How the Clevry abstract reasoning test works
Each question shows a series of shapes or patterns that change by a hidden rule, and you choose the one that comes next from a set of options. It is non-verbal and multiple choice, on one clock for the whole test. Clevry says tests like this are also called inductive or diagrammatic reasoning.
Practice questions come first, before the scored test begins. After that the questions get harder as you go, and there is no going back to an earlier one.
Clevry sells abstract reasoning at two levels only. There is no Essential version.
Enhanced or Expert: how the abstract levels differ
Both levels are 16 questions. What changes is how hard the rules are and how long you get:
- Enhanced, once B2C: for customer-facing, admin and junior management roles. 24 minutes, 90 seconds a question, and the average is 15 to 16 minutes, with 98% of candidates reaching every question. Clevry’s report says it tests how you identify patterns, trends and rules to solve logical problems. Compared with 2,828 Enhanced candidates from 2023.
- Expert, once Utopia: for graduates, managers and professionals. 45 minutes, nearly 2 minutes 50 seconds a question, the longest clock Clevry sets for any ability test. Clevry bases its limits on how long candidates take on average, so expect items that need the time. Compared with 2,329 Expert candidates from 2021 to 2023.
How to find the rule
Go through the same checklist on every question, one feature at a time:
- List what could change: how many shapes, which shapes, where they sit, which way they point, shading or colour, and size.
- Take one feature and follow it through every frame, not just the last two.
- When one feature follows a rule, write the rule down in a few words, such as "moves one corner clockwise".
- Check the other features. Harder items run two or three rules at once, and some alternate or cycle rather than grow.
- Predict the next frame from your rules, then eliminate every option that breaks one of them.
- If two options survive, a rule is missing. Go back to the feature you have not checked yet.
Worked example
Four frames each show a circle split into quarters with one quarter shaded. In frame 1 the top-right quarter is shaded, in frame 2 the bottom-right, in frame 3 the bottom-left and in frame 4 the top-left. A small triangle sits inside the circle in frames 1 and 3 and outside it in frames 2 and 4.
Two rules are at work. The shading moves one quarter clockwise each frame, so frame 5 has the top-right quarter shaded again. The triangle alternates, inside on odd frames, so in frame 5 it is inside.
The answer is top-right shaded with the triangle inside. Top-right with the triangle outside misses the alternation, top-left with the triangle inside forgets to move the shading, and bottom-right with the triangle inside moves it two steps.
Tips for the real Clevry abstract test
- Know your pace: 90 seconds a question at Enhanced, nearly three minutes at Expert. Early questions are easier, so bank time on them.
- Use the practice questions to learn how the frames and options are laid out before the clock starts.
- Test every rule against all the frames. A rule that fits the last two frames only is usually the trap.
- Do not change an answer on a hunch. Change it when you can name the rule your first choice broke.
- At Expert the clock is long, so a slow, checked answer beats a fast guess. Time is not part of your sten.
- Ask for extra time before you start if you need it. The employer sets a new total limit.
Practise the Clevry abstract reasoning test on CogniPrep
Both levels are games here on Clevry’s clock: Enhanced 24 minutes and Expert 45. A sitting is 16 sequences, easiest first, drawn from 40 original items per level. Each shows four frames and five options for the fifth, and you press Submit Answer to move on, with no Skip and no Back. Enhanced items use one or two rules, Expert items two or three. Clevry does not publish its option count, so five is ours. Your score is the share you got right, with anything unanswered counted wrong and time not scored, shown as a Clevry-style sten against other CogniPrep players, followed by a review of every sequence.