How the Civil Service Numerical Test works
Each question gives you graphs, tables or other figures, then a question with several possible answers. Any chart is also given as a table, so you never have to read a value off a bar by eye.
Like the Verbal Test it is adaptive: questions get harder after right answers and easier after wrong ones, so the length varies. There is no time limit and your score does not depend on speed. You cannot skip or go back, and some questions are unscored trial items.
The Civil Service suggests having rough paper, a pen and a calculator to hand. Your result is a percentile against a representative group of applicants, based on how many questions you got right and how hard they were.
How to solve a Civil Service numerical question
Work through each question in this order:
- Read the line above the table first. It often gives the units, such as figures in thousands.
- Find the exact rows, columns and years the question names before you calculate anything.
- Estimate the answer roughly. It usually rules out two or three options straight away.
- Calculate on your own calculator, keeping full figures until the last step.
- For a percentage change, divide the change by the earlier figure. Dividing by the later one gives a wrong answer that is often among the options.
Worked example
A table shows visitors to three museums, in thousands. Museum A: 240 in 2024 and 276 in 2025. Museum B: 180 and 171. Museum C: 95 and 114.
Question: by what percentage did total visitors across the three museums rise from 2024 to 2025? Options: 8.2%, 8.9%, 10.0%, 15.0%, 46.0%.
Total for 2024: 240 + 180 + 95 = 515. Total for 2025: 276 + 171 + 114 = 561. The rise is 46, and 46 ÷ 515 = 0.089, so the answer is 8.9%.
Each wrong option is a common slip. 8.2% divides by the 2025 total. 10.0% averages the three museums’ own changes (+15%, -5% and +20%) instead of using the totals. 15.0% is Museum A alone, and 46.0% treats the rise in thousands as a percentage.
Tips for the real Numerical Test
- Have your own calculator and rough paper ready before you start.
- Use the table rather than the chart when you need exact figures.
- Check every answer against your estimate before you press Next. Speed earns nothing on this test.
- Practise percentages, percentage change, ratios and averages until the method is automatic.
- Expect harder questions as you go. That is the adaptive design working, not a sign you are failing.
- A pass is banked for six months for other jobs in the same grade grouping.
Practise the Civil Service Numerical Test on CogniPrep
Our Numerical Test is adaptive and untimed: each question shows a table, with a chart of the same data a tap away, and five answers, every wrong one built from a common slip. It stops once it has measured your level, after 10 to 20 scored questions, plus two unscored trial items it points out afterwards. There is no on-screen calculator, so use your own. Your result is a percentile against other CogniPrep users, with feedback on which slips cost you marks. The questions and difficulty ratings are ours.