How the Rekenvaardigheid test works
Each item is a sum with a gap, such as “… + 28 = 74” or “2,4 × … = 0,48”, and you pick the missing number from the options. The sums mix addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, with whole numbers and decimals. There are no word problems, so reading skill plays no part.
NOA describes the items as fairly simple and says they do not get much harder as you go. The difficulty is speed: 30 sums in five minutes. The Dutch version writes decimals with a comma and division with a colon, so 0,6 means 0.6 and 8 : 2 means 8 ÷ 2.
Rekenvaardigheid is in the MCT-M, the MCT-H and the adaptive MCT-A. It is not one of Harver’s subtests.
How to answer quickly
At ten seconds a sum, avoid full working wherever you can:
- Rewrite a gap as a direct question. “… + 28 = 74” is 74 minus 28, and “… × 6 = 4,2” is 4,2 divided by 6.
- Estimate the size first. Options are often the same digits with the decimal point moved, and an estimate removes most of them.
- Check the last digit. If two options are close, the units digit of the answer often settles it.
- Move on from anything that needs real working. A blank costs no more than a wrong answer, and the next sum may take three seconds.
Worked examples
First: “7,2 : … = 0,9”, options 0,8, 8, 80 and 6,48. The gap is 7,2 divided by 0,9. Since 9 × 8 = 72, the answer is 8. Check: 0,9 × 8 = 7,2.
Second: “… − 3,75 = 6,5”, options 2,75, 9,25, 10,25 and 10,75. The gap is 6,5 plus 3,75, which is 10,25. Check: 10,25 − 3,75 = 6,5. Option 2,75 is what you get by subtracting instead of adding, a common slip under time pressure.
Tips for the real Rekenvaardigheid test
- Practise times tables and decimal place value until they are instant. That is where the seconds go.
- Read the decimal comma correctly. If you are used to 0.6, practise with 0,6 before the test.
- Nothing suggests a calculator is allowed, and at this pace it would slow you down.
- Keep an even pace from the first sum. The items do not save their hard ones for the end.
- Most people do not finish. Answer every sum you reach, guessing if you must.
Practise Rekenvaardigheid on CogniPrep
Our Arithmetic game gives you 30 sums on a 5-minute clock, four options each, as on NOA’s MCT-H example sheet. Sums are generated each run and use English notation (0.6 and ÷). There is no calculator, and you can skip. You get your number right and a Lager, Midden or Hoger band against CogniPrep users.