Format, timing and question types of the Wonderlic cognitive section, using Wonderlic's own published figures, with original practice examples.
Wonderlic's cognitive ability section is 50 questions in 12 minutes, with no calculator, and Wonderlic says test takers are not expected to finish. Questions get harder as you go, and scores are weighted by difficulty. No pass mark is published.
| Detail | What Wonderlic publishes |
|---|---|
| Cognitive section | 50 questions in exactly 12 minutes |
| Calculator, dictionary | Not allowed; Wonderlic says a calculator would not significantly help |
| Finishing | Wonderlic says many people do not finish all questions |
| Guessing | Wonderlic says guessing is not likely to improve your score |
| Difficulty | Rises as the test goes on |
| Shorter version | Quicktest versions exist; one Wonderlic page lists 30 questions in 8 minutes for its scholastic Quicktest |
Divide 12 minutes (720 seconds) by 50 questions and you get an average of 14.4 seconds each. That is an average, not a target: early questions tend to be quick, and later ones take longer. The sensible reading of Wonderlic's own instruction is to answer your best choice, move on, and not skip around or sink time into one item.
Wonderlic has offered several tests over the years. This page covers the timed cognitive ability section, which Wonderlic describes as a test of problem-solving skills that measures the ability to learn, adapt and understand instructions. In Wonderlic Select that section sits alongside a motivation questionnaire and a personality questionnaire, which together with the cognitive section take about 35 minutes. Those other two parts are not reasoning tests, and ReasonEra does not cover them.
How much weight the cognitive result carries in an employer's overall result varies by job profile, according to Wonderlic. Employers and publishers change their processes, and what you receive can vary by role, country and year, so treat your own invitation as the final word.
Wonderlic publishes a short sample assessment. Its five cognitive items show the range: choosing the earliest date from a list, completing a word analogy, picking the graph that matches a described trend, continuing a number series, and finding the opposite of a highlighted word in a sentence. The real test mixes these with other everyday maths, logic, language and pattern items. The examples below are original, written for practice, with answers checked.
A question such as "DRY is to ARID as WET is to ..." asks for the same relationship (a close synonym) in the second pair. Name the relationship in a few words before looking at the options.
Wonderlic says the cognitive score reflects your overall response pattern, with each question weighted by its difficulty and by the impact of guessing, which it describes as more precise than simply counting correct answers. Candidates do not receive a numerical cognitive score; according to its candidate FAQ, they only get a feedback report, and only when a link is shown at the end.
No pass mark is published. What counts as a good result is set by the employer for the role, so any figure quoted online without a source should be treated as unconfirmed.
ReasonEra helps most with the series, arithmetic, logic and verbal items. Take a screenshot of a practice question, choose Tutor Explanation, and read the reasoning line by line, then try a similar item yourself. For short-burst practice, the free numerical, verbal and logical tests give you timed, scored sets with explanations. A free account includes 3 free trials, and a 14-Day Pass costs 49 € for unlimited use for 14 days.
Publishers update their tests and employers swap providers, so double-check the specifics before you plan around them.
This tool is meant for the weeks before an assessment, but a real assessment usually comes with its own conditions on outside help, so ask the recruiter if anything is unclear.
The Wonderlic cognitive ability section has 50 questions and a 12-minute limit, according to Wonderlic. Shorter Quicktest versions exist for some uses.
No. Wonderlic says the cognitive section is taken without a calculator, dictionary or other resources.
No. Wonderlic states that test takers are not expected to complete every question, and that guessing is unlikely to improve a score.
No pass mark is published, and Wonderlic says candidates do not receive a numerical cognitive score. What counts as good depends on the employer and the role.
Questions become more difficult as the test goes on, and the time limit is the main pressure. Most items use everyday maths, vocabulary and simple logic.
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Notes. Everything described here rests on publicly available information, as listed above. This page was written by ReasonEra without involvement from the organisations it mentions.