning ability.

The PI behavioral test creates a behavioral persona that describes character traits and tendencies.

The Kenexa Prove It Test is a popular skills assessment test that allows employers to get a hands-on sense of how well a candidate is familiar with Microsoft Office programs.

Most of the time, these tests assess your ability and familiarity with Microsoft’s two most popular programs – Word and Excel.

Kenexa is an IBM company that helps companies by providing them with solutions for talent management, retention and recruitment.

The company works with a variety of organizations and provides them with assessment tests that can be used as part of the hiring process.

Mechanical Aptitude Test: Preparation, Practice & Example Test Questions

A mechanical aptitude reasoning test is an important way to assess your knowledge on mechanical topics for potential roles in the army, emergency services and many other professions. Here, you will get all the information you need on what a mechanical comprehension test is and how to pass it.

Those applying for jobs related to the army, the emergency services engineering service, and similar occupations that require mechanical aptitude, are likely to be asked to take a mechanical reasoning test as part of the recruitment process.

Mechanical aptitude tests assess knowledge in electricity, optics, pressure and other fields of mechanics related to a specific industry.

From this article, you'll learn what mechanical reasoning tests look like, when to take them, what to expect from these assessment types, and how to practise and prepare for them.

Let’s get started!

Cognitive Ability Tests: Practice Test Questions, Answers & Explanations

If you would like to take a free practice Cognitive Ability Test before reading this article, click here .

If you would like to purchase an online Cognitive Ability Test prep pack, visit our partner website JobTestPrep .

The following tests are common cognitive ability tests:

Spatial Reasoning
Mechanical Reasoning
Logical Ability Tests
Space Visualization
Information Processing
Visual Pursuit
Manual Speed and Accuracy

Ace Your Deductive Reasoning Test with Example Questions

Have you been asked to take a Deductive Reasoning test as part of an upcoming interview process?

Continue reading to find out more about this type of test, including:

Why employers use Deductive Reasoning Tests.
How you can improve your performance at Deductive Tests.
What types of questions you will be asked during the Test.

What Is A Deductive Reasoning Test?

Logical thinking or deductive reasoning tests are used by employers to measure an applicant’s ability to make logical arguments and form sound conclusions.

During this type of test, you will be presented with a variety of scenarios, statements and arguments for which you will need to apply a given set of rules to determine the validity of the corresponding conclusion.

Spatial Awareness Tests: Example Questions & Answers (2024)

Spacial Reasoning Definition

A spatial awareness test is a type of assessment that tests your ability to think in three dimensions and use your imagination to see movement through space.

Someone with good spatial awareness will be able to see in their mind how different shapes interact and be able to manipulate them to make a reasoned and logical decision.

The test is based on pictures, diagrams and shapes. You will need to mentally manipulate the presented image by disassembling or reassembling, rotating, seeing it in a mirror image or from different angles, or otherwise visualizing it differently to find the right answer to the question from the multiple-choice options provided.

Spatial awareness is something that we use to a greater or lesser degree every day, from understanding our position relative to other things around us to imagining the route we will take to get from one place to another.

Spatial reasoning tests are distinct from other similar assessments such as diagrammatic reasoning tests and abstract reasoning tests. It is important to understand how they differ as they are often included in aptitude tests and cognitive assessments alongside spatial reasoning tests.

Do you need to take an error-checking test as part of the hiring process?

Continue reading to find out more about these tests and how to prepare.

What Is an Error-Checking Test?

Error-checking tests are used to evaluate your ability to identify errors in sets of data or the correctness of information.

These tests are usually given under strict time constraints so, answering each question quickly and accurately is crucial to receiving a high score.

Saville and SHL are the two main providers of checking tests.

It is best to know which test provider will be administered during your assessment as each comes with its own unique format, level of difficulty and time constraints.

Checking tests are a popular prerequisite for many employment agencies and positions, such as:

EPSO (European Personnel Selection Office)
Administrative Roles (Public & Private Sector)
Commercial Sales
Business Development
Banking & Financial Services
Call Centre Customer Support
Hospitality & Leisure
Engineering, Construction, Manufacturing & Transport (Operational)

Bonus: Get free unlimited access to test practice (for 30 minutes) on our partner website JobTestPrep – Click Here .

Error-Checking Sample Questions

Below you will find a few examples of questions you are likely to encounter during an error-checking or data-checking test.

These questions are stylised after the error-checking tests delivered by EPSO and Saville:

Sample Question 1 (EPSO)

15 Free Psychometric Test Questions and Answers

Psychometric tests are often used by organizations as part of the recruitment process. Different types of psychometric tests are designed to measure various aspects of cognitive ability, reasoning capabilities and personality traits. Potential employers use the results to assess a candidate’s suitability for a role. A psychometric test is generally administered online; this helps hiring managers filter applicants quickly and easily.

Capp Assessment Tests: Numerical, Verbal + Critical Reasoning

As Capp Assessment Tests become more common perhaps you have encountered one for the first time.

This can be a bit daunting and, since they look and feel a bit different to more traditional psychometric reasoning tests, it isn’t necessarily obvious what you need to do to be successful…

Don’t worry.

With the insight and tips we share with you below, you’ll be smashing your tests in no time.

FREE BONUS: Get free unlimited access to Capp test practice (for 30 minutes) on our partner website JobTestPrep.

What are Capp Assessment Tests?

Capp are a consultancy and psychometric test publisher who specialise in Strengths Based Assessments.

They also offer a number of different psychometric tests that are widely used many major organisations including Google, Atkins, Amazon and RBS.

Their Assessment Tests include critical reasoning, numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning .

Psychometric reasoning tests like these are very common.

This is because they are a cheap and efficient way for organisations to identify candidates who aren’t likely to be able to succeed in a particular job.

Because they are often used to filter candidates out of application processes, they are sometimes called screening tests or gateway tests.

Candidates like you have to achieve a particular level of performance in order to progress in the selection process.

With practice you can dramatically improve your performance. Practice is the best way to improve your test scores.

In the rest of this article we’ll show you how the tests work, suggest how you can prepare, and then direct you towards some practice tests so that when the big day comes you are ready.

Before you do anything else, take a look at the Capp website , where you can take free practice tests.

How do Psychometric Reasoning Tests Work?

In general, psychometric reasoning tests challenge users to answer a series of questions and compare their performance on a test with the average performance level of a reference or ‘norm’ group.

This is typically made up of individual with similar characteristics, such as education level, nationality or workplace seniority.

If you do better than most of the norm group you will receive a high score, whereas a low score suggests that your performance was weaker than most of the norm group.

Usually, a minimum standard of performance necessary for success in a role is identified at the start of an assessment process, and all candidates that don’t meet this level will be unable to progress through the process.

What makes Capp Assessment Tests Different?

Capp Assessments are ‘Next Generation’ psychometric aptitude tests ; this means they might look and feel a bit different to other psychometric tests you have completed in the past.

The main difference between the Capp tests and more traditional psychometric ability tests is that the Capp tests are responsive.

This means that the actual questions presented to a candidate will depend upon their performance on the previous questions.

Capp say that the responsiveness of their tests and the size of their question bank mean that the chances of two candidates taking exactly the same test is currently less than one in a billion .

In practice, this means that if you’ve been able to quickly and accurately solve the previous questions, you can expect to be presented with incrementally more challenging questions.

By contrast, if you have made a number of errors, the test will present questions at a lower level.

The aim of the tests is to work out what your maximum ability is. Or put another way, what the most challenging level you are capable of working at is.

Another thing that makes Capp Tests feel different is that they have no time limit (although the time you take to complete the test does effect the score so you still need to work as quickly as you can).

This takes a bit of the pressure off and can make taking these tests rather less stressful than others.

Finally, the variety of question types and the format of the questions in Capp Tests can be different to those used by more traditional test publishers.

Let’s take a closer look at this:

Numerical Reasoning Tests

Traditionally numerical reasoning tests require candidates to select the correct answer from a number of potential options.

The Capp numerical reasoning test still does this, but it also requires candidates to rank potential answers or to type their answer into a free-text box.

This makes it harder to guess the correct answers.

Verbal Reasoning Tests

Verbal reasoning tests typically give you a passage of text to read and then ask you whether a number of subsequent statements are true or false, based on the information contained in the passage.

This question type is included within the Capp Verbal Reasoning Test, but there are also a number of different question formats included.

This means that as well as testing verbal reasoning, the Capp test can also assess verbal dexterity, comprehension, interpretation, and adaptability.

As well as traditional multiple choice questions, the test also presents:

Free text editing : This type of question requires you to type your answers directly into the question. You might be asked to correct spellings or grammar, or edit a passage of text.
Bucket sort : You will be presented with two categories/styles of writing; your task is to place each item presented to the category/style of writing that it best fits.
Drag and Drop : This type of question requires you to drag statements or words to the place that they best fit.
Ranking : These questions can be quite subtle and require you to really understand the nuance of language and language use. You will be presented with a number of statements and asked to rank these based on some feature of the text, such as positivity.
Selecting the most appropriate word to fill in the sentence : You will be presented with a passage of text with a number of blanks in it, for each blank space you must select the most appropriate word to fill the space from a drop down menu.

Critical Reasoning Tests

The Capp Critical Reasoning test evaluates your ability to think critically in a number of ways.

In each instance, a passage of information is presented followed by a series of statements, your task is to select the appropriate response from the drop down menu.

Questions focus around five areas:

Inference: rating the probability of truth of inferences based on given information
Recognition of assumptions: identifying unstated assumptions underlying given statements
Deduction: determining whether conclusions follow logically from given information
Interpretation: weighing evidence and deciding if generalisations or conclusions based on data are warranted
Evaluation of arguments: evaluating the strength and relevance of arguments with respect to a particular question or issue.

How to Cheat on SHL CEB Reasoning Tests (and Why You Shouldn't!)

Are you considering cheating on your upcoming SHL tests ?

In this full disclosure article, I’ll tell you why people cheat on tests, how people cheat, and whether or not it’s worth doing..

Don't cheat!

Practice... it's the only legitimate way to improve your scores, you'll sleep better at night and probably get better results in your tests too.

Still want to read about how to cheat on a test?

The Expert Guide to Numerical Tests (+ Practice Tests + 5 Top Tips to Pass Every Time)

Numerical Reasoning Tests can be very tricky.

And when it comes to results, preparation and practice are key.

But that's easier said than done.

If you're researching this type of aptitude test for the first time or if you want to improve your numerical ability , perform better on tests and get more job offers this article will provide some practical strategies that you can use immediately .

For the best chance of success, read the article below slowly, work through the example questions , follow our tips and actionable advice and then start taking practice tests .

Ready to get started?

Let's go!...

Want to try a practice test before reading this article?

You can take our free numerical test right here:

Employment Personality Test: Types & Uses 2024

Personality tests are a common way for employers to get a better idea of your personality and your suitability for their role. With so many different types of tests out there, preparing for one can be difficult. However, we’ve gathered all the information you need to pass your test with flying colors. Read on to find out more!

If you're applying for a job, there is a good chance you'll be asked to take a personality test as part of the hiring process.

These assessments have become popular among employers who want to ensure they choose the most appropriate candidates for specific positions, especially if it's a high-demand role.

This article offers a detailed guide on personality tests for jobs, including how they're taken, examples and how to prepare for them, regardless of which type of test you're taking.

Let’s get started by looking at exactly what a personality test is.

What Is a Job Personality Test?

Employers utilize a job personality test during the recruitment process as a tool to look at the personality traits of candidates. The tests are devised to screen candidates to ensure that they have the ethical and psychological profile needed for the role to achieve effective job performance.

Understanding what a potential employer wants to accomplish with the psychometric personality test they use during their recruitment process is the key to performing well on the career personality test.

Personality tests measure the patterns of the characteristics showcased in diverse situations or conditions. Employers are looking for candidates exhibiting behavioral traits that align with their organization and current employees' culture. Those that match these traits have a higher chance of being more successful in landing the desired position.

The desired traits are determined based on the employers' requirements and the test developers' recommendations. The latter are developed using years of research and analysis of representative samples of candidates applying for specific positions. To ensure that each characteristic is measured accurately, there are typically several questions related to just one trait.

There are two types of personality tests:

Projective tests
Self-report inventories

Projective testing is a performance-based evaluation. It relies on defense mechanisms called projection to assess candidates' cognitive processes.

The tests involve showing a series of cards to the candidates, who are encouraged to project how they feel about the image displayed on the card.

They might be asked to complete a sentence, tell a story or interpret the image to reveal how the candidates process information.

The answers are compared to a specific scoring system used for each specific personality test.

Self-report inventories are objective tests for assessing candidates' personalities. They are a questionnaire with standardized questions, together with response categories candidates are required to complete independently.

The questions on the job personality test are either multiple-choice items or numbered scales (going from 1 to 5 or from 'strongly disagree' to 'strongly agree'). Self-report inventories are the most popular among employers as they're easy to administer and cost-effective.

However, they come with the increased likelihood of candidates being tempted to answer intentionally or unintentionally in a way that makes them more socially desirable candidates.

They might provide exaggerated, misleading or biased answers.

The Best Logical Reasoning Practice Test Prep

Logical reasoning tests are a little different to your average psychometric test .

With this type of assessment, there are many different variations so it is sometimes difficult to determine which aspect of logical reasoning you will be assessed on.

With this guide, you’ll learn the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning tests , and some tips for maximising performance.

Designed to evaluate how you interpret patterns, shapes, numbers and other data to reach logical conclusions, the assessments are used across a number of different sectors at all levels of recruitment from entry right up to managerial positions.

Best Inductive Reasoning Test Prep: Improve Your Performance (+ Get Better Scores!)

Inductive reasoning is based around patterns and is another variation of the many psychometric tests used by employers as a way to determine the suitability of a candidate for their roles.

On a similar level to diagrammatic reasoning , inductive reasoning will assess your ability to apply logic and rationale to solve problems.

Diagrammatic Reasoning Test Guide (Explained by an Expert): 3 Example Questions, 5 Top Tips and 1 Practice Test

Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests are a type of psychometric test which assess your logical reasoning skills.

They are can also be known as abstract reasoning tests or inductive reasoning tests .

Diagrammatic Reasoning tests evaluate your ability to synthesise data and solve problems logically.

Questions often ask you to look at a sequence of shapes, patterns or numbers and assess if you can identify the rules that apply to the sequence.

In-Tray & E-Tray Exercises, Prep Guide 2024

The in tray exercise (also called an e-tray exercise ) is a popular assessment activity which employers use to evaluate the skills of applicants in a workplace situation.

If you have an In Tray exercise coming up as part of your interview process, this article will help you prepare.

Within these exercises, candidates will be presented with a given scenario, along with a set of tasks to complete which may include things like responding to email messages, reports or briefing documents.

Aptitude Tests: An Honest Introduction for Jobseekers

Aptitude tests are short tests employers use to assess whether a candidate has the level of competency necessary for success in the role.

The tests are used to see if a candidate has the skills necessary to do the job.

Aptitude tests are standardized, for the most part, and the results of all the candidates are compared to each other to see which candidate may be the best for the job.

Aptitude tests provide employers with a quick way to assess a candidate’s ability to perform in high-pressure situations and think in critical ways as they would if they were on the job.

Situational Judgement Tests: A Complete Guide (With Practice Questions)

What Is a Situational Judgment Test?

A situational judgement test (SJT) is a psychometric test that is often used as part of the recruitment process for graduate and managerial positions as well as roles that are customer-facing in a wide range of industries.

The SJT is designed to assess how a candidate deals with work-related problems and situations, focusing on essential aptitudes , competencies and soft skills that are not always easy to evaluate in other ways.

Although SJTs are usually bespoke to the company (or in some cases, the specific role), they tend to follow the same basic structure.

Each question is formed by presenting a fictional yet realistic work-based scenario. This might be text-based, it may include some illustrations or it could be animated or acted out in a video.

Following the scenario, there will be several options that you can choose from, each giving a possible course of action to follow to solve the issue that is presented in the situation given.

The answer that you choose will be compared to the benchmark answers that the recruitment team is using – these represent the core competencies for the role, as well as alignment with company values.

The Expert Guide to Verbal Reasoning Tests (with Example Test Questions + Top Tips to Pass Every Time!)

Verbal reasoning tests are an increasingly common way for companies to find the most suitable candidates for their roles. They can be challenging to pass but, thankfully, help is available. Here you’ll get all the information you need to pass your verbal reasoning test.

Verbal reasoning tests have become a common practice in companies looking to hire highly skilled and qualified professionals or evaluate the existing workforce.

They help simplify the recruitment and onboarding processes and allow candidates to find roles suited to their skills and needs.

This article brings you an overview of verbal reasoning tests, example questions with answers and explanations, and tricks to improve your performance and obtain high scores on the assessment.

Let’s take a look!

SHL Assessment Test: How to Get Top Scores on Any Test, Every Time

SHL assessment tests are important steps in many job interviews and career advancement opportunities. Therefore, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of how the different types of SHL tests work and how you can prepare for them in order to get top scores.

In this article, we will provide an overview of how SHL assessments work, sample SHL test questions, tips on improving your test performance, and strategies for prepping and succeeding with any SHL test.

What Is an SHL Assessment Test?

SHL is a global assessment company that is well known and recognised as a leader in pre-employment psychometric tests; the tests that SHL publishes are used by 75% of the FTSE 100 and they are available in more than 40 languages.

So if you are applying for a new role (especially for a graduate position), you are likely to come across them in the recruitment process.

In addition, the company offers consultancy and management services via its TalentCentral platform.

The SHL assessment are a series of tests that can be delivered individually or in a battery, and some of them are bespoke to the company that is using them, making them an excellent way for the recruitment team to ensure that the applicants for a role have the basic competencies, personality traits, work behaviours and cognitive abilities to be successful.

How to Pass KPMG Interviews, Assessments and Aptitude Tests

As one of the world’s largest and most reputable and successful professional services firms, getting through the KPMG application process as a graduate is an unsurprisingly scrupulous and demanding process.

That said, knowing what to expect and how to prepare for what’s ahead can make the process much less daunting, as well as significantly increasing your chances of success.

Read on, to find out more.

Stage One: Online Aptitude Tests

What’s involved:.

The first stage of the application process is conducted online with candidates required two separate assessments:

A numerical test
A verbal reasoning test

How to Complete KPMG’s Psychometric Tests

Even if your online test is only a few days away, these still leaves you with plenty of time to get to grips with the tests, plan your strategy and start practising.

To help you, here is a breakdown of each test, together with advice for how to approach them and to secure yourself the best possible outcome from the initial assessment stage.

The Purpose of KPMG’s Verbal Reasoning Test:

Cubik’s verbal reasoning for business test is by KPMG to test the ability of KPMG graduates to digest, analyse and interpret written information.

The test seeks to replicate the kind of tasks that might come your way during a typical workday in the form of emails, reports and other sources of information.

KPMG’s verbal reasoning test lasts 20 minutes and includes 44 different questions, which are based on a series of source texts. For each question, candidates must choose from the following options: ‘true’, ‘false’ or ‘cannot determine’.

Tips for KPMG Verbal Reasoning Test

Tip 1: practise the tests.

A few days to prepare still leaves you with plenty of time to get to grips with the format and to familiarise yourself with the style of testing.

The Cubiks website has a practice test for you to use free of charge to get you started, while links to full-length versions can be found on the WikiJob site.

Tip 2: Time Yourself

Perhaps the most important aspect of the test is being able to manage your time efficiently.

With so many questions to answer in a limited time you can’t normally be expected to finish them all, but the more you attempt, the greater your chances of passing are.

When practicing, be sure to time yourself. Set yourself a time limit for each set of questions and move on if you run out of time.

Tip 3: Read the Text Properly

Read the text properly: resist the temptation to save time by skim reading the information in the text and jumping straight to the question.

Familiarising yourself fully with the information presented before attempting the questions themselves will save you having to keep referring back to the text for each question.

This could save you valuable seconds or minutes in the long-run and help you pass.

Tip 4: Don’t Assume

Don’t go on assumptions: while a certain degree of common sense will be needed, be wary of basing your answers on anything other than the information provided by the test.

KPMG’s verbal reasoning tests are designed so as to require close reading of the text, with the ‘cannot determine’ option, thrown in to avoid educated guessing. There are no shortcuts!

The Format of KPMG’s Numerical Reasoning Tests

The KPMG numerical reasoning test, designed by Cubiks , for KPMG graduate applicants is similar in structure to the verbal reasoning exam. The main difference is that there are fewer questions (usually 24), for which you are given 20 minutes to answer.

Again, the questions will be based on source data, which is typically presented in the form of tables, graphs and statistical tables.

There are usually several questions pertaining to each set of data. For each question, you will be given a selection of possible answers to choose from.

The aim of the test is to assess candidates’ ability to digest and analyse numerical and statistical data and, in doing so, demonstrate skills that may be relevant to the workplace.

Kenexa is an international business psychology consultancy.

Most businesses prefer the efficiency of conducting candidate testing online, with Kenexa’s advanced verbal reasoning test (VRT) and numerical reasoning test (NRT) prevalent options for filtering candidates before an interview.

Graduates are likely to encounter Kenexa’s tests at the sifting or screening stage of an assessment process.

If you’re wondering how hard Kenexa tests are, what they look like and how they unfold, this guide and the online Kenexa Sample Questions will help you get prepared.

CAT4 인지능력 테스트 는 학생의 학업성취도를 측정하기 위해 고안된 테스트입니다.

CAT4 테스트 점수가 매겨지면, 교사와 부모님들은 그 학생의 학업 잠재력에 대한 요약을 받게 될 것입니다.

테스트를 보는 모든 학생들은 그들의 비언어적 추론 능력 , 언어적 추론 능력 , 양적 추론 능력 그리고 공간적 인식 을 측정할 질문들을 받을 것입니다.

이번에는 이러한 기술을 검토하기 위해서 어떤 유형의 질문을 받는지 자세히 알아보겠습니다.

또한 다양한 유형의 CAT4 테스트 레벨에 대한 자세한 내용도 다루고자 합니다. 이를 통해 다양한 연령대에서 어떻게 CAT4 테스트 점수가 매겨지는지 이해할 수 있습니다.

이 정보 이후에는 자녀가 잘 할 수 있도록 일반적인 조언과 팁이 제공됩니다. CAT4 테스트 를 보는 교사, 부모님, 학생들이 주로 하는 자주 묻는 질문도 이야기해보고자 합니다.

6 conseils pour les tests SHL: Comment obtenir les meilleurs résultats à tous les tests, sans exception.

Tests SHL. Si vous êtes en train de lire cet article, il y a de fortes chances que vous veniez d'apprendre que vous allez en passer une dans les jours à venir.

Si vous êtes ici et que vous vous sentez maintenant nerveux à l'idée de vous assoir pour l'examen complet, ne vous inquiétez pas...

Nous sommes là pour vous aider.

Cet article a été écrit spécifiquement pour vous aider à vous préparer aux Tests SHL .

Lisez la suite, suivez nos conseils et vous serez en mesure d'obtenir un résultat fantastique.

6 SHL-Test-Tipps: Wie Sie bei jedem Test Bestnoten erzielen, jedes Mal.

Um einen SHL-Übungstest zu absolvieren, bevor Sie diesen Artikel lesen, klicken Sie hier.

SHL-Tests. Wenn Sie diesen Artikel lesen, dann ist die Wahrscheinlichkeit groß, dass Sie gerade erfahren haben, dass in den nächsten Tagen einer davon auf Sie zukommen wird.

Wenn Sie jetzt hier sind und sich angespannt fühlen, weil Sie an einer Prüfung teilnehmen werden, machen Sie sich keine Sorgen…

Wir sind für Sie da.

Dieser Artikel wurde speziell geschrieben, um Sie bei der Vorbereitung auf SHL-Tests zu Unterstützen.

Lesen Sie weiter, befolgen Sie unsere Tipps und Sie sind bestens vorbereitet für ein fantastisches Ergebnis.

Sind Sie auf der Suche nach kostenlosen psychometrischen Tests zur Übung?

Dann ist diese Seite genau das Richtige für Sie.

Was ist ein psychometrischer Test?

Psychometrische Tests (auch Eignungstests genannt) sind fester Bestandteil von Jobinterviews vieler Unternehmen auf der ganzen Welt.

Diese Tests bestehen normalerweise aus einer Reihe von zeitlich erfassten Fragen , die meist numerischen (mathematischen Fragen), verbalen (Fragen zum Leseverständnis) oder logischen (diagrammatischen Fragen) Ursprungs sind.

Testes Psicométricos: O Guia Completo + Testes Práticas

Testes psicométricos (também conhecidos como testes de aptidão) são uma parte comum do processo de entrevistas de emprego em muitas companhias no mundo todo.

Geralmente, esses testes consistem de uma série de questões com um certo tempo de resposta.

As questões costumam ser numéricas (questões matemáticas), verbais (compreensão textual) ou lógicas (questões de diagrama).

Dicas Para O Teste SHL (Atualização De 2024): Como Obter As Melhores Pontuações Em Todos Os Testes, Todas As Vezes.

Testes SHL . Se você está lendo isso, há uma boa chance de você ter acabado de descobrir que fará um desses testes difíceis como parte de um processo de recrutamento em andamento.

Se você chegou tão longe e agora está se sentindo tenso para se sentar na frente de um ‘abstract quiz’, não se preocupe...

Nós cuidaremos de você.

Mejorar en las pruebas de razonamiento inductivo

El Razonamiento Inductivo está basado en patrones y es otra variante de las muchas pruebas psicométricas utilizadas por los empleadores como una forma de determinar la idoneidad de un candidato para sus roles.

En un nivel similar al del razonamiento esquemático , el razonamiento inductivo probará tu habilidad para aplicar la lógica y la razón para la resolución de problemas.

Cómo funcionan las pruebas inductivas

Dentro de la prueba se te presentará una serie de diagramas los cuales se vincularán mediante una regla subyacente.

Esta regla afectará el diseño del diagrama y tu tarea será identificar el patrón.

Bonificación: puedes obtener acceso ilimitado y gratuito a la práctica de prueba (durante 30 minutos) en nuestro sitio web asociado JobTestPrep: Clic aquí .

Por lo general, se espera que los candidatos seleccionen entre 4 y 6 posibles respuestas completas bajo condiciones de tiempo.

Las pruebas de razonamiento inductivo a menudo complementan otras pruebas como las de razonamiento verbal o numérico.

A veces las empresas requieren que complete una prueba de juicio situacional o un cuestionario de personalidad junto con la evaluación de razonamiento inductivo.

Los resultados de cada prueba se revisarán individualmente y luego colectivamente para determinar si tú serías una buena opción para la empresa.

¿Por qué los empleadores utilizan estas pruebas?

Algunas veces se las denomina prueba de razonamiento abstracto, las evaluaciones de razonamiento inductivo están diseñadas para evaluar tus habilidades en la resolución de problemas y el razonamiento lógico.

Cuando completes la prueba, los reclutadores buscarán tu capacidad para trabajar de manera efectiva con información desconocida para alcanzar una solución viable.

Las pruebas se utilizan a menudo para evaluar tu capacidad de pensar creativamente, aplicar habilidades analíticas y diseñar soluciones innovadoras, mientras que a menudo son un indicador de tu nivel general de inteligencia.

Como tal, es esencial que realices el trabajo preparatorio necesario antes de la prueba real para asegurarte de poder completarla exitosamente y crear una buena impresión.

La prueba de razonamiento inductivo es frecuentemente usada por empleadores corporativos; es común esperar que se complete al menos una prueba psicométrica como parte del proceso de reclutamiento.

Los empleadores utilizarán estas pruebas para ver la eficacia con la que trabajas bajo presión y tu enfoque de la evaluación.

Las pruebas de razonamiento inductivo son usadas predominantemente en los roles técnicos o aquellos que requieren una resolución frecuente de problemas y los empleadores las utilizan para evaluar cómo identificas patrones, con qué eficacia puedes identificar reglas y consistencias de datos y si puedes predecir la secuencia de objetos a medida que evolucionan.

En términos de evaluación psicométrica, el razonamiento inductivo, el razonamiento abstracto y el razonamiento esquemático son tres pruebas que a menudo se superponen con la evaluación. Los proveedores utilizan nombres diferentes para cada uno, lo que hace que las cosas sean un poco más confusas.

Estas pruebas ciertamente varían entre los empleadores y la etapa en el proceso de reclutamiento también será diferente.

Algunas empresas los utilizan como un ejercicio de selección previa a la entrevista para limitar un conjunto de candidatos, mientras que otras organizaciones pueden usarlos hacia el final del proceso de reclutamiento o como parte de los días de evaluación.

Contenido de la prueba de Razonamiento Inductivo

La mayoría de las pruebas de razonamiento inductivo presentan una serie de secuencia de palabras, ilustraciones o formas y te piden que decidas cuál es la siguiente.

Esto requiere prestar atención a los detalles, a la resolución de problemas y perseverancia para alcanzar la respuesta requerida, todo lo cual se evalúa en condiciones de tiempo, lo que agrega aún más presión.

La prueba en sí misma requerirá que compares varios elementos incluyendo colores y formas, o que los clasifiques basándote en cantidad o tamaño.

Como un ejemplo, se te proporcionará un juego de seis cuadros conteniendo una cantidad de formas y luego se te pedirá que elabores una secuencia lógica para cada cuadro.

Para obtener la respuesta correcta, deberías identificar un patrón tal como similitudes, diferencias o una combinación de ambos.

Estas tareas pueden parecer extremadamente complejas, por ello es importante realizar tantas prácticas de pruebas similares como sea posible antes de la prueba real y también tanta práctica como puedas antes de la entrevista o del día de evaluación.

Asegúrate de llegar a tiempo y haber dormido bien la noche anterior, de lo contrario, es posible que te falte la concentración y que parezca que no entiendes lo que te piden que hagas.

Una aproximación a las Pruebas de Razonamiento Inductivo

Cuando comienzas la prueba, lee la pregunta detenidamente y trata de observar solamente a un elemento de la forma a la vez.

Es muy fácil sentirse abrumado por el contenido de una evaluación de razonamiento inductivo, por lo que la mejor manera de abordarla es intentar y decidir el patrón, considerando específicamente el tamaño, la orientación y la ubicación de la forma interior.

Los patrones están diseñados para ser complicados en tomarte el tiempo y utilizar tu lógica para resolver el problema.

Si estás teniendo una particular dificultad en identificar un patrón, trata de observarlo desde el final en lugar del principio.

Esto puede resaltar de manera efectiva algo que quizás hayas omitido usando el método tradicional de revisar las formas.

Toma conciencia de la hora pero no mires el reloj, y no te asustes en la medida de lo posible; esto sólo hará las cosas más difíciles.

Las pruebas de razonamiento inductivo son creadas para ser completadas bajo presión, por lo que la práctica de completar las pruebas en condiciones de tiempo puede ayudar de manera significativa.

Practicar es una de las mejores maneras de prepararte mentalmente para cualquier prueba psicométrica y el razonamiento inductivo no es diferente a ello.

Nada te preparará mejor para la evaluación que realizar una cantidad de exámenes de práctica, muchos de las cuales puedes encontrar en línea gratuitamente.

Cuando te familiarizas con el formato de la prueba y te acostumbras a responder preguntas rápidamente y trabajar bajo presión, es mucho más probable que tengas éxito que si no realizas ningún trabajo de preparación o práctica anteriormente.

La Guía Completa de Pruebas Psicométricas (Edición 2024)

¿Qué son las pruebas psicométricas?

Las pruebas psicométricas (también conocidas como Pruebas de Aptitud ) son ahora una parte común de los procesos de selección y evanotluación, por lo tanto un requisito necesario para solicitar trabajo.

Si tú aún no has completado una, es muy probable que lo necesites en algún momento en el futuro. Con esto en mente, hemos preparado para ti la Guía actual para las pruebas psicométricas para explicar qué son, cómo se utilizan y cómo completarlas con éxito.

Antes de comenzar con el artículo a continuación, ten en cuenta que tenemos tres pruebas psicométricas de práctica disponibles para que las pruebes.

Pruebas de razonamiento verbal: Guía experta 2024 (con ejemplos de preguntas y respuestas de las pruebas)

Las pruebas de razonamiento verbal están diseñadas para examinar tu nivel de comprensión del pasaje de un texto.

Estas pruebas son un ejemplo de una prueba de habilidad (a veces conocida como pruebas de aptitud) y son utilizadas por los empleadores en combinación con pruebas de razonamiento numérico y pruebas de razonamiento lógico .

Las pruebas de razonamiento verbal tienen como objetivo identificar tu capacidad máxima de comprensión, o en otras palabras, el párrafo de un texto más desafiante que tú podrás entender.

Pruebas numéricas: Puntaje en el percentil 99 (Actualización del artículo: 2024)

Las pruebas numéricas son tramposas. Y cuando se trata de obtener mejores resultados, la preparación y la práctica son la clave.

Pero eso es más fácil decirlo que hacerlo…

Si estás explorando este tipo de prueba de aptitud por primera vez, o si estás buscando formas de mejorar tu capacidad, desempeñarte mejor y obtener más entrevistas y ofertas de trabajo, este artículo te brindará algunas estrategias prácticas que podrás usarlas de inmediato.

Y si deseas probar un examen de práctica en cualquier momento, tú puedes realizar nuestro examen numérico gratuito aquí mismo . Esta prueba tiene diez preguntas (e incluye respuestas y explicaciones completas).

¿Cómo podrás aumentar tu puntaje de la manera más rápida y efectiva posible , incluso hasta el percentil 99 ?

Para obtener la mejor oportunidad de éxito, lee este artículo lentamente, sigue nuestros consejos prácticos y, cuando hayas terminado, practica con nuestras pruebas gratuitas.

Numerische Tests: Erreiche den 99%-Bereich (2024 Artikel-Update)

Numerische Tests können knifflig sein. Übung und die richtige Vorbereitung sind der Schlüssel zum Erfolg.

Aber das ist leichter gesagt als getan…

Wenn Du zum ersten Mal über diese Tests nachliest oder wenn Du nach Wegen suchst um deine Fähigkeiten zu verbessern, besser abzuschneiden und mehr Interviews und Jobangebote zu bekommen, ist dieser Artikel ideal für Dich.

Hier erfährst Du von Strategien die Du sofort praktisch einsetzen kannst.

Falls du einen Übungstest machen möchtest kannst du hier jederzeit einen der kostenlosen numerischen Tests ausprobieren. Dieser Test beinhaltet zehn Fragen (mit Antworten und ausführlichen Erklärungen).

Wie kann man sein Ergebnis so schnell und effektiv wie möglich verbessern , selbst bis in der 99% Bereich ?

Lies den Artikel am besten langsam durch, folge unseren Tipps und unseren Empfehlungen – so hast du die größten Erfolgschancen. Wenn du damit fertig bist kannst du einen unserer Übungstests kostenlos ausprobieren.

Bonus: Kostenloser uneingeschränkter Zugang zum Eignungs-Übungstest (für 30 Minuten) auf unserer Partner-Webseite JobTestPrep.

A Guide to the Watson Glaser Test: & Tips

The Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal , commonly referred to as the Watson Glaser test, is usually used as a pre-employment psychometric test largely used in the recruitment process for roles in the legal industry.

The Watson Glaser test consists of 40 questions separated into five sections, assessing the critical thinking skills of the candidate. The five sections are:

Recognition of assumptions
Interpretation
Evaluation of arguments

This article will discuss the Watson Glaser test’s format and content and how it’s applied.

It will also suggest different ways that you can prepare yourself for the test, gives some examples of the types of questions you might face and some tips that will help you achieve the test score you need to progress.

A Guide to the Microsoft Excel Test 2024: Preparation, Practice & Example Test Questions

Microsoft is one of the world's most commonly used computer software.

If you're working in an office, you are almost certain to use applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook or PowerPoint.

Therefore, it makes perfect sense that employers want to know that you are proficient in these applications as part of their hiring process.

If your job requires data analysis or compiling data streams, you will likely need to be adept at using Microsoft Excel.

In these circumstances, you may be asked to participate in an Excel assessment test so a hiring manager can confirm that you know how to make the most out of the program.

With this in mind, we will look at what you could expect from a Microsoft Excel test.

Then, we'll take you through a series of Microsoft Excel practice test questions, and we'll give you everything you need to know so you can prepare for the Excel assessment.

A Guide to the Cubiks Test: Tips & Example Questions

What Is a Cubiks Test?

The Cubiks tests were developed by the Cubiks assessment consultancy, which was founded in 2000.

In 2019, Cubiks was acquired by PSI Talent Management UK, an award-winning provider of psychometric assessments.

In 2022, PSI Services became Talogy.

Cubiks tests are available in more than 50 countries around the world. Many highly-regarded employers in the UK use Cubiks tests, including:

The UK Civil Service
National Audit Office
National Health Service

Cubiks tests are designed to help employers and organisations with recruitment, employee development and talent management. They are well known for their intuitive interface and easy-to-interpret structure.

When applying for job roles, you may be asked to complete one or more types of Cubiks test as part of the screening and selection process.

If you are already working, your employer might ask you to sit a Cubiks test assessment as part of the career development programme or talent management process.

This article offers an overview of what to expect from the Cubiks test. It also includes some Cubiks online test example questions and tips on how to succeed when taking the Cubiks test.

The Korn Ferry assessment is a tool used in the recruiting process for leadership positions.

The tests assess candidates across a range of skills, including:

Logic reasoning ability
Numerical reasoning ability
Verbal reasoning ability
Personality traits

As a result, the Korn Ferry assessment allows businesses to secure the best talent and identify individuals to be promoted to management positions.

The Korn Ferry assessment is an evaluation tool used by companies across the globe to ensure they employ the best talent.

The assessment comprises a series of smaller tests focusing on:

Reading comprehension
Personality
Leadership assessments

As well as a tool utilized during the interview process, the Korn Ferry assessments are often used when looking to promote team members into management positions.

This article will discuss the Korn Ferry assessment, explaining exactly what it involves and giving tips to enable the best chance of success.

If you are applying for an executive-level or management role, you might be expected to take an aptitude test as part of the recruitment process.

The Swift Executive Aptitude Test is a short assessment designed to measure specific aptitudes that are necessary for success in a leadership position.

In this article, you will discover more about the test, the structure of the assessment, and example questions.

You will also learn what you will need to bear in mind to be successful in the test, including tips about preparation and a breakdown of what to expect from the scoring.

This numerical reasoning practice test has 10 questions.

The test has a mixture of numerical questions that vary in difficulty.

Answers and full explanations are provided after you have completed a question. You should aim to complete the test within 10 minutes.

Make sure you read and fully understand each question before answering. Work quickly, but don't rush. You cannot afford to make mistakes on a real test.

What is a Verbal Reasoning Test?

A Verbal Reasoning Test is a type of cognitive assessment designed to evaluate an individual's ability to comprehend and analyze written information, make logical deductions and draw conclusions based on the presented text.

These tests are often used in various educational and employment settings to assess a person's verbal reasoning skills, which are essential for tasks that involve understanding and interpreting written or spoken language.

This inductive reasoning practice test has nine questions (and includes answers and full explanations).

This abstract reasoning practice test has 10 questions (and answers with full explanations).

For each question, choose which of the figures in the bottom line – A, B, C, D or E – completes the series in the top line.

The level of difficulty varies significantly, from easy to extremely hard. Items having the solution based on one rule are easy, while those with the solution based on four rules are extremely hard; the others are in between - medium and hard, respectively.

Your goal is to understand the logic of each question (the rules behind it). Do not despair if you can’t find the solution immediately, especially for the very hard questions!

What is a Cognitive Test?

A cognitive test is an assessment tool designed to measure an individual's cognitive abilities, which are the mental processes involved in acquiring, processing, storing and using information.

Cognitive assessments are used to evaluate various aspects of cognitive functioning, including memory, attention, problem-solving, reasoning, language comprehension, and more.

Cognitive function tests are commonly employed in several contexts, including education, clinical psychology, neuropsychology and employment assessment.

This cognitive ability practice test has been designed to help you prepare for the real thing.

Deductive Reasoning Practice: Test & Guide 2024

What is a Deductive Reasoning Test?

A deductive reasoning test is a type of cognitive assessment that measures a person's ability to draw logical conclusions based on given information or premises.

Deductive reasoning is a form of logical thinking that involves moving from general statements or principles to specific conclusions. In other words, it is the process of applying a general rule or premise to a specific situation to determine a particular outcome.

In a deductive reasoning test, you are typically presented with a set of premises or statements that establish certain conditions or facts. You are then asked to use these premises to determine a valid conclusion.

The conclusions you reach must follow logically from the given premises, and the test assesses your ability to make accurate deductions based on the provided information.

Deductive reasoning tests are often used in educational settings, as part of standardized testing, and in various employment assessments.

They are designed to evaluate an individual's problem-solving skills, critical thinking ability, and their capacity to analyze information and reach logical conclusions.

These tests can take various formats, including multiple-choice questions, true or false questions or scenario-based questions where you need to determine the correct outcome based on the information provided.

Success in deductive reasoning tests often requires a strong understanding of logical principles and the ability to apply them effectively to specific situations.

What is Logical Reasoning?

Logical reasoning, often referred to as logical thinking or critical thinking, is a cognitive process that involves the ability to analyze information, identify patterns, make sound judgments and draw valid conclusions.

It is a fundamental skill that plays a crucial role in problem-solving, decision-making and rational thinking.

Logical reasoning involves breaking down complex information or situations into smaller, more manageable parts. It requires examining details and understanding the relationships between various elements.

What are the Types of Logical Reasoning Tests?

Logical reasoning tests come in various forms and are used by employers, educational institutions, and standardized testing organizations to assess an individual's ability to think critically and solve problems.

Here are some common types of logical reasoning tests:

Reading Comprehension: These tests assess your ability to understand and analyze written information, make inferences, and draw conclusions from passages of text.

Critical Thinking Tests: These tests evaluate your ability to analyze and evaluate arguments, identify assumptions, and assess the validity of statements or claims.

Analogical Reasoning Tests: Analogical reasoning involves recognizing relationships between words or concepts and applying these relationships to solve problems. For example, you might be asked to complete an analogy like "A is to B as C is to what?"

Numerical Computation: These tests assess your basic arithmetic skills, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Numerical Sequences: These tests require you to identify patterns and relationships within number sequences and use them to predict the next number.

Data Interpretation: In these tests, you are presented with data in the form of tables, graphs, or charts, and you must interpret the information to answer questions.

Abstract Reasoning Tests

Non-Verbal Reasoning: Abstract reasoning tests evaluate your ability to recognize patterns, shapes, and relationships among visual elements. They often involve series of diagrams or figures, and you must identify the logical rules governing them.

Inductive Reasoning: Inductive reasoning tests present you with a series of visual or abstract patterns and require you to identify the underlying rules and predict the next pattern in the sequence.

Spatial Reasoning Tests

Spatial Awareness: These tests measure your ability to visualize and manipulate objects in three-dimensional space. You may be asked to complete puzzles, identify rotated or mirrored images, or solve spatial problems. Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests:

Diagram Interpretation: Diagrammatic reasoning tests use diagrams or symbols to present problems. You must analyze the diagrams to draw conclusions or identify patterns.

Syllogism and Logic Tests

Syllogisms: Syllogism tests present logical statements and ask you to determine whether a conclusion is valid based on the given premises.

Symbolic Logic: These tests involve working with formal logic symbols to evaluate logical arguments.

Inference and Deduction Tests

Inference Tests: Inference tests assess your ability to make logical deductions and draw conclusions based on a set of statements or information.

Deductive Reasoning: Deductive reasoning tests require you to apply deductive logic principles to solve problems and make decisions.

Mechanical Reasoning Tests

Mechanical Understanding: These tests evaluate your knowledge of mechanical and physical concepts, such as gears, pulleys, levers, and basic physics principles.

Cognitive Ability Tests

Cognitive Ability Tests: These assessments often include a combination of various reasoning types and are designed to measure overall cognitive abilities.

What are the Common Logic Tests Employers Use?

Employers often use a variety of logic tests to assess the cognitive abilities and problem-solving skills of job applicants. The specific logic tests used can vary depending on the nature of the job and the industry.

Here are some common logic tests that employers may use during the hiring process:

Logical Deduction and Syllogism Tests
Data Interpretation Tests
Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests

This is a 10 question practice logical reasoning test .

After you have given an answer to a question, the correct answer (and a full explanation of that answer) will be given.

What are the Topics Covered by a Logical Reasoning Test?

Syllogism, statements and assumptions, logical deduction, cause and effect, statements and conclusions, logical problems.

Set of 10 questions, along with correct answers and explanations for each.

Topics Covered:

General concepts, levers, springs, pulleys, area and volume, gears, inclined plane, basic electrical circuitry.

Difficulty Level:

Take a free practice mechanical reasoning test.

Situational awareness, evaluation of alternatives.

Take a Free Practice Situational Judgement Test

Block counting, 3D rotation, 2D rotation, reflection, broken shapes, transforming 2D to 3D, isometric view, difference in 2D versus 3D viewing.

Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Practice Test 2024

What is the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Test?

The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Test, often referred to as the Watson-Glaser test, is a widely used assessment tool designed to evaluate an individual's critical thinking skills.

It is commonly administered as part of the hiring process for various professional and managerial positions, particularly in fields where critical thinking and problem-solving abilities are highly valued, such as law, finance and management.

This is a nine question diagrammatic reasoning practice test.

We recommend a time limit of nine minutes for this test.

After you have given your answer to a question, you will be shown the correct answer and given a full explanation.

What is the Critical Thinking Test?

The Critical Thinking Test is a comprehensive evaluation designed to assess individuals' cognitive capacities and analytical prowess.

This formal examination, often referred to as the critical thinking assessment, is a benchmark for those aiming to demonstrate their proficiency in discernment and problem-solving.

In addition, this evaluative tool meticulously gauges a range of skills, including logical reasoning, analytical thinking, and the ability to evaluate and synthesize information.

This article will embark on an exploration of the Critical Thinking Test, elucidating its intricacies and elucidating its paramount importance. We will dissect the essential skills it measures and clarify its significance in gauging one's intellectual aptitude.

We will examine examples of critical thinking questions, illuminating the challenging scenarios that candidates encounter prompting them to navigate the complexities of thought with finesse.

Critical Thinking Practice Test

Before going ahead to take the critical thinking test, let's delve into the realm of preparation. This segment serves as a crucible for honing the skills assessed in the actual examination, offering candidates a chance to refine their analytical blades before facing the real challenge. Here are some skills that will help you with the critical thinking assessment: Logical Reasoning: The practice test meticulously evaluates your ability to deduce conclusions from given information, assess the validity of arguments, and recognize patterns in logic. Analytical Thinking: Prepare to dissect complex scenarios, identify key components, and synthesize information to draw insightful conclusions—a fundamental aspect of the critical thinking assessment. Problem-Solving Proficiency: Navigate through intricate problems that mirror real-world challenges, honing your capacity to approach issues systematically and derive effective solutions. What to Expect: The Critical Thinking Practice Test is crafted to mirror the format and complexity of the actual examination. Expect a series of scenarios, each accompanied by a set of questions that demand thoughtful analysis and logical deduction. These scenarios span diverse fields, from business and science to everyday scenarios, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation of your critical thinking skills. Examples of Critical Thinking Questions Scenario: In a business context, analyze the potential impacts of a proposed strategy on both short-term profitability and long-term sustainability. Question: What factors would you consider in determining the viability of the proposed strategy, and how might it affect the company's overall success? Scenario: Evaluate conflicting scientific studies on a pressing environmental issue.

Question: Identify the key methodologies and data points in each study. How would you reconcile the disparities to form an informed, unbiased conclusion?

Why Practice Matters

Engaging in the Critical Thinking Practice Test familiarizes you with the test format and cultivates a mindset geared towards agile and astute reasoning. This preparatory phase allows you to refine your cognitive toolkit, ensuring you approach the assessment with confidence and finesse.

We'll navigate through specific examples as we proceed, offering insights into effective strategies for tackling critical thinking questions. Prepare to embark on a journey of intellectual sharpening, where each practice question refines your analytical prowess for the challenges ahead.

This is a practice error checking test .

The test consists of three questions, along with correct answers and full explanations.

If you get a question wrong, make sure you find out why and learn how to answer this type of question in the future.

Take a Free Practice Error Checking Test

This is a three question practice in-tray exercise.

Take a Free Practice In-Tray Exercise

Talent Q is a popular psychometric test provider used by employers worldwide to identify and develop top talent.

There are several test types published under the Talent Q name including numerical, verbal and logical reasoning, error checking, situational judgement tests and personality questionnaires.

Talent Q tests can be blended into custom assessments to suit a wide range of roles at varying levels of employment.

What Is the Talent Q Test?

The Talent Q test , or Talent Q assessment, is a term that refers to a collection of aptitude, performance and personality tests administered by the global consulting group, Korn Ferry.

Talent Q tests span five areas of assessment:

Cognitive ability
Competencies
Situational judgement
Motivations

They are commonly used to evaluate a candidate’s skills and job readiness in the early stages of recruitment.

Employers may also use a Talent Q psychometric test when looking to promote internally or to inform employee development.

Talent Q tests are increasingly popular with a range of employers because of the way they are designed, offering test flexibility and a reliable indicator of an applicant’s full potential.

Which Companies Use the Talent Q Test?

Talent Q tests are used by an increasing number of organizations due to their accuracy, versatility and reliability. Some of the major global employers known to make use of the Talent Q test library include:

Virgin Atlantic
Royal Mail Group
Lloyds Banking Group
AstraZeneca

Wonderlic Scholastic Level Exam Study Guide and Tips

This article will explain how the Wonderlic Scholastic Level Exam works and why it is the leading admissions test for higher education institutions across the country.

It will cover the various versions of the Wonderlic SLE test and their question formats, before offering options for Wonderlic Scholastic Level Exam practice tests .

This is because, like with all psychometric tests, familiarity can help build confidence.

Extra tips for preparing, including helping with nerves, are also suggested; the Wonderlic SLE test can be a daunting one, so it’s a good idea to research and plan as much as possible.

A Guide to the Hogan Development Survey (HDS): with Tips & Examples

The Hogan Development Survey (HDS) is an assessment that is mainly used as part of the development and training process, often when employees are looking for promotions or moves into leadership positions.

As a personality assessment , the HDS looks at what is known as ‘dark side personality’ to evaluate the personality traits that could be derailment risks for future success.

In this article, you’ll get an in-depth look at the Hogan Development Survey and how it fits with the other types of assessment that Hogan produces.

You’ll find a detailed discussion of the specific traits that the Hogan Development Survey assesses and what this means in terms of work behaviours and why they are considered to be risks.

You’ll learn more about the structure and layout of the assessment and when you might need to take it, what the questions look like and how you need to answer them, the way the assessment is scored and some tips for success.

What Is the Hogan Development Survey?

Hogan is a well-known and respected publisher of assessments to be used both as part of the recruitment process and for employee development.

Established in 1987, Hogan focuses on occupational psychology and the science of personality, and its most used assessments are the ones that look at different facets of employee personality – the ‘bright side’, the ‘dark side’ and the ‘inside’.

What Is the PwC Assessment Test?

When you apply for a coveted role at PwC, you will be asked to undertake a PwC assessment test as part of the recruitment process.

The PwC test are used to evaluate candidates on measurable skills, abilities, aptitudes and personality traits that are needed for success in the type (and level) of the role that you have applied for.

PwC is one of the Big Four accounting firms globally, and from their headquarters in London, England, they have offices in 157 countries, a presence in 742 locations, and they currently employ nearly 300,000 staff.

With roles available in various departments, from consulting to legal, operations to audit, and tax to technology, competition for advertised jobs is fierce, and the PwC assessments are recognised as being particularly challenging to help narrow down the candidate pool to those applicants who really have what it takes to be successful.

In fact, less than 50% of candidates will advance past the screening tests as the benchmark for a passing mark is very high.

A Guide to the AON Assessment Test: with Tips

'AON assessments' are the new name for the cut-e tests, and they are often used as pre-employment evaluations for different skills, aptitudes, competencies and personality traits for various roles across different industries.

The AON assessments are characterized by being very short online assessment tests, and in many cases, candidates will be required to take more than one as part of a recruitment process.

With so much content to cover in all the different types of tests, it can be difficult to know what to expect from the AON assessments, which is where this guide will help.

Below you will learn more about why AON assessments are used and which companies use them as part of their hiring process.

We will discuss some of the features that the assessments have in common, as well as the most popular tests that are used by recruiters.

There will be some example questions with answers to get you familiar with the type of content you will be facing in certain tests and some helpful information regarding the way the AON assessments are scored and how you can give yourself the best chance to demonstrate that you have what it takes to be successful.

What Is the AON Assessment Test?

AON is well-known as a global financial services firm, and they acquired the cut-e testing battery so that they can provide top-of-the-range candidate evaluation and personnel development tools based on a scientific framework and testing methodology.

Study Guide for the CogAT Grade 4 Test: with Practice Tips

The CogAT Grade 4 test is used to understand a student’s thinking and reasoning abilities. It is not a test of learned knowledge; rather, it is a diagnosis of how they learn.

The 4th Grade CogAT test measures reasoning ability in three key areas: verbal, non-verbal and quantitative.

The assessment is often used to identify students for gifted and talented education programs.

If your child has been selected to sit the CogAT test in 4th grade, it can be confusing to know what to do to help.

This article will help you to answer these questions:

What is the CogAT test ?
What skills is the test assessing?
What is the format of the test?
How can I help my child prepare?
What skills can we practice?
What is the scoring system?

A Guide to the IKM Assessment Test: Tips & Examples

When applying for a job application, you may find that, along with providing your CV and attending an interview, you will be required to complete an IKM assessment .

This assessment will serve as a supplement to your overall application. So, you must understand what it entails and how it contributes to your application.

This article will explain the specifics of the IKM assessment, why it is important and how you can prepare for it.

What Is IKM?

The International Knowledge Measurement Service (IKM) offers organizations various assessments for employees and candidates among various career disciplines.

Among other things, this assessment ensures that employees hold the necessary requirements to go through the organization’s recruitment process.

Employee candidates will take the IKM assessment online remotely (self-supervised) or with client-side supervision from the organization.

The IKM assessment uses adaptive testing, meaning the difficulty of questions is dynamically selected based on the employee candidate’s previous answers .

This ensures that the assessment questions are neither too difficult nor too easy, greatly reducing the testing time.

HESI A2 Math Test: A Full Study Guide & Tips

The HESI A2 test is a series of tests administered by Health Education Systems Incorporated to those wanting to enroll on nursing programs.

It covers eight topics, including math, biology and grammar.

As these tests determine whether you get accepted, you must prepare to achieve your best possible score.

To help with your preparation, this article focuses on the HESI math test and covers:

What is on the HESI A2 math test
Example questions
Tips for preparing for and taking the test

What Is the HESI A2 Test?

The HESI A2 test is a series of aptitude tests, known as subtests, designed by Elsevier to assess whether a candidate has the skills to achieve their NCLEX-RN (or similar) for nursing school.

The eight subtests the students are expected to complete are:

Anatomy and Physiology

Only some programs require all eight tests.

They are available online remotely, at a testing center, and at your school.

The math test has 55 questions, while the reading, grammar and vocabulary tests consist of 50. Biology, anatomy and physiology, and chemistry all have 30 questions, and physics has 25.

All the questions are multiple-choice, and the time limits vary from 25 to 50 minutes.

A Guide to the CAT4 Test Level D: Tips & Examples

The CAT4 Level D is a cognitive ability test used by a number of UK secondary schools. Typically taken by pupils in Year 7, the CAT4 Level D tests a child’s verbal, non-verbal, quantitative and spatial reasoning skills to give an accurate picture of their learning potential.

A Guide to the Delta Assessment Test with Tips

The Delta Assessment Test is a group of online tests that forms part of the Delta Airlines hiring process.

If you are applying for job roles with Delta, you may be asked to complete one or more of the Delta Assessment Tests.

Your test results will help the hiring manager to decide whether you are suitable for the job role you have applied for.

The tests you are asked to take will vary according to the job role.

A Guide to the Deloitte Immersive Online Assessment: Examples & Tips

The Deloitte immersive online assessment is a psychometric aptitude-style test. It is used to identify a candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.

Questions vary but are likely to include situational judgment style questions that link to the roles at Deloitte.

Candidates are also tested on their numerical reasoning and presented with personality questions.

A Guide to the Crossover Cognitive Aptitude Test: Tips & Examples

Competition is tough for jobs on the Crossover recruitment platform.

There are thousands of applicants for each role, and only the top 1% are offered a contract .

After a successful initial application, the first step is taking the Crossover Cognitive Aptitude Test (CCAT).

To help you prepare, this article covers the following:

How Crossover works
The recruitment process
What to expect in the CCAT
The scoring system
Tips to help you prepare

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the USA.

The agency investigates serious offenses such as terrorism, public corruption, cyber-attacks, and violent and organized crime.

The FBI's mission is to protect the American people and uphold the American Constitution.

The FBI has over 37,000 employees across hundreds of locations in the US.

To work for the FBI, you must fulfill specific criteria which include:

Be a US citizen
Be able to obtain an FBI Top Secret clearance
Pass the FBI polygraph examination
Pass the FBI Phase 1 test
Adhere to the FBI drug policy

Roles available at the FBI include computer scientists, nurses, engineers, technicians, contract specialists, and of course, police officers.

It is important to note that the recruitment process can take over one year, so you must be willing to wait several months for the chance of your dream role.

In this FBI Phase 1 test prep guide, we will delve into the role of FBI special agents – upholders of the law that seek out cybercrime and infiltrate organized attacks such as terrorism.

When applying to be a special agent, you are required to take the FBI Phase 1 test .

What Is the FBI Phase 1 Test?

The FBI Phase 1 test is an assessment that evaluates your personality and suitability for a role as a Special Agent at the FBI.

The test is conducted online and is split into five parts.

As the second stage of the process, the FBI Phase 1 test is done after the successful completion of a written application.

The test is designed to assess several skills and qualities that are required for a role as an FBI special agent.

These include critical thinking, logical reasoning and personality. The test will also assess your background experiences.

Your answers are then compared to the benchmark of what is suitable for an FBI agent.

The five sections of the FBI Phase 1 test are:

Logical reasoning
Figural reasoning
Personality Test
Preferences and interests
Situational responses

The assessment takes three hours to complete.

When applying for roles at the FBI, long waiting times are typical. The full special agent recruitment process can take over 20 months to complete.

If this is your dream job, it is certainly worth the wait as it is one of the most attractive career paths within any government agency.

To reflect this, the recruitment process is challenging and designed to reduce the number of candidates who could move on to the next stage.

This ensures that only the very best move through the application phases. In fact, only 30% of candidates can pass the FBI Phase 1 test.

You may have taken a personality test before, but the FBI Phase 1 test questions are framed and marked in a different way to other assessments.

Therefore, you should ensure you use FBI Phase 1 test practice questions and prepare in advance of the test.

It can be hard to plan for, but this is essential to get into the top 30% of successful candidates.

If you pass the FBI Phase 1 test, you will undergo background checks and receive an invitation to a regional meet-and-greet interview.

A Guide to the CogAT Test Grade 3: Examples & Tips

The main purpose of the CogAT Test grade 3 is to find out if a third grader is showing signs of being very smart.

Most of the questions on the test are about verbal, numerical and non-verbal reasoning. It's meant to show how a child might compare to other kids his or her own age. The CogAT grade 3 test can also be used to make individualized learning plans for kids.

The CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) is a standardized test used to measure children's cognitive abilities in the 3rd grade – age 9.

This test assesses a range of cognitive abilities, including verbal, quantitative and nonverbal reasoning. The CogAT is often used to identify gifted children and help educators develop appropriate educational plans.

This article will give insights and tips into how your child could pass the CogAT Test for 3rd grade students.

'MAP' is an acronym for Measures of Academic Progress . MAP tests are used to check the progress of a student’s achievement over the course of their academic journey.

Students in all school year groups (from kindergarten to 12th grade) are required to take a version of the test.

The MAP test is an adaptive assessment, which means the level of difficulty adapts according to the answers given.

A Study Guide for the 2nd Grade MAP Test: with Tips

The MAP Test 2nd grade is a computerized test taken by children in the 2nd grade. It is designed to evaluate what the children already know and what they are ready to learn.

The test includes three sections:

Schools may not administer all three sections and may instead focus on one or two sections to measure pupils’ progress in those subjects.

A Guide to the OAR Test: Examples & Tips

This article looks at the OAR Test , an aptitude test for those applying to be officers in the Navy, Marines or Coast Guard .

It will delve into what the test consists of, OAR practice tests, the format and the scoring system.

What Is the OAR Test?

OAR stands for Officer Aptitude Rating and the test is taken by those who want to become an officer in the US Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard. It is part of the Aviation Selection Test Battery Exam.

Study Guide for the NEO Personality Inventory Test: with Tips

The NEO Personality Inventory is a psychometric tool used to evaluate personality traits.

It is acknowledged globally and is used by recruiters and employers before hiring and, more broadly, to evaluate career potential.

The NEO Personality Inventory test is heavily associated with the 'Five-Factor Model' (which you may also know as the 'Big Five Personality Test') to identify personality traits.

It is widely believed that each person's personality can be broken down into five main categories. The NEO PI personality test looks at each of these five categories separately to create an understanding of who you are.

In this article, we'll look at the NEO PI test, why employers use it, and what you could expect if invited to participate in a NEO Personality Inventory test.

A Guide to the Air Traffic Controller Test: Examples & Tips

The Air Traffic Controller (ATC) Test, also known as the Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA) is an exam used as part of the air traffic controller hiring process. It is a challenging assessment consisting of seven subtests designed to evaluate an applicant's aptitude for the role.

Becoming an air traffic controller is a challenging and rewarding career that requires extensive training. The Air Traffic Controller Test (previously known as the Air Traffic Selection and Training (AT-SAT) exam) is an important part of the selection process.

The Air Traffic Skills Assessment (ATSA) measures a candidate's ability to handle the demands of the job.

In this article, you’ll find example questions, a guide and tips for preparing for the ATSA exam.

This article relates specifically to the ATC test used in the US. Candidates in other countries may be expected to take a different version of the test.

A Guide to the Clifton Strengths Test: Examples & Tips

What is the CliftonStrengths test? This online assessment analyzes your personality and strengths for personal and professional development. You can purchase the basic test from Gallup for $19.99 and get a basic understanding of your top five personality themes. Or take the comprehensive version for $59.99 and receive a report that ranks all 34 themes and highlights your areas of excellence as well as your blind spots.

When applying for a job, you may find that the recruitment process consists of many different steps. There is the initial application form to start and usually an interview to finish. In the middle, there may be an assessment – an aptitude, intelligence or personality test.

The CliftonStrengths test is one assessment used by employers during the onboarding process. It was previously known as the CliftonStrengthsFinder.

In this guide, you will learn about the CliftonStrengths personality test and how it is used in recruitment.

A Guide to the Police Psychological Exam: Examples & Tips

The police psychological exam is a crucial part of the hiring process for law enforcement agencies. It is a personality test that confirms how suitable an applicant is for working in the police. The police psych test is used by most law enforcement agencies across the United States, although key details may differ from state to state.

What Is the Police Psychological Exam?

The police psychological exam is a series of tests and assessments administered to individuals who are seeking to become police officers.

The purpose of the exam is to evaluate a candidate's psychological fitness for the job and identify any potential psychological issues that may interfere with the candidate's ability to perform police work.

A Full Guide to the Predictive Index Test

The Predictive Index Test is a useful tool that is frequently used by employers around the world as part of their recruitment plans. Typically used in the early stages of the application process, the Predictive Index Assessment can identify an applicant’s cognitive capabilities as well as their behavioral traits. This helps them to quickly assess whether the applicant is right for the job.

The Predictive Index (PI) Test is a behavioral assessment tool often used by hiring managers (and HR managers) to measure an individual's personality and work-related behavioral traits.

Predictive Index tests are designed to predict how an individual may perform in a specific role or position based on their innate behavioral tendencies and personality traits.

In this comprehensive guide, you’ll learn more about Predictive Index assessments. You will discover what to expect from a PI test and figure out how to fully prepare for the test day.

A Full Guide to the Capital One Assessments & Interview

In this comprehensive guide , you’ll discover everything you need to know about the Capital One assessment and interview process.

These are designed to help the company select the best candidates for its team. To increase your chance of getting hired, it's important to be prepared.

Find out what to expect, how to prepare and the skills and qualities Capital One hiring managers are looking for in a candidate.

What Is the Capital One Assessment Test?

Capital One is an established financial services company with a focus on technology and innovation.

To become an employee, or ‘associate’, at Capital One you'll need to pass a series of online assessments and interviews .

The Capital One hiring process is as follows:

A Full Guide to the CogAT Test 2nd Grade: Examples & Tips

CogAT stands for Cognitive Abilities Test. These tests are normally administered by a classroom teacher or instructor, although some schools employ a specialist or test proctor to administer the test.

Many parents are interested in learning more about helping their children to succeed academically.

Achieving a high CogAT score could mean your child is eligible to join gifted or talented programs designed to enhance their development and learning.

In other schools, it is used as a tool to identify a pupil’s individual strengths or predict their future academic performance.

The CogAT test for 2nd grade is a cognitive ability test aimed at children around the age of eight years old.

It is often used as a pre-admission exam by gifted and talented schools and programs. It is designed to evaluate pupils’ cognitive abilities, including basic linguistic and math skills.

The test is made up of three sections or batteries:

Non-verbal battery
Verbal battery
Quantitative battery

On the CogAT test 2nd grade, candidates are required to read the test questions instead of listening to the questions being read by the test proctor.

If you are looking for ideas on how to prepare your child for the CogAT test 2nd grade, read on to learn more.

What Is CogAT Test 2nd Grade?

The CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) was developed by Riverside Publishing, which is part of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

It is designed to assess problem-solving and reasoning skills in the following areas:

Quantitative

Research has shown that high levels of ability in these three areas is linked to academic success.

If your child is considered potentially talented or gifted, they may be asked to sit a CogAT as part of the program entrance process.

Different CogAT tests are available for different age groups, from Kindergarten (K) up to grade 12.

In this article, you can find more information on the CogAT test 2nd grade. The CogAT test is used by schools across the US to help them identify exceptionally gifted pupils.

Each of the test levels corresponds to the age of the pupil sitting the test. For example, if your child is in grade 6 (aged 12), they will be sitting the Level 12 version of the test. Occasionally, schools may choose to administer a higher level CogAT to talented or gifted pupils; however, this is unusual.

Second grade pupils being considered for gifted programs will usually sit the CogAT Level 8 test. This test is made up of 154 questions and takes 122 minutes to complete.

A Study Guide for the IBEW Aptitude Test: with Tips

The IBEW aptitude test is a prerequisite for those wishing to complete an electrician apprenticeship. It’s a timed test that allows employers to identify if someone has the right skills for an apprenticeship with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is the official representative of more than 750,000 electricians across the US. To work as an apprentice, potential electricians must pass the electrician aptitude test, also known as the IBEW aptitude test.

Let's take a deep dive into this assessment to see what you should do to prepare for and pass the electrical apprentice aptitude test.

What Is the IBEW Aptitude Test?

The IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) aptitude test is a standardized test used to assess an individual's aptitude for electrical work.

The IBEW and its partner organizations use the test to select candidates for apprenticeships and other training programs.

A Guide to the CogAT Test 6th Grade: with Examples & Tips

Many schools use the CogAT Test 6th Grade to assess the non-verbal, verbal and quantitative abilities of sixth-grade students.

The Level 12 CogAT test is a useful tool for checking a student’s individual academic strengths and weaknesses. It can also be used as a screening assessment for entry into the gifted and talented program.

What Is the CogAT Test 6th Grade?

'CogAT' is an acronym for Cognitive Aptitude Test .

CogAT tests are usually administered at school by a teacher or instructor, although some schools employ test proctors and specialists to administer the tests.

This guide is designed to support you and your child through the CogAT Test 6th Grade. You can use it to find out what to expect from the test and tips on how to prepare for it.

We have also included information on the purpose of the test and how to interpret your child’s results.

A Study Guide for the Procter and Gamble Assessment Test: with Tips

The Procter and Gamble Assessment Test describes a series of pre-employment screening tests used by Procter and Gamble (P&G).

If you have applied for a job at P&G, you will be expected to sit these tests as part of the hiring process.

Each of the different tests is designed to assess a specific aptitude that is required for a job role at P&G.

In this article, you can learn more about the different tests used by Procter and Gamble. We have also provided tips on how to prepare for the assessments.

The 4th grade MAP test is a computer-adaptive test taken three times a year to track your child’s academic development in grades 2 to 5.

It measures reading, language and mathematical abilities and is a useful tool for understanding your child’s current academic level, and identifying areas that need additional support and those students eligible for gifted and talented programs.

As tests can be a challenging experience for younger children, proper preparation is essential.

Throughout this article, you’ll find details about the test, example questions and the best ways to help your child prepare for the MAP test (grade 4).

The Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test is a widely used tool that measures a student’s progress and growth based on the common core curriculum followed by most US schools.

This adaptive, computer-based test provides educators with valuable data to evaluate learning and tailor instruction to meet individual needs.

The 3rd grade MAP test is specifically designed to measure growth and achievement in reading skills, language usage and mathematics.

This guide is a comprehensive overview of the MAP test for third-graders, including what the test measures, how it works and tips for preparing your child for the test.

A Study Guide for the Renaissance Star Test: with Tips

This guide includes useful tips and Renaissance Star testing sample questions to help students prepare for the test and feel confident on test day.

You can find detailed information on interpreting and understanding your Renaissance Star Test scores in our dedicated article .

A Map Test Grade 6 Study Guide: with Tips

What Is the 6th Grade MAP Test?

The MAP Growth test system was created by educators from Oregon and Washington who established the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) back in 1973.

Their goal was to create an assessment that could accurately measure and track academic progress in children to ensure they graduated high school with all the essential skills and knowledge they required.

In 2000, the first MAP Growth Test was published.

The test is administered in all grades and is based on a set of learning principles known as the Common Core Principles .

The MAP test is a well-used assessment in the US school system, and the grade 7 test is used for children who are 12 to 13 years old.

In this article, we will discuss what the MAP assessment is in general, as well as the scoring system used for the test.

We will also describe the content of each section of the test so that you know what your child can expect during the assessment.

There are some example questions to show what grade 7 MAP test takers will face.

We will also give some tips on preparing for the assessment, and how to help your child perform well when they are taking the test at school.

CCAT Test Grade 3 Study Guide: with Tips

The CCAT test grade 3 is a standardized assessment administered to grade 3 students in Canada.

It measures verbal, quantitative and non-verbal reasoning skills and is used to identify a student's learning potential, typically for admission to gifted educational programs.

The CCAT test grade 3 is an assessment commonly used by schools in Canada.

If you’re the parent or guardian of a child preparing for the test, this CCAT grade 3 guide will tell you everything you need to know.

What Is the CCAT Test Grade 3?

The CCAT test (Canadian Cognitive Abilities Test) is a standardized assessment administered to students in grade levels K-12 in the Canadian educational system.

Rather than a measure of academic achievement, the test assesses a child's ability to learn, reason, and problem-solve.

A Guide to the Nelson Denny Reading Test: Examples & Tips

The Nelson Denny Reading Test is a standardized assessment designed to measure reading comprehension and vocabulary skills.

Widely used in academic and employment settings, it evaluates an individual's ability to understand written passages and answer questions based on the content.

The test consists of multiple-choice questions and assesses critical reading skills necessary for success in various fields, including education and professional development.

What Is The Nelson Denny Reading Test?

The Nelson-Denny Reading Test is a standardized test commonly used in educational settings, such as schools and colleges.

Developed in 1930 and named after the two professors who developed the test: Emerson Charles Denny and Martin J Nelson, it was designed to measure and assess an individual's reading comprehension and vocabulary skills .

The Nelson Denny test consists of two main sections: vocabulary and reading comprehension.

The Vocabulary section assesses the test taker's understanding of word meanings and ability to select synonyms and antonyms.

The Reading Comprehension section evaluates their ability to comprehend and interpret written passages by answering multiple-choice questions.

The score attained on the Nelson Denny Reading test indicates the test taker's reading grade level . This score is often used to determine an individual's reading proficiency and identify improvement areas.

It is important to note that the test does not assess reading speed or fluency but focuses on reading comprehension and vocabulary skills.

Overall, the Nelson Denny Test helps educators and employers gain insight into an individual's reading abilities, which can help ensure students are placed in the correct class according to their skill level.

While the Nelson Denny reading assessment cannot be used to diagnose specific disorders, it is known to help identify candidates who require additional reading instructions.

The Independent School Entrance Examination (ISEE) test is used by many independent and magnet schools in the US and overseas as an admission test for children across the entire school age range, but more commonly from year five upwards.

It assesses a child’s academic levels of reasoning across math and literacy in comparison to children of the same age, the norm for that school grade and other applicants to the school.

Created and administered by the Educational Records Bureau (ERB), the ISEE test is available to be taken online or in a pen and paper format.

What Are the ISEE Levels?

There are four levels of the ISEE test.

ISEE primary for entry into years two to four
ISEE lower level for entry into years five to six
ISEE middle level for entry into years seven to eight
ISEE upper level for entry into years nine to 12

Each level of the ISEE test is created to be relevant to a specific school age group, increasing in complexity with each year and level.

A Study Guide to the WonScore Test 2024: with Practice Tips

The WonScore test is a popular assessment employers often use to select candidates with the best ability to solve time-sensitive and critical problems, and generally work under pressure.

This article provides a comprehensive guide on the Wonderlic WonScore test, helping you study and prepare for it.

Reading it, you'll also learn about the three main components of the assessment, how it is scored and what type of WonScore questions you can expect on the test.

What Is the WonScore Assessment?

The WonScore assessment was developed by Wonderlic, a leading company that provides solutions that facilitates the hiring process for top-tier businesses.

The purpose of this test is to assess the candidates' cognitive ability, motivational forces, and personality style.

If you want to impress a potential employer or hiring manager, the best way to do this is by acing the Wonderlic WonScore test.

Getting a good score on this assessment shows that you're a dedicated employee who has no trouble being productive even under highly stressful conditions.

Some of the companies known for using this test in the past or present are:

Canadian National Railway
David Weekly Homes
Ford Motor Company
Delta Air Lines
American Airlines
Consolidated Electrical Distributors
AlixPartners
Medline Industries
Epic System
IBM Assessment

A Study Guide for the CJBAT Test: with Tips

What Is the CJBAT Test?

The Criminal Justice Basic Abilities Test (CJBAT) is a test that is used as part of the recruitment process in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FLDE).

It is used for entry-level roles, either as a Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) or Corrections Officer (CO).

The CJBAT is designed to measure the ‘minimum competencies’ of candidates who want to join the FLDE – the basic skills, knowledge, competencies and characteristics that are needed to be successful in law enforcement.

Almost every candidate for a law enforcement or corrections position at entry level will be required to take the CJBAT, unless they have been honorably discharged from the military or they hold an associate degree or higher from an accredited college or university.

Applicants who have already completed (and passed) the CJBAT will have their results on file for four years, which means that they do not need to retake it.

The CJBAT costs $39, and there are three sections in the test that are separately timed. There are 97 questions in the assessment in total, and you will have 90 minutes to complete it.

Section I – 47 questions to be answered in 20 minutes.
Section II – 10 images with a minute and a half to answer questions
Section III – 40 questions to be answered in an hour.

A Guide to the PI Cognitive Assessment: and Tips

An employer’s recruitment process can include a wide range of assessments and interviews for the candidate to take that indicate to the employer how an individual might fare in the job.

One common way to measure job performance though is by getting candidates to take the PI Cognitive Assessment, which measures mental ability and critical thinking skills.

This article will look in detail at the assessment, its format, who uses it, example questions and PI Cognitive Assessment tips on how to be successful when taking it.

A Study Guide for the NYC Sanitation Test: & Tips

In this article, you’ll find all the essential information on question types, sample exams and the important concepts to study, plus tips on how you can ace your test.

Get ready to excel in the NYC Sanitation Test with our expert guidance.

What Is the NYC Sanitation Test?

The NYC Sanitation Test is for anyone interested in working with the Department of Sanitation in New York City.

You'll need to pass the NYC Sanitation Worker Exam, a multiple-choice paper and pencil test.

This exam is a crucial step towards a rewarding career in the department.

A Guide to the BCG Pymetrics Test 2024 & Tips

What Is the BCG Pymetrics Test?

The BCG Pymetrics test is part of the recruitment process for many roles at Boston Consulting Group – candidates usually take this test after their initial application.

Pymetrics is a US-based start-up that was founded in 2013, and it created a game-based recruitment assessment that uses AI and algorithms to measure 91 social, cognitive and behavioral traits.

These measurements are used to create a profile based on objective behavioral data – and this is then compared to high performers already in the role.

This results-based assessment is used by BCG to recruit consultants, and the test it uses has been specifically designed by Pymetrics to meet the needs of BCG – focusing on soft skills that are not easily evaluated in other ways.

As one of the top three consulting firms in the world, hiring the best candidates for BCG needs several hiring stages; the Pymetrics test is just one of these.

Format of the BCG Pymetrics Test

When you have applied for a role at BCG, and your application matches the basic requirements in education and experience, you will be sent an invitation to complete the BCG Pymetrics test.

You can take the test on your laptop or PC, but many people find it easier to complete it on their smartphone.

The BCG Pymetrics test is a gamified assessment, which means instead of answering questions like you would on a verbal reasoning or situational judgment test, you will be playing some mini-games.

There are 12 games, each lasting one to three minutes – and there are 12 to complete, usually taking about 30 minutes in total.

Guide for the Home Depot Interview for 2024

Home Depot is the largest home improvement retailer in America, and the sixth largest US-based employer globally.

Founded in 1978, Home Depot has more than 2,200 stores across the US, Canada, and Mexico, employing more than 500,000 people in many different types of roles, from retail to logistics and corporate.

Roles at Home Depot include:

In-store Sales Associates
Customer Service
Merchandising
Store Leadership
Warehouse and Distribution
Contact Center
Finance and Accounting
Communication

A Guide to Raven's Progressive Matrices Test: Tips & Examples

The Raven’s Progressive Matrices is a test that is often used as part of the recruitment process for high-level management and analytical roles.

In this article, you will learn more about the test, its history and background, as well as the different types of tests that are available and what you can expect if you are going to be taking the test.

You will also find some example questions that you can expect to see in each type of test and get helpful pointers that you can use to prepare and do well in the assessment.

What Is the Kolbe Test & How to Pass It in 2024

The Kolbe personality test is a personality assessment that evaluates an individual's natural problem-solving instincts.

It measures four Action Modes:

Fact Finder
Follow Thru
Quick Start
Implementor

It provides insights into how individuals approach tasks and challenges. The results from the test help in an individual's personal and professional development.

How to Take the Indeed Skills Test in 2024

What Is the Indeed Skills Test?

Indeed started as a US-based employment website in 2004.

Originally designed to be like a job board, Indeed worked as an aggregate site, allowing job posters to advertise vacancies.

As the years progressed, Indeed grew, and now it is the number one job site in the world and the job site with the highest traffic in the US, with 300 million unique visitors every month.

As part of this growth, you can now visit Indeed to not only upload your resume and apply for jobs, but you can also investigate companies, see average salaries and even get guides on getting into your dream career.

Indeed now offers skills tests , which can help recruiters focus on candidates who can demonstrate certain hard and soft skills relating to the position that they are advertising for.

There are more than 150 skills tests to choose from.

Recruiters can choose to add a skills test requirement to their job posting based on essential qualifications and skills listed in the job description. This means that they will give preference to the candidates who can demonstrate a high level of proficiency in that area.

The tests include hard skills like typing, soft skills like communication an Indeed personality assessment and behavior tests, and they usually take less than 10 minutes to complete.

How to Pass the McKinsey Problem Solving Game in 2024

The McKinsey problem solving test is a challenging computer-based assessment used by McKinsey & Company as part of their recruitment process.

The games are designed to test whether candidates have the correct skills for a career in consulting, including excellent problem solving and decision-making skills and the ability to handle complex data.

If you're interested in consulting, you probably already know about the McKinsey Problem Solving Game.

The McKinsey Problem Solving Game , also known as McKinsey PSG or Solve , is a challenging computer-based test .

It is designed to evaluate a candidate's problem solving skills, and it's a crucial step in the McKinsey recruitment process.

The McKinsey PSG differs from many other aptitude tests with its unusual game design. However, this does not mean that it is any less demanding.

This post will cover everything you need to know to pass the McKinsey problem solving game in 2024.

A Guide to the Morgan Stanley Internship

Each year, financial services provider Morgan Stanley is flooded with applications to its renowned internship programs.

Regardless of your field of study, you can apply to a Morgan Stanley summer program or to one of the organization's off-cycle internships that are available throughout the year.

If you are a student or recent graduate and would like to know what steps you should take to apply for a Morgan Stanley internship or are curious to know more about the company, this helpful guide should have all of the information that you need.

A Study Guide for the Star Reading Test 3rd to 4th Grade: With Tips

The Star Reading tests are a series of assessments that are given to children between kindergarten and 12th grade. They are used to evaluate each child on their reading ability.

Part of a wider battery of assessments, the Star Reading tests are relatively short, with multiple-choice answers and adaptive difficulty – so each child gets the opportunity to demonstrate their reading ability.

In this article, you will learn more about the Star Reading test, particularly on the tests that are given at the 3rd and 4th grade level .

A Study Guide for the USPS 477 Exam: With Practice Tips

If you are applying for a role with the United States Postal Service (USPS) , you will usually be asked to complete at least one of four 477 Virtual Entry Assessments as part of the recruitment process.

These exams are used to evaluate various skills, aptitudes, personality traits and work preferences, which can show whether you have what it takes to be successful in the role in the future.

The USPS 477 Exam is sometimes referred to as the CS VEA, which relates to customer service.

How to Write a CV to Get Your Dream Job – 2024 Guide + Examples

Your CV is often the first impression you make on a potential employer, so it is important to make it count. A well-written CV can help you get noticed by recruiters and hiring managers, and increase your chances of getting an interview.

In this article, you will get tips on how to write a professional CV that will land you your dream job. You will learn everything from the basic sections to include to how to tailor it to specific job openings and common mistakes to avoid.

An iReady level score of 3.00 or over means the student is working at or above the level required to meet the standard for their grade.

The level score is calculated in line with expectations when the test was administered, not in comparison to the expected score by the end of the school year.

What Are the iReady Diagnostic Scores?

The iReady diagnostic test is administered to US school children in grades K to eight.

The purpose of this school assessment test is to help parents and teachers check a student’s academic process at the beginning, middle and end of each school year.

It is a computer-adaptive test, which means the questions are adjusted to become more difficult if a series of correct answers is given.

As a result, the test is designed to challenge the skill level of the student sitting the test, as well as assess their strengths and opportunities for growth.

If a student answers a few questions in a row incorrectly, the questions that follow will be easier.

Many people find i-Ready Diagnostic scores difficult to interpret.

As a child progresses through each academic year and moves up the year groups, their expected score will change.

The average score increases year on year, too.

In this article, you can learn more about the different types of iReady diagnostic scores, how these scores are displayed, and how to interpret them to better understand a student’s iReady test performance.

HESI Exam Score Range and Passing Scores – Ultimate Guide For Nursing Students

There are two types of HESI Exam:

The Admissions (A2) test
The Exit exam

The minimum passing score for the Admissions test is usually between 75 and 80 for each section, although this varies between schools.

The composite score range for the Admissions (A2) test is 750 to 900, with 900 being the maximum possible score.

The HESI Exit Exam score ranges between 0 to 1,500. 850 is considered to be an acceptable score, although HESI recommends a minimum score of 900.

If you want to sit your NCLEX licensing exam, you will need to achieve a score of at least 850 on the HESI Exit Exam.

HESI is an acronym for Health Education Systems Incorporated .

As a company, HESI administers exams and provides study material to help prepare students for the NCLEX professional licensure exam.

If you want to work as a nurse in the US, many nursing and healthcare programs use HESI tests to screen prospective students and determine suitability and readiness for specific study routes.

In this article, you can learn more about the HESI score ranges and passing scores required for each of these tests and what impact your HESI results may have on acceptance into your preferred nursing program.

CBP Entrance Exam: Practice Tests & Guide

The Customs and Border Protection Entrance Exam is a standardized assessment used by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency as part of its recruitment process.

The exam is designed to evaluate the cognitive abilities, skills and knowledge of individuals applying for various positions within the CBP.

It is a highly competitive exam and candidates will need to prepare if they hope to pass.

This article will help you improve your chances of passing by sharing details about the exam and the best ways to prepare.

How to Prepare For the STAAR Test in 2024 – Ultimate Guide

The STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) test is an important examination that measures students' knowledge and skills in various subjects. Whether you're a student, parent or guardian, it's essential to be well-prepared for this test to ensure success.

In this ultimate guide, we will explore the different aspects of the STAAR test and provide valuable tips on how to prepare effectively.

Everything You Need to Know About the 2024 ATI TEAS Test

The ATI TEAS Test , also known as the Test of Essential Academic Skills, is an important exam for students looking to pursue a career in the healthcare field. The most recent version is the ATI TEAS 7.

This comprehensive exam assesses a student's knowledge in various areas, including reading, math, science and English language usage.

If you're planning to take the ATI TEAS Test in 2024, it's essential to understand what the exam entails and how to best prepare for it.

In this article, we'll cover everything you need to know about the 2024 ATI TEAS Test.

ATI TEAS 7 Science Test – Ultimate Study Guide For 2024

The ATI TEAS 7 Science Test is an essential component of the TEAS exam, which is widely used by nursing schools to assess a student's knowledge and skills in the field of science.

In this comprehensive study guide, you will get all the information you need to successfully prepare for and ace the ATI TEAS 7 Science Test. This includes ATI TEAS Science practice test questions.

A Full Guide to the CogAT Test 5th Grade: Examples & Tips

What Is the CogAT 5 Grade Test?

The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) is a widely used standardized test designed to assess your child’s cognitive abilities in various areas.

The CogAT 5th Grade Level is specifically tailored for students in the 5th grade and measures their abilities in three main cognitive areas:

Quantitative Reasoning
Non-Verbal Reasoning

Practice Free CogAT Grade 5 Test Sample Questions

The Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) 5th Grade Level is a crucial assessment tool for students between 10 and 11 years old.

Designed to measure verbal, nonverbal, and quantitative abilities, this standardized test plays a pivotal role in identifying students for gifted programs.

In this article, you’ll learn what the CogAT 5th grade test is, which subjects are tested, along with example questions and how best to prepare.

The MAP Test Grade 7 tests students’ proficiency in mathematics, reading and language usage.

Developed by the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), it measures individual growth over time, adapting question difficulty based on responses.

This online test lasts around two to three hours, and the results are used to inform teaching or gauge students' ability levels.

Scoring is based on the RIT (Rasch Unit) scale, indicating a student's instructional level and growth potential in each subject area.

MAP Grade 7 Sample Question

Practice a Free STAAR Test and Prepare for the Exam

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test is a standardized assessment issued to public school students in Texas in grades 3 to 12.

Below you’ll find a range of STAAR test practice questions to help you prepare – whether you’re a parent coaching a child through their exam prep or a high school student revising for a test of your own.

For more info on the STAAR Test, read our dedicated article.

Renaissance Star Early Literacy Test – Ultimate Study Guide For 2024

The STAR Early Literacy Test is an assessment tool used to measure children’s early literacy skills. It forms part of the wider Renaissance STAR (Standardized Test for the Assessment of Reading) assessment system by Renaissance Learning.

The STAR Early Literacy Assessment is mostly used to test students from pre-kindergarten to grade 3.

The test is designed to assess the following areas of early literacy:

Phonemic awareness
General vocabulary
Comprehension
Reading ability
Early numeracy skills

STAR Early Literacy is a computer-adaptive test. This means that the difficulty of the questions adjusts according to a student’s responses.

The adaptive element of the test allows for more precise results and a better insight into a student’s overall literacy skills.

Word games are a great way to help your child prepare for the STAR Early Literacy Test.

You should also encourage your child to read daily.

You may wish to build this into their routine at certain times of the day. For example, reading before going to bed is often a good way to unwind.

If you are looking for other ways to help your child prepare, you can help them practice their time management skills, talk to them about maintaining a positive attitude towards the test and ensure they are getting sufficient rest.

Curriculum Vitae (CV) vs Resume – What’s The Difference?

Sometimes, when applying to a job, you might be wondering when to use a CV vs resume?

After all, what is the difference between a CV vs resume?

This article will explore what is a cv vs resume, and highlight the importance of CVs and resumes in job applications.

What Is a CV vs Resume?

A Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a resume are documents that are essential components of the job application process for several reasons:

Customization

CVs and resumes can be customized for specific job opportunities. You can tailor the content to match the job description, emphasizing the skills and experiences that are most relevant to the position.

This customization increases your chances of being selected for an interview.

Evidence of Achievements

CVs and resumes provide tangible evidence of your accomplishments. They allow you to showcase your past successes, work history and educational achievements.

By presenting this evidence, you demonstrate your ability to contribute to the employer’s goals.

Professionalism

Well-structured and error-free CVs and resumes convey professionalism.

They show that you are serious about the job application and have taken the time to present your qualifications in a clear and organized manner.

Structured Communication

CVs and resumes follow a structured format, making it easy for employers to locate specific information such as your work history, education, and skills.

This structured communication helps employers make informed decisions efficiently.

Reference for Interviews

Once you are selected for an interview, your CV or resume often serves as a reference point for the conversation.

Interviewers may ask questions based on the information you provided in your document, so it’s essential that your document accurately reflects your qualifications

Legal and Ethical Requirement

In some cases, providing a CV or resume is a legal or ethical requirement, especially when applying for certain positions or government jobs. Failing to submit the required documentation can disqualify you from consideration.

Documentation for Career Progression

Over time, your CV or resume becomes a record of your career progression. It can be useful for tracking your achievements, planning your career path and applying for promotions or advanced positions within your organization

CVs and resumes are pivotal in the job application process. They serve as a marketing tool to promote your qualifications, a screening tool for employers, and a reference point for interview discussions.

Crafting a strong CV or resume is crucial for securing job interviews and advancing in your career.

Professional CV vs Resume Difference

CV – Typically longer, often extending to several pages, allowing for a comprehensive overview of your academic and professional history.
Resume – Shorter, typically limited to one or two pages, focusing on the most relevant and recent information related to the job you’re applying for.
CV – Provides an extensive academic and professional history, including details about research, publications, presentations, teaching experience and more. It is common in fields such as academia, research and certain international job markets.
Resume – Emphasizes key qualifications, skills, work experience, and accomplishments relevant to the specific job you’re applying for. It typically excludes detailed academic information unless it is directly related to the position.
CV – Used in academic and research settings, as well as in international contexts where a more comprehensive document is expected. It is also used when applying for grants, fellowships or certain government positions.
Resume – Standard for job applications in most industries and is tailored to each specific job or career field. It is used to demonstrate your qualifications for a particular role.

Personal Information

CV – May include personal details such as your full name, contact information, academic background, research interests and publications.
Resume – Typically includes your name, contact information, a summary or objective statement, work experience, skills and education. It provides basic personal information.

Flexibility

CV – More flexible in terms of format and content. It can include various sections based on the individual’s achievements and qualifications.
Resume – More standardized with a specific structure that is expected by most employers. Customization is primarily done by tailoring the content to the job.

These key differences highlight the distinct purposes, lengths, and content of CVs and resumes, making it important to choose the appropriate document based on the specific job application and industry requirements.

Definition and Purpose of a CV

A Curriculum Vitae, commonly referred to as a CV, is a comprehensive document that provides a detailed summary of an individual’s academic and professional background.

The purpose of a CV is to present a thorough and extensive account of an individual’s qualifications, achievements, work history, education, and other relevant information.

The primary purpose of a CV is as follows:

Academic and Research Settings – In academic and research environments, a CV is the standard document for job applications, academic positions, research opportunities, and grants. It allows individuals to showcase their educational achievements, research experience, publications, presentations and teaching experience.

Comprehensive Overview – A CV is designed to offer a comprehensive and in-depth view of the individual’s professional journey. It goes beyond just listing work experience and includes academic accomplishments, research contributions, awards and certifications.

Demonstration of Expertise – By providing an extensive record of academic and professional achievements, a CV allows individuals to demonstrate their expertise, knowledge, and suitability for roles that require a deep understanding of a specific field or discipline.

International and Government Positions – In certain international job markets and when applying for government positions, CVs are commonly used. These contexts often require detailed documentation of an individual’s qualifications and contributions.

Grant and Fellowship Applications – When applying for research grants, fellowships, or academic scholarships, a CV is often required to document the applicant’s qualifications and previous research or academic work.

Promotion and Advancement – Within an academic or research institution, a CV is used to track an individual’s career progression. It’s also crucial when seeking promotions and advanced positions within the organization.

Definition and Purpose of a Resume

A resume is a concise and tailored document that provides a summary of an individual’s qualifications, work experience, skills, and accomplishments.

The purpose of a resume is to present a focused and relevant snapshot of the individual’s professional background to a potential employer.

The primary purpose of a resume is as follows:

Job Applications – Resumes are the standard document used in job applications across most industries. Their primary purpose is to introduce the applicant to a potential employer and demonstrate their qualifications for a specific job or career field.

Concise Summary – A resume condenses an individual’s professional history into a brief and easily scannable format. It highlights the most relevant and recent information, allowing employers to quickly assess the candidate’s suitability for a particular position.

Customization – Resumes are highly customizable. Applicants can tailor the content to match the specific job description and requirements, emphasizing the skills, experiences and achievements that are most pertinent to the job they are applying for.

Quick Screening Tool – Resumes serve as a screening tool for employers who receive numerous applications. They help hiring managers and recruiters efficiently identify qualified candidates and determine who should be invited for interviews.

Interview Discussion Reference – Once selected for an interview, the resume often serves as a reference point for the conversation. Interviewers may ask questions based on the information provided in the resume, making it important for the document to accurately reflect the applicant’s qualifications.

Marketing Tool – A well-crafted resume is a marketing tool that allows applicants to present themselves in the best possible light. It showcases their relevant skills, achievements and experiences, making a compelling case for why they are the right fit for the job.

Professionalism – Resumes convey professionalism and a commitment to the job application process. A well-structured and error-free resume reflects positively on the applicant’s dedication to securing the job.

Standard Format – Resumes follow a standardized format, which makes it easy for employers to locate specific information, such as work history, education and skills. This structure streamlines the hiring process.

Career Progression – Over time, resumes serve as a record of an individual’s career progression. They document work history, promotions, accomplishments and the development of skills.

In summary, a resume is a focused, concise, and customizable document used in job applications to present the most relevant qualifications and achievements.

Its primary purpose is to help employers quickly assess the suitability of an applicant for a specific job and to secure interviews for further evaluation.

Length and Structure

Length and number of pages of a cv.

The length of a Curriculum Vitae (CV) can vary depending on the individual’s qualifications, experiences, and the norms of their specific industry or country.

However, there are some general guidelines to consider:

No Strict Page Limit – Unlike resumes, there is no strict page limit for a CV. CVs are typically longer documents and can span multiple pages, particularly for individuals with extensive academic and professional backgrounds.

Typical Length – In many cases, a CV may be between two and six pages. However, it can be longer for highly experienced professionals, senior academics, or individuals with numerous publications and research projects.

Content Dictates Length – The content of the CV should dictate its length. It should include all relevant academic achievements, research work, publications, presentations, teaching experience, professional history, awards, certifications and other qualifications.

Relevance Is Key – While a CV can be lengthy, it’s essential to include information that is directly relevant to the job or opportunity you’re applying for. Tailor the content to the specific position while still maintaining a comprehensive overview of your qualifications.

Clarity and Readability – Regardless of length, a CV should be well-organized, easy to read, and maintain the reader’s interest. Use clear headings, bullet points and concise language to ensure that the document is engaging and informative.

Consider Industry Standards – In some industries and countries, there may be specific expectations regarding CV length. It’s a good practice to research the norms and expectations for CVs in your field and region.

Ultimately, the key is to strike a balance between providing a comprehensive account of your qualifications and experiences while ensuring that the document remains focused and relevant to the specific job application.

It’s important to remember that the goal of a CV is to present a detailed overview of your academic and professional journey, making it longer and more comprehensive than a resume.

Sections Commonly Included in a CV

A Curriculum Vitae (CV) typically includes various sections that provide a comprehensive overview of an individual’s academic and professional history.

While the specific sections may vary depending on the individual’s qualifications and field of expertise, here are some common sections found in a CV:

Contact Information – This section includes your full name, phone number, email address, and sometimes your physical address.
Objective or Summary – A brief statement at the beginning of the CV that highlights your career goals, qualifications, and what you bring to the table.
Education – Details about your educational background, including the name of the institution, degree(s) earned, graduation dates and relevant coursework or thesis topics.
Research Experience – A section where you describe your research experience, including the projects you’ve worked on, your role and any significant achievements or findings.
Publications – A list of your published work, including journal articles, books, conference papers, and other academic publications. Include the full citation for each publication.
Presentations – Details about presentations you’ve given at conferences, seminars or workshops, including the title, date, location and any related information.
Teaching Experience – Information about your teaching roles, which may include courses taught, institutions, teaching methods and any awards or recognition.
Awards and Honors – A list of any academic or professional awards, scholarships, grants or honors you’ve received.
Professional Memberships – Membership in professional organizations or associations, including the name of the organization and your role (e.g., member, officer).
Skills – A section where you list your technical, research, or language skills relevant to your field.
Languages – If you’re proficient in multiple languages, you can specify your level of proficiency in each language.
Certifications and Training – Any relevant certifications, training programs or workshops you’ve completed.
Professional Experience – Details about your work history, including job titles, employers, dates of employment and a brief description of your roles and responsibilities.
Internships or Research Assistantships – Information about any internships or research assistant positions you’ve held, including the organization, dates and key responsibilities.
References – You may include a list of references or simply state that references are available upon request. Be sure to inform your references beforehand.
Research Interests – A section where you outline your research interests or areas of expertise.
Grants and Funding – Information about research grants, fellowships or funding you’ve received, including the source, purpose and amounts.
Professional Development – Any professional development activities, workshops or conferences you’ve attended.
Community Involvement – Details about your involvement in community service, volunteer work, or relevant extracurricular activities.

Remember that the specific sections you include in your CV may vary based on your academic and professional background and the requirements of the job or opportunity you’re applying for.

Tailor your CV to highlight the most relevant information for the specific application.

$ATI TEAS 7 Math Test – Ultimate Guide Plus Practice Questions For 2024$

The ATI TEAS 7 Math Test is a crucial component of the ATI TEAS exam, which is widely used by nursing and allied health schools to assess prospective students' academic readiness for their programs.

In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into various aspects of the TEAS Maths 7 Test, including what it entails, when it is taken, example questions to help you prepare, and tips for success.

So, let's dive right in!

10 Best Executive Resume Writing Services to Unlock Your Career Potential in 2024

When looking for the best executive resume writing service, consider the following features:

Experienced in writing resumes in your industry
Transparent pricing structures
A good amount of revisions
Solid customer reviews
Efficient turnaround times

As the professional landscape becomes more competitive, it’s recommended that executives seeking to elevate their careers make use of executive resume writing services.

Crafting a resume tailored to senior positions requires a specialized approach, and the expertise of top executive resume writers can make a significant difference.

This article will explore the top 10 executive resume writers in 2024, explaining why executives should consider them, what to look for, and address some common questions about these services.

The 10 Best Executive Resume Writing Services

Here are the top 10 executive resume writers:

My Perfect Resume
Topstack Resume
Briefcase Coach
CEO Resume Writer
Capstone Resume Services
Career Steering
The Writing Guru

7 Best Resume Writing Services: Professional & Convenient

The 7 best rated resume writing services:

TopResume – Best for personalized expertise
TopStack Resume – Best for navigating careers
ResumeCompanion – Best for affordable excellence
Resumeble – Best for ATS-optimized resumes
ResumeSpice – Best for executive service
Craft Resumes – Best for a quick turnaround
Resume.com – Best for those on a budget

How to Pass the WorkKeys Applied Math Test in 2024

Passing the WorkKeys Applied Math Test in 2024 can be essential for job seekers.

This test evaluates math skills, which are increasingly important to employers. The WorkKeys math test is a widely used tool and is used to assess math competencies and skills for various job positions.

Here you’ll learn everything you need to know about how to excel in this test.

Despite the belief that a person doesn't use over half of the math knowledge they acquired during their education, these skills are applied in many fields.

In fact, math is among the most assessed skills on job applications, and more and more employers use it in their requirements for hiring.

As part of the WorkKeys assessments test group, the WorkKeys Applied Math is a widely utilized test among both employers looking for swift applicant filtering and candidates wanting to showcase their abilities in a specific field.

In this article, you’ll learn how to pass this test in 2024.

Many employers in the United States use the WorkKeys assessment to gauge whether a prospective candidate is suitable for recruitment or training opportunities.

The assessment is made up of eight aptitude tests, including Applied Mathematics, Graphic Literacy, Workplace Documents, Applied Technology and Business Writing.

To stand the best chance of passing the WorkKeys Test in 2024, you will need to study all parts of the test, work through practice papers and improve your time management.

What Is the Act WorkKeys Test?

The ACT WorkKeys test is a suite of assessments developed by the ACT (American College of Testing).

The WorkKeys tests are used to measure essential workplace skills that are required for various career paths and industries.

As a candidate, the WorkKeys assessment helps you to identify which skills you need to improve on for your desired job role.

Administered at college and university level, the Accuplacer test is used by some educational institutions to determine how prepared a student is for the next steps in their academic career.

This guide looks specifically at Accuplacer test scores – how they are awarded and what they mean – so you can better understand how your Accuplacer score might impact your learning experience.

Accuplacer test scores are a set of metrics that evaluate a student's knowledge and skills in specific subject areas including reading, writing and math.

How to Write a CV With No Work Experience – A Complete Guide

Creating a compelling CV can be a daunting task when you lack traditional work experience, especially if you're just starting your career journey.

But fear not, as this complete guide will lead you through the process of crafting an impressive CV that effectively communicates your skills, strengths, and potential.

Whether you're a recent graduate, switching careers, or entering the workforce for the first time, this article will provide you with invaluable insights on how to write a CV that catches the eye of potential employers and secures your place in the job market.

How to Write Professional Summary in CV Effectively: 2024 Guide & Examples

In the world of job hunting, your CV is your primary tool to make a lasting impression on potential employers.

A well-crafted CV can open doors to countless opportunities, but it starts with the first section – the professional summary.

Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your career, understanding the art of the professional summary and leveraging it to your advantage can be the key to securing your dream job.

In this comprehensive guide for 2024, we'll explore how to write a professional summary in your CV effectively, including handy tips such as how to highlight your top selling points in one to four sentences and with practical examples to ensure your professional summary stands out.

5 Best Skills to Add in a CV to Get Your Dream Job

In today's highly competitive job market, having a well-crafted and impressive CV is essential for landing your dream job.

While a strong educational background and relevant experience are crucial, it's the skills you bring to the table that can set you apart from the competition.

This article explores the top five skills you should consider adding to your CV to increase your chances of securing that coveted position.

Whether you're a recent graduate or a seasoned professional, these skills can make a significant difference in your job search journey.

Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) – Dates, Locations & Practice Questions

The Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) is a critical milestone for students seeking entrance into prestigious secondary schools.

The exam is designed to evaluate a student's verbal, quantitative and reading skills.

Administered at various locations, the SSAT serves as a comprehensive measure of a student's readiness for the challenges of the next level of their education.

Find out the essential information about SSAT dates, locations and practice questions to help you and your child prepare.

What Is the SSAT Exam?

The acronym SSAT stands for Secondary School Admission Test.

The SSAT was first developed by the Enrollment Management Association (EMA).

This was formerly known as the Secondary School Admission Test Board (SSATB).

The EMA is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing tools and services for admissions professionals and educators.

The primary purpose of the SSAT is to assess the academic abilities of students seeking admission to private elementary, middle and high schools.

It serves as a standardized measure, offering schools a common benchmark to evaluate the skills of prospective students.

The test covers areas such as math, verbal reasoning and reading comprehension.

This provides a comprehensive view of a student's abilities. It is used for students in grades three to 11.

The SSAT is used by many private schools as part of their admissions process.

By incorporating a standardized test, schools can objectively evaluate applicants from diverse educational backgrounds.

The test helps schools identify students who are likely to succeed in their academic programs. This ensures a fair and consistent evaluation process.

Additionally, the SSAT provides a means for students to showcase their academic strengths and potential.

This enhances the overall admissions decision-making process.

How to Prepare For Canadian Adult Achievement Test (CAAT) in 2024? – A Complete Guide

The Canadian Adult Achievement Test (CAAT) is an assessment designed to measure an individual's readiness for postsecondary education, apprenticeships, employment or promotion opportunities in Canada.

The CAAT plays a crucial role in evaluating the skills and knowledge of test-takers.

This comprehensive guide will provide insights into the CAAT, including its purpose, format, scoring and preparation strategies.

What Is the QTS Skills Test?

The QTS Skills Test was developed by the Department for Education in 2008.

It is taken by those wanting to pursue a career in teaching. Passing the test enables candidates to obtain the Qualified Teacher Status.

Similar to the PGCE maths and English test, this test aims for potential teachers to demonstrate their ability to complete various teaching-related professional tasks.

Candidates take this test after obtaining an undergraduate degree and completing the teacher training program.

Since April 2020, the test is no longer mandatory, but many state-funded schools and other special schools still require prospective teachers to take the QTS Skills tests.

WISC-V (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) Test & 2024 Study Guide for Parents

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V) is a commonly used assessment for judging a child's intelligence. More than that, it can help to understand their reasoning and thinking abilities to support their development.

Here’s everything you need to know about this test.

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fifth Edition (WISC-V) is an individually administered and extensive evaluation tool used to assess children's reasoning and general thinking abilities.

It's typically given to children between ages 6 and 16.

After completing a test, children are awarded a Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (IQ) score, along with age-based scores and rankings in several cognitive function fields.

Here we’ll provide an all-around study guide for parents whose children are required or scheduled to take the WISC-V test.

We’ll also include a comprehensive explanation of how it is constructed, its key features, tips for preparing, and a few example questions.

Understanding Your Kid’s Renaissance Star Test Scores – A Complete Guide

The STAR assessments utilize a scoring system comprising scaled scores ranging from 0 to 1,400.

These scores reflect a student's proficiency level in subjects such as reading and math.

Benchmark categories provide descriptive labels for performance levels, while percentile rank compares a student's performance to a national reference group.

Additionally, grade equivalent scores and domain scores offer insights into grade-level equivalence and specific skill areas.

The STAR Assessment can play a crucial role in evaluating your child’s academic ability and guiding educational strategies.

Understanding its scoring system, test format and significance is important for parents and educators alike.

This article aims to provide comprehensive insights into the STAR Assessment, including its purpose, score interpretation and effective strategies to help children excel in these standardized tests.

CogAT Test Scores: Understanding Your CogAT Score

The CogAT raw score represents how many questions were answered correctly on the CogAT test. This information is used to create the Universal Scale Score (between 100 and 150), which you will see on your child’s CogAT score report.

Here is an image of a typical score report:

MAP Test Scores: Understand Your MAP Score

With the MAP Growth Test used in many schools across the United States, MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) scores are an important part of your child’s life.

The MAP testing scores chart a student’s academic growth in a way that highlights areas of excellence and improvement.

It is essential that you understand how NWEA MAP scores are calculated so you can best support your child throughout their learning journey.

This guide will explain how to find and improve your child’s NWEA Map Scores.

SSAT Score Chart – Range, Results, Chart, Percentiles & More

The main three sections for the Upper and Middle level tests have a maximum score of 800. They have a total scaled score that ranges between 1,500 to 2,400.

Navigating the SSAT involves understanding its scoring system.

In this guide, you can explore the SSAT Score Chart and understand score ranges and percentile ranking and how they matter in private school admissions.

It's a comprehensive resource for decoding SSAT scores and making informed decisions about your child’s education.

What Is the SSAT Test?

The SSAT stands for the Secondary School Admission Test. The SSAT was first administered in 1957.

It is a standardized test designed for students seeking admission to private middle and high schools.

The primary purpose of the SSAT is to assess the skills and knowledge of students applying to independent or private schools.

It aims to provide an accurate measure of a student's academic abilities and readiness for a challenging curriculum.

As with other careers, joining the US military comes with its own set of recruitment processes, one of which is taking the ASVAB test .

If you’ve been looking to pursue a career in the US military, then it might be a test you’ve become familiar with or heard of before. It is an exam a recruiter will advise you to take prior to joining the armed forces.

The ASVAB , otherwise known as the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery , is a test the armed services use to determine which part of the US military you will be most suited to join.

Within this article we will discuss what your ASVAB score means and what score counts as a good ASVAB score .

Good ASVAB Score Defined

Whether you’re looking to join the Coast Guard, Army, Marine Corps or another sector within the US military, each branch will require its candidates to score a minimum amount to qualify for that specific area.

It is important to note that there is no single ASVAB score , and you will normally receive a variety of different scores on your final report.

The Wiesen Test of Mechanical Aptitude (WTMA test) plays a key role in assessing an individual's mechanical comprehension.

In addition, this is a critical skill set demanded by numerous professions including engineering, manufacturing and construction.

This article provides a comprehensive overview of the WTMA covering its purpose and relevance in various industries.

You can explore the test format by reading sample questions and finding practical tips for effective preparation.

This will give you a solid foundation to navigate the Wiesen test confidently and make informed career or educational choices based on your mechanical aptitude.

How to Write the Best Personal Statement for a CV – 2024 Guide & Examples

At the heart of your CV is the personal statement, a segment that, while often underrated, plays a pivotal role in shaping your professional narrative and setting you apart from other candidates.

This article is tailored to guide you through the process of crafting an outstanding CV personal statement, whether you're an experienced professional seeking new opportunities or a recent graduate embarking on your career.

We delve into essential aspects of personal statement writing, covering:

Research and preparation
Effective structuring
Adopting the appropriate writing style and tone
Formatting your statement to maximize its impact

By exploring real-life examples and analyzing key components, this article equips you with the tools to tailor your personal statement to reflect your unique experiences and ambitions.

What Is a Personal Statement?

Your personal statement, often located at the top of your CV, is a concise yet powerful narrative that encapsulates your professional identity.

It serves as a brief introduction to who you are, your qualifications and what you bring to the table.

The primary purpose of a personal statement is to grab the reader's attention, making them eager to learn more about you and why you're the perfect fit for the job.

Consider the company's culture, values and the job's requirements when tailoring your personal statement to ensure that it not only captures your qualifications but also showcases your alignment with the organisation's goals and mission.

A Guide to the Google Apprenticeship Program & Tips 2024

This article explores apprenticeships at Google.

We look at what the apprenticeship program involves and the different business areas in which Google runs apprenticeship programs.

For those interested in applying, we delve deeper into the application process and provide some hints and tips on performing to the best of your ability throughout the process to give yourself the best opportunity to secure an apprenticeship in the business area of your choice.

What Is Google Apprenticeship?

Google is a multinational technology company that specializes in internet-related products and services.

Founded in September 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google is best known for its search engine, revolutionizing how people find information online.

The company's mission is to ‘organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful’.

Google's reach extends beyond its search engine, encompassing a wide range of products and services that impact various aspects of modern daily life.

Positions at Google are coveted, with the company offering opportunities at all different levels of experience.

This includes those looking for an apprenticeship program.

The Google Apprenticeship is a structured training program designed to provide individuals with hands-on experience and practical skills in various technology and business fields.

These programs aim to bridge the gap between formal education and real-world job requirements, allowing individuals to gain insights and knowledge on specific business areas while working on actual projects within Google or its partner organizations.

The primary purpose of Google Apprenticeships is to equip participants with the skills needed to succeed in the tech industry.

These programs offer a structured learning path that combines on-the-job training with classroom instruction, enabling participants to develop a strong foundation in their chosen field.

Google Apprenticeships are available in select locations. The duration of the apprenticeship depends on the focus and complexity of the training in the business area.

Some programs last for a few months, while others, such as those in software engineering, could last up to 36 months.

Eligibility for Google Apprenticeships can vary based on the specific program and location.

These programs target individuals who do not have college degrees but are eager to learn and enter the technology workforce.

Applicants may need to meet specific prerequisites, including relevant skills, experience or educational background.

Unlike traditional internships, Google Apprenticeships are paid positions.

Participants receive a salary for their work during the program, making them an attractive option for individuals seeking practical experience while earning an income.

How to Crack the Microsoft Codility Test in 2024

The Microsoft Codility Test evaluates coding skills and algorithmic thinking.

Designed to streamline Microsoft’s recruitment process, the Microsoft Codility Test assesses candidates' ability to solve real-world problems efficiently.

Candidates can prepare using coding practice platforms and mastering programming languages. It's an integral tool in selecting skilled software engineers for Microsoft's diverse roles.

In the fast-paced landscape of 2024, the job market continues to evolve, demanding a new set of skills and competencies from professionals.

As candidates vie for coveted positions, the resume remains a critical tool in their arsenal.

A well-crafted resume not only serves as a snapshot of one's qualifications but also showcases the invaluable skills that set them apart from the competition.

In this dynamic environment, it's imperative to stay ahead of the curve by incorporating the most sought-after skills.

Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out on your career journey, knowing which skills to highlight can make all the difference in catching the eye of a recruiter.

In this article, you’ll learn more about the best skills to have on your resume and get examples of skills to put on a resume, equipping you with the knowledge and insights needed to leave a lasting impression on prospective employers.

From adaptability to data analysis, digital marketing to cybersecurity, you’ll explore the competencies that are reshaping industries and opening doors to exciting new opportunities.

So, let's embark on this journey of skill-building and position yourself as a standout candidate in a competitive job market.

Why It’s Important to Showcase the Right Skills on Your Resume

Showcasing the right skills on your resume is not just important, it is imperative for several key reasons:

Bridging the Employer's Needs with Your Capabilities

Employers are on the lookout for candidates who can hit the ground running. By listing the skills closely aligned with the job description, you are effectively bridging the gap between the employer's needs and your own capabilities.

This shows that you are not just qualified, but ready and able to tackle the specific challenges the position presents.

Passing the Automated Gatekeepers

Many companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to filter resumes before they even reach human eyes.

These systems are programmed to pick up on keywords that are often skill-related.

Including the right skills ensures that your resume passes through these automated gatekeepers and reaches the hiring manager.

Demonstrating Relevance in a Changing Work Environment

The workplace is continually evolving, with new technologies and methodologies being introduced at a rapid pace.

Presenting the skills you have that are in demand demonstrates your relevance and awareness of industry trends. It shows that you are not only competent but also adaptable and forward-thinking.

Positioning Yourself as a Valuable Asset

The skills on your resume should reflect your ability to add value to a company from day one. When you highlight skills that are in demand, you position yourself as a valuable asset.

Employers are not just looking for workers; they're looking for contributors who will bring in new ideas and drive the company forward.

Differentiating Yourself from the Competition

A resume that clearly articulates specific, relevant skills helps you stand out in a crowded field of applicants.

Rather than being another face in the crowd, your resume tells the hiring manager that you possess a unique set of skills that sets you apart from other candidates.

Creating Opportunities for Growth and Advancement

By displaying skills that go beyond the basic requirements of the job, you signal your potential for growth. Employers are not just hiring for the present; they are also planning for the future.

A candidate with a robust skill set is seen as someone who can take on greater responsibilities and advance within the organization.

Examples of Skills to Put on a Resume

Below you’ll find some examples of good skills to put on a resume.

Of course, these will vary depending on your skill set and experience, but this list will give you an idea of what employers are looking for.

1. Adaptability and Resilience

The ability to adapt to new circumstances and bounce back from challenges is a skill that has risen to paramount importance.

Employers seek individuals who can navigate shifts in technology, industry trends and work methodologies with grace and composure.

Adapting to New Technologies and Methodologies

Staying abreast of emerging technologies and methodologies is no longer a choice, but a necessity.

The pace at which industries evolve demands professionals who can swiftly embrace and integrate new tools and techniques into their workflow.

Whether it's mastering the latest software or understanding innovative processes, showcasing adaptability in this realm can set you apart as a candidate who's ready to hit the ground running.

Navigating Change in the Workplace

Organizations are constantly in flux, responding to market demands, regulatory changes and internal shifts.

Those who can navigate and even thrive in this dynamic environment demonstrate invaluable resilience.

Being open to change, maintaining a positive attitude, and showing a willingness to learn are all hallmarks of adaptability in the workplace.

These are all great examples of professional skills.

Demonstrating Resilience in Challenging Situations

Resilience is the ability to persevere and maintain productivity in the face of adversity.

It's about turning setbacks into opportunities for growth. When discussing your experiences on your resume, highlight instances where you've faced challenges head-on, showcasing your ability to adapt, learn and ultimately triumph in the face of adversity.

Embracing adaptability and resilience not only positions you as a candidate who can weather any storm but also signals to employers that you're equipped to thrive in the current, ever-evolving professional landscape.

By demonstrating your capacity to adapt and rebound, you'll leave a lasting impression on recruiters seeking individuals who can rise to the occasion in a rapidly changing world.

2. Data Analysis and Interpretation

The ability to harness data for informed decision-making is a skill that holds unparalleled value.

Employers are seeking individuals who can not only collect and organize data but also draw meaningful insights to drive business strategies.

Importance of Data-Driven Decision-Making

In an era where data is generated at an unprecedented pace, businesses rely on actionable insights to gain a competitive edge.

Proficiency in data analysis allows you to transform raw information into strategic recommendations.

Highlighting your ability to make data-driven decisions on your resume underscores your potential to contribute meaningfully to the organization's objectives.

Proficiency in Data Analysis Tools and Software

When it comes to adding job skills to your resume, demonstrating expertise in data analysis tools and software is essential in showcasing your technical competence.

Whether it's proficiency in platforms like Excel, Tableau or more specialized tools, specifying your capabilities in this area provides concrete evidence of your ability to handle complex datasets.

Translating Data into Actionable Insights

Being able to not only analyze data but also extract actionable insights is a highly sought-after skill.

Employers are eager to find individuals who can discern patterns, identify trends, and make recommendations based on their findings.

When detailing your experiences, emphasize instances where your data analysis directly contributed to improved decision-making or operational efficiency.

In a data-driven world, the ability to navigate and make sense of complex datasets sets you apart as a candidate who can turn information into a powerful asset.

By showcasing your proficiency in data analysis and interpretation as job skills on your resume, you position yourself as a valuable resource in an environment that increasingly relies on informed, strategic choices.

3. Digital Marketing and Social Media Management

Businesses are more reliant than ever on effective online presence and marketing strategies.

Proficiency in digital marketing and social media management is a highly valued skill set, as it directly impacts a company's visibility and engagement with its target audience.

So these are good skills to add to your resume.

Leveraging Online Platforms for Business Growth

Understanding how to effectively utilize online platforms is crucial for driving business growth. This includes expertise in areas such as search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click advertising (PPC), content marketing and email marketing.

Demonstrating your ability to create and execute successful digital marketing campaigns showcases your capacity to contribute to a company's revenue and brand visibility.

Understanding Algorithms and Analytics

In the dynamic world of digital marketing, staying updated on algorithms and analytics is paramount.

This involves a deep understanding of platforms like Google Analytics, social media insights and other tracking tools.

Highlighting your proficiency in interpreting data to refine marketing strategies is key to proving your effectiveness in this area.

Creating and Implementing Effective Digital Marketing Strategies

Crafting and executing digital marketing strategies requires a blend of creativity, analytical thinking, and market insight.

Detailing instances where you've successfully planned and executed campaigns, including metrics on engagement, conversion rates and ROI, provides tangible evidence of your expertise in this domain.

How to Prepare For The Smarter Balanced Test (SBAC) – A Detailed 2024 Study Guide with Practice Questions

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium Test, known as the SBAC test, is a standardized assessment of English and math used by schools in participating states.

Administered to students in grades K to 12, it measures grade level proficiency and academic progress through computer-adaptive testing and performance tasks.

The Smarter Balanced Test is an educational tool developed and administered by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), hence the abbreviation SBAC test.

In this article we explore what the test involves, what the results mean and how to help a student prepare for their SBAC assessment.

What Is the SBAC Test?

The SBAC assessment is a set of standardized tests that evaluate how well students are performing in the subjects of English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics.

These assessments are taken by students ranging from elementary school to high school in multiple states across the US.

The tests are developed and managed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), a collaborative group of states working together.

FireTEAM Test Prep: Top Tips:

Master time management
Brush up on basic concepts
Diversify your reading
Play observational and memory games
Assess your communication style
Prioritize rest and sleep

If you're considering a career in firefighting, taking the FireTEAM test is a pivotal step that can open doors to various fire departments across the US.

This article covers everything you need to know to put in a strong performance, including an overview of its format, practice questions and FireTEAM test tips to help you create an effective study plan.

What Is a Concentration Test and How to Pass It in 2024?

The act of focusing your attention, concentration is a process that we use every day.

Whether it is while watching a film, reading a book or just taking part in a conversation, you may be concentrating without even realising!

Concentration generally comes naturally to us.

While there may be times where we struggle to focus, we can more often than not direct our attention to the task at hand.

It is an important skill to maintain because it helps us study, improves our memory, enables faster comprehension and allows us to ignore irrelevant thoughts.

These qualities are especially valuable in the workplace.

To assess job candidates’ ability to concentrate, many organisations administer concentration tests during the application process.

A career as a firefighter can be rewarding and challenging, in equal parts. If you are considering a career in your local fire department you should prepare for a lengthy and intense recruitment process.

As part of the recruitment process, in addition to a physical fitness test, you will be required to sit a written firefighter exam that covers various subjects.

The entry-level firefighter exam varies between departments and states but always covers the same key areas of competence, including math skills, reading comprehension and problem-solving.

You can practice for your firefighter test in advance to stand the best chance of passing and moving a step closer to getting hired by your local fire department.

How to Ace the Berke Assessment Test in 2024

When applying for a job, you are typically required to submit your resume and a cover letter outlining why you are the perfect fit for the role.

For some vacancies, you may also need to take an assessment that measures your personal qualities. One assessment that is used by companies including David Weekley Homes, ExpressCare, Polaris and AmeriLife is the Berke Assessment Test .

The Berke Assessment is a test administered by companies as part of their job application process.

The test includes questions on cognitive ability and personality traits. The best way to prepare for the test is by taking practice tests that include similar questions.

By asking candidates to take the test, recruiters can see who is predicted to be the best match to the role.

In this guide, we will explain all you need to know about the test and how to prepare for success.

How to Pass the FCTC Written Test in 2024

A career in the fire service is a challenging – but extremely rewarding – journey. Such an important, high-pressure job requires a high level of physical, mental and emotional skills.

As well as the necessary personality traits, you generally need a high school diploma or GED. If you have a college degree, you have a better chance of securing a role in the fire service.

You will also be required to take a series of assessments that evaluate your physical and mental strength. One of the assessments used by Californian fire departments is the FCTC Written Test. To become a firefighter in California, you must pass this entry-level test.

In this guide, we will explore what the FCTC Written Test includes and how you can prepare for success.

ATSA Test (Air Traffic Skills Assessment) – Guide 2024

For those applying for a job in air traffic control, they will have to take and pass the Air Traffic Skills Assessment, more commonly referred to as the ATSA exam.

It is vital to pass the exam to continue in the recruitment stage. It is also important to prepare and do your best, as the higher the score, the more likely it is that you will be offered a position.

This article will look at what is involved in the ATSA test, who is eligible to take it, ATSA test prep and how to access ATSA practice exams.

Marines ASVAB Test: Requirements and Positions

To successfully enlist in the US Marine Corps, certain standards must be met. Marines require both physical and mental strength as well as discipline, determination and the ability to overcome obstacles. This is sometimes referred to as the ‘Marine Mindset’.

One of the ways candidates who wish to enlist will be assessed is by taking a test known as the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB).

A good score on the test suggests that a candidate possesses the mental skillset to be successful in the military.

Marines need to be able to make quick, accurate decisions and adapt to and overcome threats and obstacles on the battlefield.

The MCOLES test is a pre-employment test that all individuals applying for law enforcement roles within Michigan state need to complete.

The test evaluates an individual's basic reading and writing skills, skills essential in being able to communicate effectively and interpret law-related policies and procedures.

Through preparation is needed to attain a passing score of at least 70% on the test.

How to Pass the PiCAT Verification Test in 2024

The PiCAT test is a commonly used assessment tool for those applying to military positions, such as those in the US Navy or the US Army.

This article explores the PiCAT test in more detail. We look at the test format to familiarize individuals with what the Navy PiCAT and Army PiCAT test covers.

Preparation is vital to performing to the best of your ability in the PiCAT test.

The article includes PiCAT practice test questions, answers to help you prepare, and tips to give you the best opportunity to approach the test positively.

How to Pass the SHL Deductive Reasoning Test in 2024

The SHL Deductive Reasoning Test is an assessment employers use to evaluate candidates' logical thinking skills.

It presents logical arguments and requires candidates to determine if conclusions follow from given premises.

Candidates can prepare by practicing tests, honing logical reasoning skills, and familiarizing themselves with formal logic rules to excel in this assessment.

What Is the SHL Deductive Reasoning Test?

The SHL Deductive Reasoning Test is a cognitive assessment tool used in the recruitment and selection processes for many roles in several industries.

SHL (Saville and Holdsworth Ltd.) is a well-known company specializing in psychometric assessments and organizational talent measurement solutions.

SHL assessment tools are used in the early stages of the recruitment process, enabling recruiters to identify candidates with the specific aptitudes needed for success in a role in an organization.

What Is the Mettl Test & How to Pass It in 2024

The Mettl tests are developed by the world's largest assessment provider, Mercer Mettl.

The tests have been designed to analyze various competencies, including verbal, logical and numerical reasoning.

Alongside, the Mettl assessments evaluate candidates' personalities and working styles, establishing whether they are an accurate fit for the role and the broader company.

The Mettl tests are a comprehensive recruitment tool provided by Mercer Mettl – the world's largest assessment provider.

Moreover, the Mettl tests are designed to assess various skills, including numerical , verbal and abstract reasoning.

The assessments are also constructed to understand candidates' behaviors and personality types.

This guide explains everything you need to know about the Mettl test, including tips on how to pass the test in 2024.

What Is the Mettl Test?

As mentioned, the Mettl test is a comprehensive recruitment tool designed to test a range of skills.

It allows employers to ensure they recruit the most suitable candidates for the role.

Mastering the Pipefitter Test is crucial for those entering the field.

This guide provides valuable insights, a pipefitter sample test and strategies to conquer the examination.

Discover expert tips to excel in your pipefitting career by navigating the challenges of this important assessment.

What Is the Pipefitter Assessment Test?

The Pipefitter test is an important evaluation tool for individuals aspiring to secure roles as pipefitters in the construction and industrial sectors.

Qualifications and certifications necessary for such positions can vary by state. This makes the pipefitter assessment test a valuable method of demonstrating skills and knowledge.

The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) administers the most popular pipefitter assessment test, designed to assess the potential skills of candidates.

It covers the principles related to the installation and maintenance of both high and low-pressure pipe systems.

In addition, it focuses on how these are used across various sectors, including manufacturing, electricity generation and climate control systems in buildings.

i-Ready Diagnostic Test – Prep Guide for 2024

The i-Ready Diagnostic Test is an internet-based adaptive diagnostic test linked to the i-Ready educational learning program.

Students from kindergarten to grade 12 take the test three times each year. The test is divided into two subtests:

i-Ready test results are used to help teaching staff create a personalized learning plan according to a student’s strengths and weaknesses.

What Is the i-Ready Diagnostic Test?

The i-Ready Diagnostic Test is a computer-adaptive, untimed assessment for students between grades K and 12.

Administered by Curriculum Associates , teachers can use it to monitor a student’s ability and progress throughout the school year.

In most cases, the i-Ready Diagnostic Test is administered three times each year. It is split into two subtests: math and reading.

What Is the HSBC Online Immersive Assessment? 2024 Guide

The HSBC Online Immersive Assessment contains 38 questions over five subtests. The test includes a combination of behavioural questions and cognitive ability exercises.

It is an untimed assessment, but most candidates can answer all test questions within 50 minutes.

Some people find the test difficult, but adequate preparation will stand you in good stead to pass the assessment.

What Is the HSBC Hiring Process Like?

HSBC is a major global bank and financial institution. It offers services via three global businesses and serves millions of customers daily.

The hiring process at HSBC comprises four key stages:

Initial Screening and Application
HSBC Online Immersive Assessment
Online Job Simulation Assessment

How to Pass the NJATC Aptitude Test in 2024

If you're considering a career as an electrician in the US, the NJATC (National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee) Aptitude Test is a significant step in the process.

This comprehensive NJATC aptitude test study guide will walk you through all the essential information you need to know about the NJATC Aptitude Test, including its format, preparation tips and practice tests, and address some frequently asked questions.

What Is the NJATC Aptitude Test?

NJATC stands for the 'National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee'.

This committee collaborates with two prominent organizations:

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA)

Working in unison, IBEW and NECA strive to provide high-quality training and educational opportunities for individuals aspiring to become skilled electricians.

How to Pass the GEICO Assessment Test in 2024

If you're considering a career opportunity at GEICO, you're likely aware of the competitive nature of their recruitment process.

As the second-largest motor insurance company in the US, GEICO attracts many applicants for both customer-facing and non-customer-facing positions.

One critical step in this process is the GEICO assessment test .

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to effectively prepare for and pass the GEICO assessment test.

It will also provide sample questions and GEICO assessment test answers.

What Is the GEICO Assessment Test?

GEICO, short for the Government Employees Insurance Company, is the entity responsible for designing and implementing the assessment test .

Established in 1936, GEICO is renowned for its rigorous recruitment standards.

Nassau County Civil Service Exams & Jobs – 2024

The Nassau County Civil Service tests are an important part of the Nassau County recruitment process.

As applications are highly competitive, it is essential to stay up-to-date with the official announcements and notifications regarding upcoming exams and prepare effectively.

This article will help in your preparation by providing details of the test and the best ways to prepare.

What Are Nassau County Civil Service Exams?

Nassau County Civil Service Exams are standardized assessments conducted by the Nassau County Civil Service Commission.

They are designed to evaluate those applying for various civil service positions within Nassau County, New York.

As Nassau County is made up of a diverse array of municipalities, towns, and cities, Nassau County Civil Service jobs are distributed throughout these areas and cover:

Electronic Data Processing Test (EDPT): Study Guide & Practice Tips

What Is the Electronic Data Processing Test?

The Electronic Data Processing Test (EDPT) is a pre-employment test taken by military candidates who want to transfer to IT or computer programming roles within the Marine Corps or Air Force.

The EDPT test is one of the most challenging pre-employment tests currently on the market with a pass rate of around 10%.

It is 90 minutes long and has 120 multiple-choice questions. This means you have around 45 seconds to answer each question.

While the minimum ASVAB score varies between military branches, the minimum acceptable score is 31.

However, as the majority of candidates score between 30 and 70, you want to aim for a percentile rank of at least 60.

The ASVAB Test Score Report is a valuable document that provides detailed information about your aptitudes, skills, and qualifications for military service.

It includes Career Exploration Scores to guide career choices, individual scores on ASVAB subtests to assess specific abilities and the critical AFQT score that determines your eligibility for enlistment.

Understanding the information presented in this report is essential for making informed decisions about your military career options.

What Is in the ASVAB Test Score Report?

The ASVAB (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) Test Score Report provides a comprehensive overview of your performance on the ASVAB test, which is a critical step in the military enlistment process.

The report helps you and military recruiters assess your aptitudes, skills, and potential for various military occupations.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) – 2024 Guide

What Is the MMPI Assessment?

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) is one of the most widely used assessment tools used to help clinically diagnose mental health disorders.

Originally developed in the late 1930s, it is used by mental health professionals, lawyers and even in some cases by employers when they are hiring for positions that are considered to be high-risk, such as working in the police, in nuclear power plants or in air traffic control.

The MMPI is a self-reporting tool that is administered by professionals, and during the assessment, you will be asked to answer hundreds of true/false questions, which help paint a picture of your mental health and your personality traits.

As a diagnosis tool, the MMPI is considered to be clinically accurate. It has been updated multiple times over the years to make it more relevant, especially in terms of cultural sensitivity.

The MMPI offers results that show on a scale what symptoms a person has, and what mental health problems that could be indicative of.

In addition, the MMPI is usually used in tandem with other diagnosis tools to provide a clear picture of a person's mental health.

How to Pass the ACCUPLACER Reading Comprehension Test in 2024

What Is the ACCUPLACER Reading Comprehension Test?

The Accuplacer Reading Comprehension test is part of a suite of assessments that are used to evaluate students prior to entry at college.

While the Accuplacer test battery is not used to determine whether a student will achieve a placement at college, the results are used to ensure that the student is studying at an appropriate level and is ready for education at this level.

Created by the College Board, which is a not-for-profit organization that is also responsible for creating assessments like the SATs, the Accuplacer tests are designed to offer better opportunities to students and make entry to top colleges accessible to all.

$Accuplacer Math Placement Test – Guide & Tips 2024$

What Is the Accuplacer Math Placement Test?

Accuplacer tests are a series of evaluation tools used by colleges to enhance student placement, ensuring that applicants are given the support they need to complete their chosen field of study.

The Accuplacer Math test is a group of three assessments, each used in different math placement testing scenarios. Each assessment consists of 20 multiple-choice questions and there is no time limit to complete the tests, but most people get through them in around two hours.

How to Pass the Accuplacer English Test in 2024

What Is the Accuplacer English Test?

The Accuplacer English test is an assessment of English language skills for students who are learning English as another language, and it is often used as part of the application process for entry to college.

The assessment is designed to evaluate students based on their English language ability, and it is a multiple-choice assessment with no time limit.

The test results are used to understand the current level of English proficiency of a student, which can then be used to ensure that they receive the right support when they enter the college system – it is not a ‘pass or fail’ test and the results will not prevent entry to college.

The Accuplacer English assessment is part of a suite of Accuplacer tests that have been created by the College Board, which is a not-for-profit organization that was founded back in 1900.

The College Board was created to expand access to higher education, helping students get access to college and university courses through testing that builds inclusivity, including the SATs – and now, seven million students per year make use of the resources and tests from the College Board to gain access to more than 6,000 of the top institutions in the world.

The Accuplacer English as a Second Language (ESL) Tests are designed to measure the skills of English learners because the other Accuplacer tests might not be adequate to evaluate people who are not native English speakers – and they may need additional support in learning English alongside their other college studies.

There are five Accuplacer ESL tests used to evaluate students applying to college:

ESL Reading Skills
ESL Sentence Meaning
ESL Language Use
ESL Listening
WritePlacer ESL

Each Accuplacer ESL test is marked from 20 to 120, and the scores are accompanied by a set of proficiency statements , which are descriptions of what the student will likely know and can do in terms of what is being evaluated in each test.

These statements are used by the college to ensure that the student is placed in the right classes with the right level of support to help them develop their language skills as needed.

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About This Product

Test purpose.

The TOPS 3 Elementary assesses a school-aged child's ability to integrate semantic and linguistic knowledge with reasoning ability by way of picture stimuli and verbal responses.

Test Description

TOPS 3 Elementary focuses on the student's linguistic ability to think and reason. Language competence is the overall indicator of how a child's language skills affect his ability to think, reason, problem solve, infer, classify, associate, predict, determine causes, sequence, and understand directions. The TOPS 3 Elementary test questions focus on a broad range of language-based thinking skills, including clarifying, analyzing, generating solutions, evaluating, and affective thinking.

While other tests may assess students' thinking skills by tapping mathematical, spatial, or nonverbal potential, the TOPS 3 Elementary measures discrete skills that form the foundation of language-based thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving abilities.

The test is composed of 18 situations that examine six thinking tasks. Carefully selected items and situations are relevant to most students and common across cultures and in most schools or home settings.

Although the skills tested on the TOPS 3 Elementary are necessary for developing social competence, it is not primarily a test of pragmatic or social language skills. Rather, it should be part of a battery of tests/observations used to assess pragmatic competence.

The subtests consist of full-color photographs and questions that address critical thinking skills:

Subtest A: Making Inferences

The student gives a logical explanation about a situation combining what he knows or can see with previous experiences and background information. The ability to infer is critical for success in the classroom, academics, and social development.

Subtest B: Sequencing

The student determines and explains logical, everyday sequences of events. This skill is critical to academic performance and requires an understanding of the situation, determining the logical sequence of events, and expressing it clearly.

Subtest C: Negative Questions

The student is asked to explain why something would not occur or why one shouldn't take a given action in a situation. Responses reveal how well your student notices, attends to, understands, and expresses an appropriate response on this subtest.

Subtest D: Problem Solving

The student must recognize the problem, think of alternative solutions, evaluate the options, and state an appropriate solution that will work well. It also includes how to avoid specific problems.

Subtest E: Predicting

This subtest requires the student to anticipate what will happen in the future. This requires him to draw from past experiences to reflect on the future. This skill is an academic as well as a life skill.

Subtest F: Determining Causes

The student must give a logical reason for a given aspect of the situation in the paragraph. To be successful, the student must see the relationship between the action and the outcome.

Examiner Qualifications

The test should only be administered by a trained professional familiar with language disorders (e.g., speech-language pathologist, psychologist).

Test Procedures

All items are presented in a conversational style with normal intonation and speaking rate.
The student looks at a picture in the Picture Stimuli Book and answers questions (presented verbally by the examiner) about the picture.
Each task is presented in its entirety to every student. Basals and ceilings are not used in the TOPS 3 Elementary. Prompts on the test form are allowed only if the student's response is unclear to the examiner. It is not used to give the student a "second chance" after a clear, complete but incorrect response.
Acceptable responses for each test item are indicated on the test form.

Discussion of Performance

The Discussion of Performance section in the Examiner's Manual was developed to guide the examiner to make appropriate and educationally-relevant recommendations for remediation based on a clear understanding of each subtest.

It includes a research-based rationale for the importance of teaching thinking skills, clinically sound information about each task, what is required for the student to be successful, how the task relates to academic and classroom behavior, the specific steps a student goes through to complete each thinking task, and the breakdown of what the student's responses reflect about his thinking skills

Standardization/Statistics

Two studies were conducted on the TOPS 3 Elementary – the item pool and standardization studies. The item pool study consisted of 690 subjects and the standardization study consisted of 1,406 subjects. The subjects in both studies represented the latest National Census for race, gender, age, and educational placement. This included subjects with IEPs for special services but who attend regular education classes.

Inter-Rater Reliability
Test-Retest
Reliability Based on Item Homogeneity (KR20)

The test-retest coefficient is .84 for the total test, the SEM is 9.88 for the total test. Based on these tests, the TOPS 3 Elementary has satisfactory levels of reliability for all tasks and the total test at all age levels.

Contrast Groups (t-values): Test discriminates between subjects with normal language development and subjects with language disorders.
Point Biserial Correlations
Subtest Intercorrelations
Correlations Between Subtests and Total Test

The t-Values for differences between normal and language-disordered subjects were significant at the .01 level for five age levels and at the .05 level for two age levels. The TOPS 3 Elementary clearly discriminates between these groups. Inspection of all the biserial correlations reveals acceptable levels of item consistency with 85% of the individual items showing statistically significant pass/fail correlations with the task scores.

Z-tests Chi Square analysis at the subtest level
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) F-tests

Of the more than 2,000 z-tests, only a small percentage showed any racial differences. Percentages ranged from below 1% to 6%. These low percentages indicate that neither race or SES are strong factors on the TOPS 3 Elementary.

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Learning Mathematics Problem Solving through Test Practice: a Randomized Field Experiment on a Global Scale

Intervention Study
Open access
Published: 04 February 2020
Volume 32 , pages 791–814, ( 2020 )

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Francesco Avvisati 1 &
Francesca Borgonovi ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6759-4515 1 , 2

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We measure the effect of a single test practice on 15-year-old students’ ability to solve mathematics problems using large, representative samples of the schooled population in 32 countries. We exploit three unique features of the 2012 administration of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a large-scale, low-stakes international assessment. During the 2012 PISA administration, participating students were asked to sit two separate tests consisting of problem-solving tasks. Both tests included questions that covered the same internationally recognized and validated framework for mathematics assessment. Students were randomly assigned in the first, 2-h-long test to one of three test versions containing varying amounts of mathematics, reading, and science problems. We found that the amount of mathematics problems in the first test had a small positive effect on mean mathematics performance on the second test, but no effect on general reasoning and problem-solving ability. Subject-specific effects of test practice on subsequent test performance were found over both short lags (same day) and medium lags (1–7 days). The learning gains ascribed to mathematics problem-solving practice were larger for boys than for girls.

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The Value of Using Tests in Education as Tools for Learning—Not Just for Assessment

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Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

School tests have become increasingly prominent in education research and policy in many countries, sparking intense public scrutiny over their intended and unintended consequences (Coburn, Hill, & Spillane, 2016 ; Marsh, Roediger, Bjork, & Bjork, 2007 ; McNeil, 2000 ; Smith, 1991 ; Rothman, 2011 ; Tienken & Zhao, 2010 ; Vinovskis, 2008 ). High-stakes tests are used, for example, to certify students’ acquisition of skills and knowledge and to award access to selective educational and career opportunities (Madaus, 1988 ). They are also a key component of accountability systems and are used to monitor the performance of teachers and schools. Low-stakes tests, including practice tests, are used by teachers to gather information about learners’ progression and to prepare students for high-stakes test. While practice tests can promote some learning (such as learning how to allocate time efficiently on the test, or helping students memorize facts and procedures), the use of tests in today’s schools is often criticized by parents, teachers, and educators for promoting only narrow learning that is deemed to be irrelevant in the “real world,” narrowing the curriculum (Amrein & Berliner, 2002 ; Nichols & Berliner, 2007 ; Watanabe, 2007 ). Teachers who “teach to the test” and students “who learn for a test” are, in public discourse, considered to divert valuable time resources from learning (Crocco & Costigan, 2007 ; Nelson, 2013 ).

Research indicates that the impact of tests on the curriculum and classroom practice depends on the characteristics of the tests. At the level of classrooms, schools, or entire systems, it has been shown that curricular content can narrow as a result of testing, subject area knowledge can become fragmented into test-related pieces, and teachers can increase the use of teacher-centered pedagogies as a result of testing. However, tests have also led to curricular content expansion, the integration of knowledge, and more student-centered, cooperative pedagogies. The effect depends on the characteristics of the test and how tests are integrated in classroom practice (Au, 2007 ).

At the level of individual learners, findings supported by psychological research suggest that tests can be powerful ways to learn and may serve as useful aids to promote students’ ability to apply principles and procedures to new situations. In particular, there is consistent experimental evidence that administering retrieval tests after a study period enhances individuals’ ability to retain and recall information (Adesope, Trevisan, & Sundararajan, 2017 ; Carpenter & Delosh, 2006 ; Carrier & Pashler, 1992 ; Kang, McDermott, & Roediger, 2007 ; Karpicke & Blunt, 2011 ; Karpicke & Roediger, 2008 ; Roediger & Karpicke, 2006 ).

Memorization enables students to store information with the aim of subsequent reproduction (Entwistle & McCune, 2004 ). The existence of a direct effect of testing indicates that sitting a test that requires the retrieval of previously studied material can be an effective memorization strategy. However, because students are also required to master a range of learning strategies beyond memorization (OECD, 2010 ; Pritchard, 2013 ; Rubin, 1981 ; Weinstein, Ridley, Dahl, & Weber, 1989 ), the direct effect of testing, while important, is of only partial interest to education practitioners (Rohrer, Taylor & Sholar, 2010 ; Wooldridge, Bugg, McDaniel, & Liu, 2014 ).

In addition to recalling definitions and understanding key concepts, students must learn when and how to apply principles and procedures in new settings (Dirkx, Kester, & Kirschner, 2014 ). Common pedagogical styles that are considered to foster the development of students’ ability to apply principles and procedures to new situations are cognitive activation strategies, student-centered instruction and inquiry, and task-based learning (Bietenbeck, 2014 ). It is therefore important to evaluate if a testing effect can be detected when the criterial test that is used to measure outcomes requires a novel demonstration of learning (Salomon & Perkins, 1989 ).

Studies have indeed indicated that tests consisting of retrieval tasks can facilitate the encoding of new information and its successive retrieval (Pastötter & Bäuml, 2014 ; Szpunar, McDermott, & Roediger, 2008 ). A rapidly growing area of research examines the extent to which tests consisting of retrieval tasks can have transfer effects and facilitate the application of knowledge in tests consisting of new, different tasks (Barnett & Ceci, 2002 ). Recent comprehensive reviews (Carpenter, 2012 ; Pan & Rickard, 2018 ) have applied the taxonomy of transfer effects proposed by Barnett and Ceci ( 2002 ) to identify the extent to which transfer effects occur, if at all, in different contexts and settings (as defined by time, knowledge domains, and test format).

The evidence for a direct effect of testing is robust, with a large number of studies indicating that retrieval practice has a large effect on fact retention (Adesope, Trevisan, & Sundararajan, 2017 ). Proponents of transfer-appropriate processing (Morris, Bransford & Franks, 1977 ) suggest that transfer effects will be stronger if the cognitive processes invoked during the practice test are similar to those invoked during the criterial test. The evidence on transfer effects is growing but remains limited, especially when far transfer (i.e., transfer that involves extensive and/or multiple differences in context) rather than near transfer (minor differences in conditions) is considered.

The review by Pan and Rickard ( 2018 ) includes evidence from 67 published and unpublished studies on transfer effects of retrieval practice, reporting findings from 122 experiments for an overall study population of just over 10,000 individuals. The review suggests, for example, that in situations involving practice tests, transfer of learning is greatest across test formats (e.g., from a free recall test to a multiple-choice test of the same information) and from memorization to application and inference questions; it is weakest to rearranged stimulus-response items, to untested materials seen only during initial study, and to problems involving worked examples.

The limited number of studies that have been conducted on transfer effects is likely to be the result of the greater complexity of designing such studies when compared to designing studies of the direct effect of testing.

First, because in the case of far transfer, effects are expected to be smaller than for the direct effects of testing, samples have to be considerably larger and more studies have to be conducted for individual studies or for meta-analyses to have adequate power. Small effect sizes can be due to the fact that practicing the retrieval of some information may cause test takers to forget other related information leading to small estimated effects (Anderson, Bjork, & Bjork, 1994 ; Storm & Levy, 2012 ) as well as the fact that the link that exists between the material participants are exposed to in the practice test and in the criterial test is less direct in transfer-effects than that in direct-testing-effects studies (with the link being larger in near transfer than in far transfer).

Second, the identification of transfer effects would ideally require that some study participants are administered a “placebo test” in the practice session (i.e., a test that lets student practice test-taking skills, but not exercise the relevant content knowledge), and that the outcome test session include “pseudo-outcomes” (i.e., outcomes on which no effect is expected, given the hypothesized mechanism of transfer). Such a design ensures that transfer and not recall is captured by estimated effects, but also increases sample size requirements.

The present study seeks to contribute to the rich literature on testing effects using data from two field experiments embedded in the 2012 round of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). PISA is an international large-scale assessment that has been administered to samples of 15-year-old students every 3 years since 2000. In each round, a minimum sample of 4500 students per participating country take part in the test and in 2012 over 60 countries participated in PISA. PISA has a global coverage, although few countries from Africa participated in the study until the most recent round in 2018. The test is administered in a wide variety of cultural, linguistic, and social contexts and stringent technical standards are implemented to ensure comparability (OECD 2014a ). Our contribution is threefold.

First, we distinguish between subject-specific learning effects and the improvement of test-taking strategies. In typical direct-testing-effects studies, the treatment consists of a retrieval session while the control is represented by a restudy session. In contrast, in our first experiment (study 1), we compared the mathematics problem-solving ability of students measured on a second test after they all sat a 2-h practice test. The difference between different groups of students was that some were asked to solve up to 1.5 h of content-relevant material (mathematics questions) while others were asked to solve as little as 0.5 h worth of content-relevant material and as much as 1.5 h of content-irrelevant material (comprising a range of science and text comprehension questions). In other words, our control group was administered a placebo test consisting mainly of content-irrelevant test questions. In a second experiment, we further compared similar experimental groups on a second test that did not contain mathematics questions, to ensure that eventual transfer effects of a greater amount of mathematics practice (or exposure) uncovered in study 1 were domain specific.

Second, by using large, representative samples from the schooled population of 15-year-olds in 32 countries worldwide, we achieved adequate power to capture small-to-medium effect sizes. Third, we exploited a field experiment based on authentic educational material to identify the effect of test practice on mathematics problem-solving performance: this has great potential to improve the ecological validity of the study and enhance the ability to draw implications for school and classroom practice.

Bjork ( 1994 , 1999 ) defined situations that promote long-term retention and transfer of knowledge at the potential expense of immediate performance as desirable difficulties. Desirable difficulties considered in the literature include distributed practice, varying conditions of practice, contextual interference, and, crucial for our study, testing (also referred to as retrieval practice) (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006 ; Roediger & Butler, 2011 ).

The studying of retrieval practice has been largely an empirical effort with the first empirical studies dating back to the early twentieth century (Abbott, 1909 ) while theoretical work aimed at understanding why a testing effect occurs and why the effect is larger in some conditions lagged somewhat behind (Roediger & Butler, 2011 ). One of the first prominent attempts to explain why testing effects occur focused on the role of exposure (Thompson et al., 1978 ). According to this theory, retrieval practice promotes learning because individuals are re-exposed to relevant material. However, subsequent empirical studies which compared test-taking to equivalent amounts of re-study, thereby ensuring similar exposure in both the test and control conditions, continued to find greater effectiveness of retrieval practice over re-study, prompting refinements in the theory (Roediger & Butler, 2011 ).

Elaborative-retrieval theory and the theory of transfer-appropriate processing define the mechanisms as to why retrieval practice can be considered to be a desirable difficulty and promote learning.

Elaborative-retrieval theory (Carpenter, 2009 ) maintains that two factors determine the testing effect: spreading activation and semantic elaboration. Spreading activation refers to the process through which retrieval practice strengthens existing retrieval routes and supports the creation of new retrieval routes. The strengthening of existing retrieval routes and the creation of new ones make it more likely that content will be successfully retrieved in the future (Roediger & Butler, 2011 ; Pyc & Rawson, 2009 ). Searching for contents in associative memory networks activates these contents as well as contents associated with it, even if the latter contents are not directly retrieved. Semantic elaboration refers to the amount of retrieval effort directed towards elaboration: greater retrieval effort corresponds to a more extensive reprocessing of the memory trace during retrieval (Roediger & Butler, 2011 ).

Elaborative retrieval theory explains the existence of a testing effect by considering that answering a series of questions demanding the recall of facts or requiring the application of a given set of principles or procedures will help students consolidate information in long-term memory (Keresztes, Kaiser, Kovács, & Racsmány, 2014 ) and promote a more integrated mental model that incorporates the target knowledge (Karpicke, 2012 ). Retrieval practice after initial encoding may also reduce the interference of competing irrelevant memories and reduce the rate of forgetting (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006 ). Elaborative retrieval theory predicts that the testing effect will be stronger the greater the amount of effort involved during retrieval.

Elaborative retrieval theory considers the effort involved during retrieval practice the factor determining why a testing effect occurs and its strength. By contrast, the theory of transfer-appropriate processing considers the match between the cognitive processes involved during the learning phase (the retrieval test) and those required during the criterial test (Morris et al., 1977 ). A greater match between the processes involved in the two phases can be expected to be associated with better performance on a final test. According to transfer-appropriate processing, the testing effect occurs because the cognitive processes involved during a practice test are more similar to those required during the final criterial test than those involved in other types of encoding activities, such as, for example, restudy (Roediger & Butler, 2011 ; Thomas & McDaniel, 2007 ). The theory of transfer-appropriate processing predicts that the testing effect will be stronger the greater the similarity between the practice and criterial tests in factors such as question format and content evoked (Roediger and Karpicke, 2006 ).

The theory of disuse (Bjork & Bjork, 1992 ) provides a comprehensive framework that can be used not only to understand why a testing effect occurs but also to make predictions about which conditions strengthen such effect. The theory distinguishes between storage strength and retrieval strength. Storage strength refers to how permanent a particular memory trace is while retrieval strength refers to how accessible such a trace is. A memory trace is high in storage strength when it is integrated with other representations and is consequently retained over the long term. A memory trace is high in retrieval strength when it is momentarily easily accessed and activated. When retrieval strength is high, short-term performance on a task is enhanced although there may be no appreciable long-term effect on performance. In fact, the theory of disuse maintains that retrieval strength is negatively associated with increments in storage strength: the easier it is to retrieve particular contents (i.e., the less semantic elaboration is involved during retrieval), the less such contents gain in storage strength (because less spreading activation occurs).

According to Bjork’s theory of disuse the strength of the testing effect may differ according to the time lag between retrieval practice and subsequent testing events, the spacing of retrieval practice sessions, the mode of retrieval delivery, i.e., whether retrieval practice consists in multiple-choice questions or constructed responses, whether corrective feedback is provided and when such feedback is provided (Adesope et al., 2017 ).

In line with theoretical predictions, empirical research identifies an advantage of retrieval practice over restudy when the retention interval (the time lag between the treatment condition and the target test event) is longer than 1 day (Karpicke & Roediger, 2008 ; Keresztes et al., 2014 ; Toppino & Cohen, 2009 ; Wheeler, Ewers, & Buonanno, 2003 ). The importance of the retention interval as a moderator of the association between practice and performance may be due to the effect of sleep on memory consolidation (Roediger et al., 2010 ) and the fact that retrieval practice may aid learning by strengthening memory traces and providing additional retrieval routes when individuals search for information in long-term memory (Keresztes et al., 2014 ).

Research also indicates that spacing retrieval practice over multiple sessions is generally more effective than the administration of a single testing session of the same duration, and that the spacing of sessions is most effective when the lag between sessions is longer and is distributed and spaced through time rather than completed in close succession (Rawson, Vaughn, & Carpenter, 2014 ; Roediger & Butler, 2011 ; Lyle et al., 2019 ).

It has been shown that tests that require participants to provide constructed responses are associated with stronger positive effects than tests that use multiple-choice response formats (McDermott, Agarwal, D’Antonio, Roediger, & McDaniel, 2014 ). Constructed responses typically require students to engage in more effortful retrieval than multiple-choice questions and effort exerted during retrieval is a factor that importantly explains the variability in the strength of the testing effect (Kang et al., 2007 ; Pyc & Rawson, 2009 ). Some even argue that, in the absence of corrective feedback, multiple-choice questions may have a negative effect on learning, particularly among individuals with low levels of baseline knowledge (Butler & Roediger, 2008 ; McDaniel & Fisher, 1991 ; Toppino & Brochin, 1989 ; Toppino & Luipersbeck, 1993 ). In multiple choice settings, individuals are exposed to a series of possible answers and if they do not know which one is correct, they may preserve, in subsequent testing events, the memory of wrong answers (Fazio, Agarwal, Marsh, & Roediger, 2010 ).

Finally, although retrieval practice has been shown to be beneficial in the absence of corrective feedback (Adesope et al., 2017 ), such feedback is associated with an increase in the benefit of testing (Agarwal, Karpicke, Kang, Roediger, & McDermott, 2008 ). The primary mechanism through which testing can promote learning is that tests promote retrieval of information. Therefore, learning effects depend on whether the correct information is retrieved. In the absence of corrective feedback, testing effects can be small or even negative (Kang et al., 2007 ).

The Present Studies

Elaborative retrieval theory and the theory of transfer-appropriate processing guided our interest in the development of the two studies that are reported in this article. Based on elaborative retrieval theory and the theory of transfer-appropriate processing, we hypothesized that what matters for performance on a criterial test is the amount of matching effort expended during practice, i.e., the amount of effort expended on tasks that relate to the same content domain. In study 1, we varied the amount of matching effort expended by varying the amount of content-relevant material in the practice test. In study 2, we varied the amount of matching effort expended by showing the effect of the same practice-test conditions on a criterial test with non-matching content.

More specifically, in study 1, we examined if performance on a criterial test consisting of mathematics tasks was enhanced when participants were involved in practice tests of equal overall length but of varying amount of mathematics content. We hypothesized that students who were exposed to a practice test containing a greater amount of content-relevant material (mathematics tasks) would perform better on a final test compared to students who were exposed to the same overall amount of testing material but who were exposed to less content-relevant material. In study 2, we examined if performance on a criterial test consisting of non-curricular problem solving tasks was associated with the amount of mathematics content in the practice test. We hypothesized that the amount of mathematics tasks contained in the practice test would not be associated with performance on the final criterial test of problem solving.

The focus on mathematics stems from the fact that mathematics is a cornerstone of curricula in secondary schools irrespective of country or educational track, and that mathematics often acts as a critical filter determining educational and career progression, course choices and occupational paths (Ma & Johnson, 2008 ).

In study 1, we set out to examine if students’ skills in solving mathematics problems could be fostered by administering tests consisting of mathematics problem-solving tasks. Similar to existing studies examining the transfer effect of testing, our target task required solving a different set of mathematics problems using principles and procedures that 15-year-olds are expected to master. However, in contrast to existing transfer-effect studies (Butler, 2010 ; Dirkx et al., 2014 ), participants in our study practiced distinct problem-solving tasks rather than recall.

We hypothesized that greater practice of mathematics problems was associated with better performance on a standardized mathematics tests. Consistent with the literature on moderators of the relationship between retrieval practice and learning, we expected that the strength of the relationship between the quantity of mathematics practice and individuals’ performance on the mathematics test would differ depending on a number of factors.

The first factor considered was the time lag between the retrieval session (practice test) and the criterial test. We hypothesized that practice would be more strongly associated with performance on the criterial test the longer the time lag between the retrieval session and the criterial test. Longer intervals have been considered to increase storage strength (Soderstrom & Bjork 2015 ) because longer intervals allow not only for the retrieval of related information but may also promote the integration of information with prior knowledge (Lyle et al. 2019 ).

The second factor considered was test-takers’ achievement in mathematics. We hypothesized that the relationship between retrieval practice and performance on the criterial test would be strongest among high-achieving students. We made this hypothesis because participants in our study did not receive corrective feedback after the retrieval practice session; therefore, in the absence of feedback, high-achieving students were more likely to retrieve correct information and to apply the correct principles and procedures during the retrieval session. Furthermore, in our study, we considered how well students performed on a mathematics test designed to assess how well they can apply principles and procedures that they learned in class over the years to solve a range of problems. High-achieving students are students for whom such principles and procedures have high storage strength and, consequently, retrieval practice could more easily stimulate accessibility.

The third factor considered was how anxious students are toward mathematics. We hypothesized that retrieval practice would be more strongly associated with performance among students with low levels of mathematics anxiety. Mathematics anxiety refers the fear of, or apprehension about, mathematics (Ashcraft & Kirk, 2001 ). The literature documents a strong negative association between mathematics anxiety and mathematics achievement (Foley et al., 2017 ). Because individuals who experience mathematics anxiety generally avoid mathematics (Ashcraft & Ridley, 2005 ), mathematics anxiety is likely to be associated with students’ level of exposure to mathematics tasks. Behavioral (Ashcraft & Kirk, 2001 ; Park, Ramirez, & Beilock, 2014 ) and fMRI (Lyons & Beilock, 2011 , 2012 ; Young, Wu, & Menon, 2012 ) studies suggest that mathematics anxiety creates worries that can deplete resources in working memory—a cognitive system responsible for short-term storage and manipulation of information (Miyake & Shah, 1999 ) that is important for learning and achieving well in math (Beilock & Carr, 2005 ; Raghubar, Barnes, & Hecht, 2010 ).

Finally, although there is no established consensus in the extent to which the effectiveness of retrieval practice varies by gender, we examined gender differences since gender gaps are a recurrent focus of the literature on mathematics performance, attitudes toward mathematics, and engagement in mathematics courses and activities (OECD, 2015 ).

In study 2, we examined whether the administration of mathematics problem-solving tasks improved students’ domain-general problem-solving skills, such as deductive reasoning, or students test-taking abilities, such as their time management, rather than specific cognitive processes involved in mathematics problem solving (such as formulating problem situations mathematically or using arithmetic procedures).

Theories of transfer-appropriate processing predict that the testing effect depends on the match between the cognitive processes involved during the final criterial test and those activated during practice tests. We therefore hypothesized that greater practice of mathematics problems (as opposed to any other kind of test practice) would be associated with better performance on a test consisting of mathematics problem solving task (study 1) but not with better performance on a test consisting of domain-general problem-solving tasks (study 2).

In both studies, we relied on comparisons between three groups created by random assignment, with each group taking a different practice test. Practice tests differed in the amount of mathematics material that they contained but all practice tests were characterized by a lack of feedback. Study 1 and study 2 were conducted at the same time, but on different participants. In this section, we describe how study participants were selected and assigned to the three groups, how materials for the tests were developed, the measures included in the data and the methods used for analyzing them and conducting the experimental comparisons.

Several characteristics contribute to the unique experimental setting employed in our study. Our sample is remarkably large, it covers a large number of countries and it is statistically representative of the wider student population in these countries. Our materials are real-world education assessment tasks developed, translated and validated by a large team of internationally recognized experts. A field trial was conducted prior to the main administration (with a different group of students) to ensure the cross-cultural validity and relevance of the test questions. Each of these features greatly enhances the external validity of our experimental method and the conclusions that can be drawn from it.

Participants: Target Population and Exclusions

Our data come from the 2012 edition of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2012), a large-scale, cross-national assessment of the mathematics, reading, and science performance of 15-year-old students. All cases used in our analyses were extracted from the public-use files for the PISA 2012 computer-based tests, which can be downloaded from http://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/pisa2012database-downloadabledata.htm . We included all 32 national samples of countries that took part in the computer-based assessment of mathematics in our study. Footnote 1

PISA participants were selected from the population of 15-year-old students in each country according to a two-stage random sampling procedure, so that weighted samples are representative of students who are enrolled in grade 7 or above and are between 15 years and 3 months and 16 years and 2 months at the time of the assessment administration (generally referred to as 15-year-olds in this article). In the first stage, a stratified sample of schools was drawn (8321 schools in total across the 32 countries; median school sample within countries—207 schools). In the second stage, students were selected at random in each sampled school.

In study 1, we focused on students who were assigned to one of the four computer-based forms (out of 24 possible forms) containing only mathematics questions (and thus no questions from other domains). This corresponds to about three to four students per school. Since PISA assigns students to test forms at random, this subset is representative of the wider population of 15-year-old students. In total, 21,013 students included in the PISA sample Footnote 2 were assigned to take a 40-min test in mathematics on computers; they define our target population for study 1. We further excluded students from the samples used for our analysis for three reasons:

N = 89 students (in nine countries) because they used instruments that were adapted for students with special educational needs.

N = 128 students because they did not attend the first, pen-and-paper test (practice test, T1).

N = 1352 students because they did not attend the second, computer-based test session (target test, T2). Footnote 3

The final sample size for study 1 is 19,355 students.

In study 2, we used a distinct population of students ( N = 19,481), defined by those students from the same 32 countries and 8321 schools who were randomly assigned to forms containing only non-curricular “problem-solving” tasks instead of only mathematics tasks. Similar exclusion rules as for study 1 were followed.

We did not use students who were assigned to the remaining 16 forms (containing mixtures of mathematics, problem solving, and digital reading tasks), nor students who were not assigned to take a computer-based test, in any of our analyses.

Treatment Groups

In order to efficiently cover a wide range of test material in the three subjects, PISA administers, at random, different test forms to different students (OECD, 2014a ). We relied on the random allocation of test forms to different students not only to define our target population for the two studies but also to define our treatment and control groups. Table 1 outlines the PISA 2012 assessment design and its organization around 13 paper-based assessment forms.

The 13 paper-based forms differed in the amount of mathematics tasks that they contained. Three groups of forms could be defined in terms of the overall amount of their mathematics content: four forms contained only 0.5 h of testing material in mathematics, three forms contained 1 h, and the remaining six contained 1.5 h of mathematics questions. Correspondingly, in both studies, we defined three treatment arms and allocated students to these based on the test form that they were assigned. Group 1 (G1) comprised the students who had the forms with the smallest amount of mathematics content, group 2 (G2) included students who had the intermediate amount of mathematics, and group 3 (G3) included students assigned to the forms with a majority of mathematics content.

Forms were assigned to students with equal probabilities. As a result, some 30% of the students were assigned to G1 (their test contained 0.5 h of mathematics and 1.5 h of reading and/or science problems); 24% of students were assigned to G2 (their test contained 1 h of mathematics and 1 h of reading and/or science problems) and the remaining 46% of students were assigned to G3 (their test contained 1.5 h of mathematics and 0.5 h of either reading or science problems). The percentage of individuals in each group varies because there were four test forms in G1, three forms in G2, and six forms in G3.

In both studies, all participants completed two tests: a pen-and-paper test consisting of mathematics and non-mathematics tasks, T1; and a computer-based test, T2. In study 1, T2 consisted only of mathematics tasks (T2-m). In study 2, T2 consisted only of non-curricular problem-solving task (T2-ps).

All participants also completed a questionnaire in which they were asked about themselves, their family, and their school experience. Students had up to 2 h to complete the practice test T1 and up to 40 min of time to complete the criterial test T2. The questionnaire was not timed.

The sequence of operations was dictated by PISA international standards: first, students answered the pen-and-paper test (T1), then they completed the 30-min questionnaire, and finally they completed the computer-based test (T2). However, the exact timing of administration was not prescribed and countries and, to some extent, schools were free to choose the timing in order to reduce the costs of test administration (commuting costs for test administrators, etc.) and minimize the disruption to regular school activities.

The assignment of students to different forms in both tests was blind: students did not know which form they would receive before the test session. All paper-based forms had the same cover (except for the form number on the cover page) and the same front-page material, comprising a formula sheet (e.g., the Pythagorean rule) and instructions about answering formats. Until the moment students were allowed to turn pages, at the beginning of the test session and after going through the material in the front page, students were unaware of the amount of mathematics tasks included in the form. Therefore, they could not have selectively studied certain topics and domains before the practice session, based on whether these topics and domains appeared in their practice form or not. Footnote 4

The pen-and-paper and computer-based tests used test materials that were developed by an international consortium in collaboration with multi-disciplinary expert groups and under the supervision of the PISA governing board, a body of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) composed of representatives of participating countries appointed by their respective governments. Examples of tasks included in the paper- and computer-based tests are available in the Supplementary Material .

In both studies, the practice test consisted of a mathematics section of varying length (see above, “Treatment groups”) and of a reading (text comprehension) and/or a science section; the total length of the practice test was, in all cases, of 2 h. The number of mathematics questions included in T1 varied between 12 questions for test forms in group 1 (see Table 3 ) and 36 or 37 for test forms in group 3. The total number of questions (including questions in the domains of reading and science) was, in all cases, between 50 (form 11) and 63 (form 8). This number was determined so that the vast majority of students would be able to complete the test within the 2 h allocated (the number varies because some test questions, particularly in reading and science, were longer to solve than others, an aspect that was not necessarily related to their level of difficulty). Indeed, on average across all students, only 1.5% of items were left unanswered at the end of the test (OECD, 2014a , p.236). The content of the mathematics section is described in greater detail below (study 1) and in Supplementary Material .

In study 1, the mathematics section of the practice test (paper-based) and the criterial test (computer-based) shared most characteristics; they were developed by the same experts and according to the same framework. The item pool for both tests ensured a balanced representation of all framework aspects (e.g., mathematics content domains, processes, and response formats), with no major imbalances between the two tests. Both tests required interleaved practice of a wide range of mathematical tasks with different kinds of problems presented in an intermixed order (Rohrer, Dedrick & Stershic, 2015 ). Test developers also paid particular attention to ensuring that, to the extent possible, each of the distinct test forms administered to students did not deviate strongly in these dimensions from the characteristics of the overall item pool (see Supplementary Material for an overview of item types in each test).

No items administered in the practice test were used in the criterial test. The item sets consisted of distinct problems, even though they called on the same type of mathematics knowledge and procedures as tasks in the practice test. For example, simple proportional reasoning—an aspect of the content area “Change and relationships”—was required to solve both task DRIP RATE (question 13), a task included in the practice test, and CD PRODUCTION (question 12), a task in the criterial test (see Supplementary Material ). Similarly, in both tests, students were presented with tasks where they needed to read values from a two-dimensional chart (see CHARTS, question 7, and BODY MASS INDEX, question 17). While the scenario and content of the tasks was always different between the tasks in the criterial test and those in the practice test, all major content areas (space and shape; change and relationships; quantity; uncertainty and data) were represented in the criterial test and in each test form used in the practice session (by a minimum of two questions for test forms in group 1, of five questions for test forms in group 2, and seven or more questions for test forms in group 3). In other words, for each task in the criterial test there was always at least one task in the practice test from the same mathematics sub-domain.

In summary, the practice test and the criterial test covered the same content areas and used similar question and response formats. The main difference was the mode of administration (pen-and-paper vs. computer). Both tests consisted entirely of word problems including graphical displays of data and mathematics formulae, with the only format difference between the two being that interactive graphical displays were only included in the criterial test. Furthermore, both tests were targeted at a similar broad range of proficiencies, although lower levels of proficiency were somewhat less well covered by the criterial test.

In study 2, the practice test (T1) was identical to study 1, whereas the criterial test (T2-ps) differed from both T1 and from the criterial test used in study 1 (T2-m). The criterial test in study 2 consisted of problem-solving tasks that did not require expert knowledge to solve. The PISA 2012 assessment of problem solving focused on students’ general reasoning skills, their ability to regulate problem-solving processes, and their willingness to do so, by confronting students with “complex problems” and “analytical problems” that did not require subject-specific knowledge (e.g., of mathematics) to solve (in “complex problems,” students needed to explore the problem situation to uncover additional information required to solve the problem; this interactive knowledge acquisition was not required in “analytical problems”) (OECD, 2013 ; Ramalingam, Philpot & McCrae, 2017 ). The problem-solving competencies assessed by T2-ps are relevant to all domains (mathematics, reading, and science) assessed in T1, but the ability to solve such problems does not rely on the content and procedural knowledge assessed in any of the three domains present in T1. Example tasks from the assessment of problem solving (T2-ps) can be found in OECD ( 2014b , pp. 35–44)

All variables used in the analysis (with one exception highlighted below) are included in the public-use files for PISA 2012, and described in detail in the PISA technical report (OECD, 2014). In particular, we used the following variables in our analyses:

PISA test scores, which are included in PISA data sets as multiply imputed measures of proficiency (“plausible values”). PISA test scores are based on item-response-theory scaling procedures and are comparable across students taking different test forms. PISA scores are reported on a standardized scale, with mean 500 and standard deviation 100 across OECD member countries. Therefore, a difference of one PISA point corresponds to an effect size (Cohen’s d ) of 1% of a standard deviation, irrespective of the testing domain.

Individual and school-level socio-economic status (the PISA index of economic, social, and cultural status ), which is based on student responses to the background questionnaire.

Age (in months), sex, and grade, which are based on administrative information collected during sampling operations.

A binary indicator for students’ levels of mathematics anxiety, derived from student answers to the background questionnaire. The anxiety indicator is based on the PISA index of mathematics anxiety, which is standardized to have mean zero across OECD countries. We derive an indicator from this index that distinguishes students with positive values of math anxiety (meaning that their level of anxiety is above average) from the remaining students. Footnote 5

The only information used in this study that is not available in the publicly documented PISA files is the time lag between the pen-and-paper session (T1) and the computer-based session (T2). We contacted national centers to obtain session report forms and used these to identify the typical time lag between T1 and T2. Our analysis revealed that most national centers organized the PISA administration so that T1 would take place in the morning and T2 in the afternoon of the same day. However, in Brazil and the Slovak Republic, T2 was administered the day after T1; in Italy, T2 was conducted within a week of T1; and in Macao (China), T2 was administered 3 weeks after T1.

Overview of Analysis

Study 1 and study 2 were both analyzed according to parallel analysis plans.

In order to identify the impact of mathematical-problem-solving practice (the amount of mathematics questions in T1) on subsequent performance in the target task T2-m (study 1) or T2-ps (study 2), we conducted mean comparisons across the three treatment arms within a linear regression framework, to allow for the inclusion of control variables. The treatment consisted of exposing students to a greater dose of problem-solving practice in mathematics at the expense of problem-solving practice in other subjects (problem sets containing reading and science material). Our preferred model measures the treatment as a continuous time variable (the time-equivalent number of mathematics tasks included in the practice, which varies from 0.5 h for G1 to 1 h for G2 and 1.5 h for G2): this assumes that the dose–response relationship is (locally) linear. To identify possible non-linearities, we also compared G2 (1 h) and G3 (1.5 h) to G1 without imposing a functional form on the relationship, by including indicator variables in the regression.

Formally, let ( $ {\mathrm{y}}_{\mathrm{i}}^{\mathrm{T}2} $ ) indicate students’ performance in T2 and ( $ {\mathrm{m}}_{\mathrm{i}}^{\mathrm{T}1} $ ) indicate a “treatment” variable, measuring the intended amount of mathematics tasks in T1. Further, let α c represent a set of country-specific intercepts and the vector x i additional baseline controls. We estimated

In the above equation, error terms ϵ i are assumed to be correlated across students attending the same school and are allowed to be correlated within countries as well, but they are assumed to be independent across countries. We took the multi-level, stratified sample design into account by using balanced repeated replication weights, in line with recommended procedures for secondary data analysis in PISA (OECD, 2009 ). In our preferred specification, the “treatment” variable is a scalar variable measuring the intended amount of mathematics tasks in T1 ( $ {\mathrm{m}}_{\mathrm{i}}^{\mathrm{T}1} $ ) in hours; we also ran regressions where $ {\mathrm{m}}_{\mathrm{i}}^{\mathrm{T}1} $ represents a 2 × 1 vector with two dummy indicators for group 2 (1 h) and group 3 (1.5 h).

In study 1, we used the same regression framework to compare the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of students in the three groups and to verify the balanced nature of the three experimental groups; in this case, we excluded control variables from the regression.

To identify the moderating effect of baseline student characteristics and of the time lag between tests on our coefficient of interest β , we interacted the treatment variable with indicator variables (or vectors) for the typical time-lag between tests (a country-level variable), for sex, for performance levels in T1, and for levels of self-reported mathematics anxiety.

Sample Descriptives and Balancing Tests

Table 2 presents descriptive statistics for study 1 participants. Formal tests confirmed that the small associations of the assignment variable with baseline characteristics, captured by the “beta” coefficient in Table 2 , were well within the confidence intervals for random associations. Students’ performance on mathematics tasks in the practice session—a proxy for their baseline potential and for the effort exerted in the practice session—was also found to be equivalent across the three groups. In order to maximize our ability to detect small effects of testing, we therefore included controls for performance in T1 in subsequent analyses.

Effect of Math Test Practice on Math Performance

We investigated the effects of mathematics problem-solving practice by looking at how students’ results in the target test varied depending on their exposure to mathematics problems in the practice session. Results showed that the greater the proportion of mathematics problems included in the practice session, the better students performed on the target test. In our preferred model, which assumes a linear dose–response relationship, 1 h of additional problem-solving practice in mathematics improved students’ ability to solve mathematics problems by about 2% of a standard deviation ( b = 2.29, SE = 0.84, p = 0.007) (see model 1 in Table 3 ). Mean comparisons that do not assume a functional form for the dose–response relationship confirmed that both G2 and G3 outperformed G1 on the target task ( b G2-G1 = 2.40, SE G2-G1 = 1.09; b G3-G1 = 2.41, SE G3-G1 = 0.87) (model 2 in Table 3 ). Both differences were significant, and we could not reject the hypothesis of a linear dose–response relationship at conventional levels of significance ( p = 0.178).

Heterogeneity in Treatment Effects

We investigated the moderating influence of the time lag between the practice test and the target test and of student baseline characteristics on the effects on math performance highlighted in Table 4 . All moderation analyses are presented with mathematics performance in T1 as a control variable. Table 4 summarizes the results of moderation analyses.

Effects were positive and significant both for countries in which T1 and T2 were given on the same day ( b lag0 = 1.74, SE lag0 = 0.88) and for the three countries in which T2 was administered on a different day, but within a week of T1 ( b lag1 = 7.87, SE lag1 = 3.58) (model 7 in Table 4 ). While the latter estimate is substantially larger than the former, the large standard errors around these estimates mean that we could not exclude, at conventional levels of significance, that results were equally strong for the two sets of countries ( p = 0.103). These results clearly indicate that the observed effects were not limited to the hours immediately following the intervention and may have had a longer-term impact on student learning.

The observed learning effect of mathematics problem-solving practice was significantly larger for boys ( b boy = 4.12, SE boy = 1.41) than for girls, whose estimated effect is close to zero ( b girl = 0.34, SE girl = 1.11). A formal test rejected equal effects ( b boy – b girl = 3.78, SE = 1.89, p = 0.045) (see model 8 in Table 4 ).

Results presented in Table 4 (model 9) suggest that students who reported above-average levels of math anxiety may have benefited just as much as students with lower levels of math anxiety from test practice. Point estimates were similar for the two groups (none of which reaches statistical significance alone, due, also, to the smaller sample size for this analysis).

Mathematics Proficiency in the Practice Test

Our results were also relatively inconclusive regarding the moderating effect of mathematics achievement. For the purpose of this moderation analysis, students were assigned to one of five proficiency groups depending on their score in mathematics in T1; levels 2, 3, and 4 are the same as the corresponding levels of mathematics literacy identified and described by the mathematics expert group that guided the development of the assessment (OECD, 2014a , p. 297). Level 1 includes all students whose performance lay below the lower score limit for level 2; level 5 includes all student whose performance lay above the upper score limit for level 4. While the point estimates seemed to vary across the performance distribution and were individually significant only for moderate-to-high levels of prior performance (levels 3 and 4), we could not reject uniform effects across the performance distribution, meaning that the observed variation is compatible with the null hypothesis of no variation (model 10 in Table 4 ). The pattern of statistical significance may reflect the relatively poor coverage of the lower levels of proficiency in the criterial test, which made it hard for low-achieving students to demonstrate any progress (see the section on Materials above and the Supplementary Material ).

Effect of Math Test Practice on Domain-General Problem Solving

Participants in study 2 were assessed on a criterial test not including any mathematics questions. We found no difference in performance among the 19,481 students who sat a test aimed at measuring general reasoning and problem-solving ability in T2 ( b = 0.95, SE = 1.16, p = 0.413) between groups that differed in the amount of mathematics test practice (see models 5 and 6 in Table 3 ).

Our results shed new light on the role of tests in education. Teachers generally use tests as a way to evaluate the skills students have acquired, to certify students’ knowledge, or to adapt their teaching to the pace of progress of heterogeneous student populations. They tend to consider tests as assessment tools rather than learning tools (Wooldridge et al., 2014 ) . Learning is usually regarded as the product of information-encoding activities, such as lectures, seminars, and independent study. Tests, on the other hand, are considered to be, at best, neutral events for learning. In fact, concerns over standardized tests are mounting in many countries amidst fears that such tests reduce the time available for encoding activities, and that teachers and students will focus their efforts on what tests measure at the expense of acquiring other valuable knowledge and skills.

The experience of students participating in PISA 2012, an assessment developed to measure students’ ability to apply knowledge to real-life problems and situations, demonstrates that even in the absence of corrective feedback, participation in a one-session low-stakes test is not associated with lower performance and, in fact, with a small positive gain in mathematical problem-solving skills. Importantly, the learning effects that we estimate appear to persist over medium time lags (1–7 days).

Crucially, because our design compared students sitting tests that differed only in the amount of content-relevant and content-irrelevant material, our estimates refer to benefits that come on top of improvements in generic test-taking skills that students may acquire by completing a practice test.

Our results indicate that one additional hour spent solving test questions that require students to practice the application of subject-specific principles and procedures was associated with an improved performance of 2% of a SD in students’ ability to retrieve and use such principles and procedures to solve new sets of problems. While the effect may appear to be very small according to standard levels first introduced by Cohen ( 1988 ), Funder and Ozer ( 2019 ) note that when reliably estimated (a condition that our analysis satisfies), what is typically considered to be a very small effect for the explanation of single events can have potentially consequential effects. Moreover, effect sizes need to be evaluated and classified within a frame of reference. In our context, if test practice effects are additive (a condition not rejected by our data), spending longer or repeated test sessions may be associated with larger effects. In fact, evidence from the literature indicates that the effect of retrieval practice is greater when such practice takes place in multiple sessions (Roediger & Butler, 2011 ). Assuming a linear dose–response relationship, our results suggest that five additional hours spaced across time may be associated with an improved performance of about 10% of a SD. This effect is comparable to the estimated average difference in mathematics performance between males and females at age 15 (OECD, 2015 ).

Our findings therefore indicate that by practicing problem solving in mathematics, students learn, first and foremost, how to solve mathematics problems and, in line with our hypothesis, that the testing effect depends on the amount of matching effort expended during retrieval practice.

We found that test-practice effects were positive on average, but also that test practice might have widened existing sex differences in mathematics performance because its benefits were larger for boys. This finding should be considered and evaluated given existing gender gaps in mathematics proficiency, particularly among high-achieving students (Hedges & Nowell, 1995 ; OECD, 2015 ). Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find differences across students with different levels of mathematics anxiety. This result may be due to the fact that the PISA test is low-stakes, meaning that neither performance on the practice test, nor performance on the criterial test, had any consequence for test takers. The absence of a moderating effect for mathematics anxiety may not be generalizable to situations in which tests are consequential for respondents.

Do the performance differences observed in the target task imply that students’ mathematics skills improved? While prior studies, with different settings and on different populations, found testing effects similar to those described in study 1 (see for example Adesope, Trevisan, & Sundararajan, 2017 and Pan & Rickard, 2018 for comprehensive reviews), theories of transfer-appropriate processing cannot exclude that the testing effect observed in those studies occurred because students gained test-taking abilities and transferred those from practice tests to target tests, rather than the domain-specific principles and procedures which educators care most about. We developed two studies to test the hypothesis that the testing effect is driven by the amount of matching effort expended during retrieval practice and exclude that students merely became better at solving tests, rather than at mathematics, unlike most studies of testing effects. In both studies, all participants, irrespective of the specific group they were randomly assigned to, sat a 2-h test during the practice session. In study 1, we induced variation in the amount of matching effort expended during retrieval practice by administering a different amount of mathematics questions to different groups of students. Participants in the “control” group, G1, Footnote 6 spent less time than the treatment group answering mathematics problems in the 2-h test and dedicated this time to answering a combination of text comprehension and science problems. G1 therefore received a “placebo” treatment that could equally well have taught students general problem-solving and test-taking skills (the amount of effort was the same but such effort was directed at material that did not match the content present in the criterial test). In study 2, we compared the performance of groups that differed in the amount of mathematics test practice on a criterial test that did not include any mathematics questions, but rather questions directed at assessing general problem-solving abilities. We found no significant difference. The learning effects highlighted in study 1 must therefore be interpreted as the effect of solving mathematics problems on mathematics problem-solving performance, above and beyond any effect of test practice on test performance in general.

The literature on testing effects suggests that providing corrective feedback and offering multiple short test-practice sessions over time can significantly amplify the effect of test taking on subsequent performance (McDermott et al., 2014 ; Roediger & Butler, 2011 ). Moreover, feedback by teachers can negate stereotype threat affecting girls’ performance in mathematics (Cohen, Garcia, Apfel, & Master, 2006 ).

Our study suggests that lessons that include targeted test-practice sessions bear the promise of improving students’ ability to transfer their knowledge of principles and procedures to new, real-world problems, although effects are not large and appear to accrue, in the absence of feedback, only to boys. Future research should aim to identify and compare how the effect of the type of retrieval practice that we studied is associated with intensity and spacing, overall and among key population subgroups. For example, it is important to identify what is the learning gain that is associated, for example, with 10 h of test practice administered in five sessions of 2 h each or in ten sessions of 1 h each. Future research on retrieval practice should also systematically explore differential effects between boys and girls (and men and women), to establish if the differences highlighted in this study can be generalized to other settings. It would be equally important to establish if changes in conditions, for example, the provision of feedback, might ensure that girls benefited from test practice as much as boys. Finally, our study examined test practice in mathematics and it would be important to consider if findings are generalizable to how students acquire proficiency in mastering principles and procedures that are necessary to solve problems in other domains.

We use the word “country” to refer to all national and subnational entities participating in PISA as distinct territories. In most cases, they correspond to entire countries, although in some circumstances they refer to sub-national entities or economies. While 65 national samples exist for PISA 2012, only 32 (out of 65) countries that participated in the PISA pen-and-paper assessment opted for conducting a computer-based assessment of students’ mathematical skills. Countries may have decided not to participate in the optional computer-based assessment because of both the direct costs (participation in optional assessments determines additional international development costs as well as national implementation costs for countries) and indirect costs (increased administrative burden of the PISA administration) involved. Moreover, some countries did not feel that they possessed the required technical capacity to administer a computer-based assessment in 2012.

Students are included in the PISA sample if they participate in at least one cognitive test session or if they complete a significant fraction of a background questionnaire.

We define attendance in a test as having at least one non-missing response to an assessment task in that test.

General information about the content of PISA tests, such as the test framework and sample tasks from previous PISA assessments, are shared in advance of the test with participating schools and are also available on the web, to ensure informed consent of schools (and depending on national practice and legislation, of students’ families) to participate. To our knowledge, students do not prepare specifically for the test. Test frameworks define vast domains of knowledge and typically refer to curricular contents that students have learned over several years of study.

Because the questions about mathematics anxiety are included in a rotated part of the student questionnaire, the anxiety indicator is available for only about two thirds of the sample. Apart from a small amount of item non-response, missing information about mathematics anxiety is “missing completely at random” due to the randomized assignment of blocks of questions in the student background questionnaire.

We refer to the treatment groups as G1, G2, and G3 in both study 1 and study 2, to underscore that these groups received the same “treatment” (the same practice test) regardless of the study. As explained above, however, study 1 and study 2 consist of different participants.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank participants in seminars at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Paris School of Economics, Education Testing Service and University College London. They would also like to thank the editor, Fred Paas, several anonymous referees as well as the following individuals for providing input, comments and feedback on previous versions of the manuscript: Sola Adesope, Andrew Elliot, Samuel Greiff, Keith Lyle, John Jerrim, Roberto Ricci, Richard Roberts, Henry Roediger, Matthias von Davier, Allan Wigfield, Kentaro Yamamoto. The manuscript was much improved thanks to them and any errors remain our own. F.B. acknowledges support from the British Academy’s Global Professorship programme.

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Avvisati, F., Borgonovi, F. Learning Mathematics Problem Solving through Test Practice: a Randomized Field Experiment on a Global Scale. Educ Psychol Rev 32 , 791–814 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09520-6

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Sample Test Items

The Threshold Achievement Test assesses students' ability to recall and apply their knowledge and their metacognition about core information literacy dispositions that underlies their behaviors. Through this combination of knowledge and dispositional assessment TATIL offers a unique and valuable measure of the complexities of information literacy.

Disposition Items

Dispositions are at the heart of a student's temperament and play an important role in learning transfer. Dispositions constitute affective facets of information literacy and are essential to students' information literacy outcomes. They indicate students' willingness to consistently apply the skills they have learned in one setting to novel problems in new settings. While some dispositions can be seen as natural tendencies, they may also be cultivated over time through intentionally-designed instruction and through exposure to tacit expectations for student behavior.

To address dispositions in the test, we use scenario-based problem solving items. Students are presented with a scenario describing an ill-defined information literacy challenge related to the content of the module. Following the scenario, students are presented with strategies for addressing the challenge. Students evaluate the usefulness of each strategy.

Knowledge Items

The knowledge items in TATIL are based on information literacy outcomes and performance indicators created by the test developers and advisory board of librarians and other educators. Knowledge items assess an array of cognitive processes that college students develop as they transition from pre-college to college ready to research ready. Mental behaviors tested include understanding (facts, concepts, principles, procedures), problem solving (problem identification, problem definition, analysis, solution proposal), and critical thinking (evaluating, predicting, deductive and inductive thinking). The items are presented in a variety of structured response formats to assess students' information literacy knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Sample Questions

The following examples are not used in the tests. They provide an indication of how the actual questions work. To see real test questions, please follow the steps on the Getting Started page.

Sample Dispositional Item

Sample Knowledge Item #1

Sample Knowledge Item #2

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COMMENTS

Improving Your Test Questions
This kind of test item is classified as a subjective type of item due to the procedures used to score item responses. Instructors can assign full or partial credit to either correct or incorrect solutions depending on the quality and kind of work procedures presented. An example of a problem solving test item follows. Example Problem Solving ...
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Test Your Problem-Solving Skills. Complete the patterns by filling in the appropriate shape.
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Stem refers to the portion of the item that presents a problem for the respondents (students) to solve 2. Options refers to the various ways the problem might be solved, from which respondents select the best answer. a. Distractor is an incorrect option. b. Key is a correct option. Figure 1: Anatomy of a test item
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The test requires candidates to identify the right answers to the questions in a limited amount of time. Successful candidates can quickly identify the key elements of the problem and work through the problem at speed without making mistakes. This is a great test to include to check candidates' overall analytical skills. Explore the test science.
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Enjoy exploring these stages! Step 1: Find the Problem (Questions 7, 12) Some problems are very obvious, however others are not so easily identified. As part of an effective problem-solving process, you need to look actively for problems - even when things seem to be running fine.
PISA Test
Questions from the OECD PISA test in 2018, 2015 and 2012. Also includes information on test criteria. Toggle navigation. Follow us. English Follow us. English Home; About ... Science and Collaborative Problem Solving Items (Field Trial) pdf. Science and Collaborative Problem Solving Items - interactive Items. PISA 2012. Mathematics Items ...
Logical Reasoning Test: 100s Of Free Practice Questions (2024)
A logical reasoning test is an assessment that measures your ability to interpret information, apply logic to solve problems and draw relevant conclusions. It is typically non-verbal and in a multiple-choice format, and requires the use of rules and deduction to reach answers, rather than prior knowledge.
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Practice Test Overview and Instructions This practice test has been developed to provide a sample of the actual McKinsey Problem Solving Test used for selection purposes. This test assesses your ability to solve business problems using deductive, inductive, and quantitative reasoning. This practice test contains a total of 26 questions.
Critical Thinking Test Assessment
228 questions. Critical thinking tests, sometimes known as critical reasoning tests, are often used by employers. They evaluate how a candidate makes logical deductions after scrutinising the evidence provided, while avoiding fallacies or non-factual opinions. Critical thinking tests can form part of an assessment day, or be used as a screening ...
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Unit test. Level up on all the skills in this unit and collect up to 1000 Mastery points! This unit tackles the medium-difficulty problem solving and data analysis questions on the SAT Math test. Work through each skill, taking quizzes and the unit test to level up your mastery progress.
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The Five Critical Thinking Skills Explained. 1. Recognition of Assumption. You'll be presented with a statement. The statement is then followed by several proposed assumptions. When answering, you must work out if an assumption was made or if an assumption was not made in the statement.
Problem Solving Skills Test
Step 3: Define the Problem. (Questions 3, 9) Now that you understand the problem, define it clearly and completely. Writing a clear problem definition forces you to establish specific boundaries for the problem. This keeps the scope from growing too large, and it helps you stay focused on the main issues.
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Randomness prepares you for the test 5. Work within a time limit Similar to when you take an actual test 6. Practice Use text and problems to make practice test Taking Problem-Solving Tests 1. Write down formulas on back of the test 2. Look over the test, skim questions 3. Allow more time for higher point items:
Practice Logical Reasoning Test Example Questions
Take the following example: If it rains, the school will cancel the picnic. If the school cancels the picnic, the children will watch a film instead. Therefore, if it rains, the children will watch a film. A disjunctive syllogism shows that if a is true, then b must be false. Either I will go swimming or hiking.
(TOPS-3E:NU) Test of Problem Solving
The Total Score was renamed the Problem Solving Index and calculated as a standard score with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. Each item on the test was evaluated using both conventional item analysis to choose "good" items and differential item analysis to find and eliminate potentially biased items.
Problem-Solving Exams
Before starting, find a blank page on your exam and write down equations, concepts, and constants that you memorized. Do the easy questions first to warm up your brain and calm exam nerves. Read the questions carefully and rephrase them in your own words. Keep track of all units. Convert values to keep the units consistent. Be aware of +/- signs.
Practice Reasoning Tests
Problem-Solving Proficiency: Navigate through intricate problems that mirror real-world challenges, honing your capacity to approach issues systematically and derive effective solutions. What to Expect: The Critical Thinking Practice Test is crafted to mirror the format and complexity of the actual examination.
Matchboxes and problem solving (practice)
Matchboxes and problem solving. A psychologist puts a candle, matches, and thumbtacks on a table and brings participants into her lab to solve the following problem: attach the candle to the wall using only those materials. For half of the participants, the matches were spread out on the table next to the matchbox (the "Matchbox Empty ...
(TOPS-3:E) Test of Problem Solving-3:Elementary
The TOPS 3 Elementary test questions focus on a broad range of language-based thinking skills, including clarifying, analyzing, generating solutions, evaluating, and affective thinking. While other tests may assess students' thinking skills by tapping mathematical, spatial, or nonverbal potential, the TOPS 3 Elementary measures discrete skills ...
Learning Mathematics Problem Solving through Test Practice: a
We measure the effect of a single test practice on 15-year-old students' ability to solve mathematics problems using large, representative samples of the schooled population in 32 countries. We exploit three unique features of the 2012 administration of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a large-scale, low-stakes international assessment. During the 2012 PISA ...
THRESHOLD ACHIEVEMENT Sample Test Items
Mental behaviors tested include understanding (facts, concepts, principles, procedures), problem solving (problem identification, problem definition, analysis, solution proposal), and critical thinking (evaluating, predicting, deductive and inductive thinking). The items are presented in a variety of structured response formats to assess ...
PDF Literacy sample items
Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments - Sample Items An example of a problem solving item is provided below. This item involves a scenario in which the respondent takes the role of a job seeker. Respondents access and evaluate information relating to job search in simulated web environment.
Problem Solving in Nursing: Strategies for Your Staff
Problem solving in nursing requires a solid strategy. Nurse problem solving. Nurse managers face challenges ranging from patient care matters to maintaining staff satisfaction. Encourage your staff to develop problem-solving nursing skills to cultivate new methods of improving patient care and to promote nurse-led innovation.
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How to Use Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing. Evidence-based practice requires you to review and assess the latest research. The knowledge gained from evidence-based research in nursing may indicate changing a standard nursing care policy in your practice Discuss your findings with your nurse manager and team before implementation.
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Ethics and Professional Practice Evaluation: Influential nurse leaders model ethical practices to guide decisions, display honesty by being accountable for their actions, and evaluate their adherence to professional practice standards. Learn more about the Code of Ethics for Nurses.