How Cognitive Ability Pro works
Cognitive Ability Pro draws on 11 different question types and serves them in random order, so you can move from a number problem to a figure puzzle to a word question without warning. Ixly describes it as visual-first, with any text at B1 level, and suitable from VMBO to WO.
An adaptive algorithm picks each question from your earlier answers and stops once the measurement is reliable enough. That is why it takes about 15 minutes on average; Ixly says it is 60% faster than classic tests. Your score is interpreted against education level, and the report gives insight into numerical, verbal and abstract ability.
Ixly publishes neither the number of questions nor the time per question.
How to approach a mixed test
The skill this format adds is switching cleanly between question types:
- Read each question fresh. Do not carry the method from the last one into the next.
- Before answering, name the type to yourself: series, grid, analogy or sum.
- Have one quick first move for each type: differences for numbers, one feature at a time for figures, a sentence for word pairs.
- Expect harder questions after right answers. A test that feels hard is usually going well.
Worked example: two questions in a row
First: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ? The differences are 4, 6, 8 and 10, rising by 2, so the next difference is 12 and the answer is 42.
Next, straight after: glove is to hand as sock is to ? A glove covers a hand, so a sock covers a foot. The arithmetic habit from the first question is no help here, which is exactly the switch this test asks for.
Tips for the real Cognitive Ability Pro
- Practise numerical, abstract and verbal items together, not in blocks, so switching becomes normal.
- Allow at least 15 minutes, uninterrupted. The test ends when it has measured you, which may be sooner or later.
- Have a scratch pad ready for the number questions.
- Do not dwell on one hard item. An adaptive test recovers from a wrong answer; it cannot recover lost minutes.
- Check which language your invitation is in. The employer sets it.
Practise Cognitive Ability Pro on CogniPrep
Ixly does not publish the question count, the clock or the names of its 11 types, so our version is our own reading: 14 to 20 questions at 40 seconds each, mixing four types at random (number series, figure grids, figure series and word analogies), each with a label naming the type. It adapts as you go, and the result is a practice percentile shown as a sten, with feedback naming your weakest type.