How the OPTO test works
The 154 statements come one at a time in groups of seven, and you answer each on a seven-point scale from very untrue to very true. If you give two or more statements in a group the same rating, you are asked to adjust them so that each has its own point on the scale.
Your first answers are the ones scored. The way you move tied statements is recorded, and if you shift answers in the same direction four or more times within one aspect, OPTO raises a Spotlight. It suggests a less settled position on that trait and a tendency to adapt, and the employer is advised to follow it up at interview.
The result covers 8 dimensions: Agility, Compliance, Cooperation, Delivery, Efficiency, Influence, Innovation and Resilience, split into 20 aspects. It takes about 30 minutes, and Master recommends a laptop or desktop.
How to answer OPTO
Answer each statement honestly first, then deal with ties:
- Rate each statement on its own. Do not try to spread your ratings in advance; ties are expected.
- Use the whole scale. If you lean slightly one way, choose a point off the middle.
- When re-spreading, move the statement that is genuinely more true of you up and the less true one down.
- Do not push answers towards what the job advert seems to want. That pattern is what a Spotlight picks up.
Example of re-spreading
Suppose you rate “I like to plan my week in detail” and “I am comfortable leading a meeting” both 6. OPTO asks you to separate them. If planning is more consistently true of you, keep it at 6 and move the meeting statement to 5, or move planning to 7.
Your first rating of 6 for each is what is scored. The move is recorded, and only a consistent pattern of moves in one direction within an aspect leads to a Spotlight.
Tips for the real OPTO test
- Set aside about 30 minutes on a laptop or desktop.
- Think about how you usually are, not how you are on your best day.
- If you get a Spotlight, it is a discussion point, not a fail. Be ready to give real examples.
- Ask whether you can see your report. Master lets employers make it available as soon as you finish.
- OPTO is often paired with the ACE reasoning test. Jettime, for example, uses both for pilots.
Practise OPTO on CogniPrep
Our OPTO game runs all 154 statements in 22 groups of seven on the same seven-point scale. After each group, any tied ratings must be spread until all seven sit on different points, and you can move any statement, not just the tied ones. There is no clock and no going back to a finished group. Your results show a profile across the dimensions and aspects, and any aspect where four or more moves went the same way is flagged as a Spotlight. The statements are our own.