By Staff Writer | Last Updated August 4, 2015
A cognitive test includes questions that ask candidates to select similar or dissimilar items, missing numbers in a series or pattern, and statements that are correct given some base facts. Typical cognitive tests cover questions on logical, verbal, inductive and numerical reasoning.
Cognitive tests measure a person’s ability to acquire, organize and apply information. Examiners design these questions to test the ability of candidates to solve problems under different circumstances. The questions contain words, images or numbers. The tests include multiple answers from which the candidates must choose a single, correct answer.
Popular cognitive tests include the Wonderlic test and Onetest’s cognitive ability test. The tests are composed of 30 to 50 questions with time limits of eight to 12 minutes. The questions across these tests are similar. These questions mostly seek to assess the verbal, nonverbal and numerical skills of the people taking the tests.
Cognitive ability tests consist of short questions that become more difficult as the candidate progresses through the test. Some of the questions only require the test taker to indicate whether a statement is true or false. For example, a question may ask whether it is true that fossil fuels precipitate climate change. A question testing numerical skills may contain a graph and ask a candidate to calculate the average change in a variable.
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