How are our aptitude tests developed?

General Overview

  • Aptitude tests include: Cognitive Ability, Numerical reasoning, Verbal reasoning, Logical reasoning, Mechanical reasoning, Error checking, Emotional Intelligence and more.
  • Questions follow a multiple-choice format with one correct answer and two-to-four distractors each.
  • Tests target a moderate difficulty level.
  • The total number of questions ranges from 9 to 30.
  • 10-minute time limit per test.

Test Development 

These tests were developed by our team of organizational psychologists and psychometricians, who are well-versed in cognitive ability theory and research. Our approach leveraging multiple distinct but conceptually related reasoning tests is based on theories that delineate a hierarchical structure of intelligence (e.g., Gustafsson, 1984). These models typically illustrate a higher general factor of mental or cognitive ability (“g”) that is overarching, followed by a second-order factor that distinguishes between broad areas of intelligence (e.g., fluid, crystallized, and visual-spatial), which are lastly broken down into narrower ability categories that all relate to the higher general factor and therefore to one another to some extent. 

Using pilot data and feedback from practice test-takers, the questions were evaluated empirically and revised to improve reliability, validity, and fairness, the three most important aspects of evaluating a test. As the database of responses grows, the tests are periodically analyzed and updated to improve them in an iterative fashion over time. 


Scoring

Test scores are calculated as a simple percentage of questions correct out of the total number of questions (ranging from 0-100%). Results are provided together with a global average and distribution of scores for each test from a representative sample of job candidates that are kept up to date. This provides objective data for candidate comparison across the talent pool.


Implementation Guidance

When used in combination these narrow cognitive abilities can be considered as building blocks of intelligence, but separately, can be more criterion-related given their level of specificity. For example, a mechanical reasoning test, assessing an individual’s ability to apply mechanical principles, is more relevant for an engineering job whereas numerical reasoning, which measures the ability to manipulate data and make calculations, is more relevant for a financial analyst role. We recommend selecting the test most appropriate to the job in question. An aptitude test is often weighted more heavily than other personality or skills tests given its strong empirical relationship with job performance.


Test Security

Access to the tests and their questions is tightly controlled by our password-protected test bank. Subject matter experts involved in its development and review sign non-disclosure agreements. Additionally, questions are randomly assigned to candidates, controlling for the overall difficulty of the test; thus, no two candidates see the same test but their results remain comparable. 


Key Pilot Statistics

  • Samples consisted of a minimum of 100 potential job seekers per test.
  • Sample demographics across tests were as follows:
    • Average age was 35.1 years;
    • Genders included male (52.3%), female (45.3%), other (1.5%) and non-binary (0.9%);
    • Ethnicities included Asian (34.3%), White (32.2%), Black or African American (22.2%), Other Ethnicity (7.2%), and Mixed or Multiple Ethnicities (4.1%); 
    • Countries included India (15.3%), Great Britain (11.9%), Nigeria (9.5%), Australia (5.6%), Canada (4.7%) ) and 18 others.
  • Average score was 53.6% (SD = 21.19).
  • Average time to complete each test was 497.8 seconds (8 minutes 18 seconds).
  • Average completion rate of 90.6%.
  • Items range in difficulty such that roughly 20% of test-takers answered the most difficult questions correctly and roughly 80% answered the easiest questions correctly.

*Most recent data on the test’s performance is available through our platform which is updated regularly.