How the NIT works
Each data set is a table or a graph, followed by five questions on it. Sometimes you can read the answer straight off the data; sometimes you need one or more calculations first. Every question has one correct answer, and sometimes that answer is that the data are not enough to tell. The data are fictional.
The main version has 40 questions in 25 minutes, about 37 seconds each. A version for wo-level roles has 25 questions in 15 minutes. A practice question comes first. The time left shows in the top right, and a row of numbered buttons along the bottom changes colour as you answer, so you can jump back to anything you skipped.
You may use a calculator and scrap paper, and LTP asks you to have both ready before you press Start. Each question stands alone, so you never need an earlier answer. Only correct answers count.
How to approach a data set
Five questions share each table, so time spent reading it once pays back five times:
- Before the first question, read the title, the units and any “x 1,000” or percentage labels, and note which rows and columns exist.
- Read the question for exactly what it asks: which year, which group, an amount or a percentage, a rise or a share.
- Find the figures you need and write them down before you calculate.
- For a percentage change, divide the change by the starting value, not the new one.
- Choose the “cannot be determined” option only when a figure you need is missing, never because the sum is long.
Worked example
A table shows visitors to three museums, in thousands: Museum A had 120 in 2024 and 150 in 2025; Museum B had 80 and 72. Question: by what percentage did Museum A’s visitors rise? Options: 20%, 25%, 30%, 37.5%, cannot be determined.
The rise is 150 minus 120, which is 30, on a starting value of 120: 30 ÷ 120 = 25%. The 20% option divides by the new value instead. A second question asks what share of Museum B’s 2025 visitors were children. The table has no figures by age, so the answer is “cannot be determined”.
Tips for the real NIT
- Have a physical calculator and paper on the desk before you start. The test does not give you one on screen.
- Skip a long calculation, answer the quick questions on the same table, then use the numbered buttons to come back.
- Watch the units. A table in thousands of euros or a graph in percentages changes the right option.
- Answer every question before time runs out. Nothing is deducted for a wrong answer.
- LTP’s free practice site has a short numerical test at hbo and wo level, six minutes each.
Practise the NIT on CogniPrep
Our version follows the main live format: eight tables and graphs with five questions on each, 40 questions on one 25-minute clock, five options per question, some keyed to “cannot be determined”. There is no on-screen calculator, as in the real test, so use your own. You can skip, go back and jump between questions, and you get your number correct and a 1 to 9 practice score against people practising here.