How the Kenexa numerical test works
Each question gives you a table, bar chart or graph and asks one question about it, with five answer options and one correct. The maths is reported to be no harder than GCSE: percentages, ratios, totals and growth rates applied to business figures.
The standard form is reported as 20 questions in 20 minutes on one clock. Each candidate gets a randomised paper drawn from a bank of 174 items, so two people sitting the test see different but comparable questions. Longer forms for graduate and managerial roles are reported at around 32 questions in 35 minutes.
Your number correct becomes a percentile against a norm group, and the employer sets its own cut-off.
How to answer a Kenexa numerical question
Follow the same steps on every question:
- Read the question and decide what kind of answer it wants: an amount, a change, a share or a ratio.
- Find only the figures you need. Most questions use two or three numbers from a large table.
- Check the units and the base: thousands or millions, per quarter or per year, percentage of what.
- Calculate on your calculator before you look at the options, so a near-miss option does not pull you in.
- If none of the options matches your answer and “None of these” is offered, check once, then choose it.
Worked example
A table shows office supplies spending in £000 by department. Sales: 48 in 2024 and 60 in 2025. Finance: 30 and 27. Operations: 75 and 90. Which department’s spending rose by the largest percentage from 2024 to 2025? A. Sales, B. Finance, C. Operations, D. Sales and Operations equally, E. None of these.
Sales rose by 12 on 48, which is 12 ÷ 48 = 25%. Operations rose by 15 on 75, which is 15 ÷ 75 = 20%. Finance fell by 10%. The answer is A, Sales.
Operations had the biggest rise in pounds, so C is the trap for anyone who compares the increases without dividing by the starting figure.
Tips for the real Kenexa numerical test
- Have a calculator and paper ready before you start. There is no reported on-screen calculator.
- Hold to about a minute a question. A single overall clock means a slow question eats into the rest.
- Read the question before the data, so you only pull out what you need.
- Answer every question. No penalty for wrong answers is reported.
- Practise percentage change and ratios until they are automatic: they carry most of the test.
Practise Kenexa Numerical Reasoning on CogniPrep
Ours runs the reported standard form: 20 questions on one 20-minute clock, each with a table, chart or graph and five options, some including “None of these”. Questions come from our bank of 48, not 174, so replays repeat sooner than the real test. One question per screen and Submit Answer; there is no Back and no skip, and anything unreached at zero is marked blank. There is no calculator on screen, so use your own. You get a score out of 100, a percentile against CogniPrep players and feedback by question type.