How the Analysis test works
Each question gives you a set of data, such as a table or chart, and asks you to work something out from it. You pick the answer from multiple choices. The data can be dense and some questions need more than one calculation.
It is reported to last 18 minutes, at one minute per question, and not every Arctic Shores assessment includes it.
How to answer a data question
Follow the same steps each time:
- Read the question before the data, so you know what you are looking for.
- Find the exact row, column or bar it asks about, and check the units and any totals.
- Estimate the answer roughly. It rules out options that are far off.
- Do the calculation, writing down each intermediate number.
- Check the result against your estimate, then pick the matching option.
Worked example
A table shows a shop’s sales by quarter: 240 units in Q1, 300 in Q2, 270 in Q3 and 330 in Q4. The question asks for the percentage increase from Q1 to Q4.
The increase is 330 minus 240, which is 90 units. Divide by the starting value: 90 ÷ 240 = 0.375, so the answer is 37.5%.
A tempting wrong option is 27.3%, which comes from dividing by the Q4 figure instead (90 ÷ 330). Percentage change always divides by the earlier value.
Tips for the real Analysis task
- Keep paper and a pen beside you for multi-step questions.
- Hold to about a minute a question. If one is eating time, take your best estimate and move on.
- Revise percentages, percentage change and averages before the test.
- Check axis scales and units on every chart. Reading thousands as units is an easy slip.
- If numbers are hard for you, request a dyscalculia adjustment before you begin.
What your score means
Analysis fits the numerical task type in Arctic Shores’ 2026 candidate guide: tasks that ask you to identify and understand quantitative and mathematical concepts. Like every task, it feeds a combined report rather than a score of its own: one emailed report, split into “dimensions”, each shown on a four-point scale against similar candidates.
The candidate guidance page describes a 1 to 10 spectrum per behaviour instead, and says you receive the report only if your employer chooses. Employers see one fit number from 1 to 100 for each candidate, against the profile they set for the role, and no pass mark is published. Arctic Shores says there is no single way to pass.
Practise Analysis on CogniPrep
Our Analysis test sets 18 questions from a bank of 50, each a table, bar chart or line graph with four options. You get 60 seconds a question, 18 minutes at most, and a timeout counts as wrong. Questions mix direct reads, totals, averages, percentages, percentage change and projections. The score out of 100 is mostly accuracy, plus pace, evenness across tables, charts and graphs, and how calculation questions compare with direct reads. The count and timing follow the reported format; the data sets are ours.