How the critical thinking test works
Test Partnership lists 24 questions in 24 minutes. The test presents realistic scenarios and evidence and asks you to assess the strength of arguments, recognise flaws in reasoning and draw well-supported conclusions. It measures evaluation and judgement rather than prior knowledge.
The Concepts factsheet describes the high-stakes version: 24 questions in 24 minutes per test, computer adaptive, scored with item response theory against 12 comparison groups, and aimed at managers, executives, graduates and assessment centres.
The four question types
Test Partnership’s free sample shows four formats, each with its own block clock. The first gives a set of ordering rules and asks whether a statement is True, False or there is Insufficient data, with 120 seconds for the block in the sample.
The second asks whether a conclusion follows or does not follow, with 90 seconds in the sample. The third rates an argument on a six-point scale from Very strong argument to Very weak argument, and the fourth judges an inference on a five-point scale from Definitely true to Definitely false, each with 60 seconds in the sample.
Test Partnership says its full-length hiring tests use adaptive difficulty and advanced item banking, so the real test will not match the sample item for item.
How it is scored
Questions are weighted by difficulty and the test adapts as you progress, so harder questions count for more. The Concepts version is scored with item response theory against comparison groups, and Test Partnership publishes no pass mark.
How our practice version works
Our version has 24 questions that cycle through the four types in blocks, each block on its own clock: 120 seconds for a deduction block, 90 for a conclusion block and 60 for an argument or inference item, as in the free sample. A labelled box tells you which type you are on.
Those block clocks add up to less than Test Partnership’s published 24 minutes, so our sitting is tighter than the real test may be. Difficulty adapts on a ladder of our own, and nothing is deducted for a wrong answer.