How the numerical test works
Test Partnership’s own instruction screen sets it out: five question sets, each with three questions and a three-minute time limit, so 15 questions in 15 minutes. Each set gives you numerical information as a graph, table or infographic, and you answer from that information alone.
You need a calculator and rough paper, and Test Partnership recommends a desktop or laptop rather than a mobile device. Its free sample gives ten answer options per question, many of them close to one another.
Adaptive, and weighted by difficulty
The test adapts as you progress, and questions are weighted by difficulty, so harder questions contribute more to the final score than easier ones. Test Partnership says this lets one numerical test suit everyone from school leavers to senior executives.
The clock belongs to the set, not the question. Three minutes covers reading the data and answering all three questions, so time spent on one question comes out of the other two.
How it is scored
Beyond weighting harder questions more heavily, Test Partnership does not publish how the numerical test is marked, and it publishes no pass mark. Its product page presents the scores as a basis for employers’ shortlisting and pass or fail decisions, so the threshold is the employer’s.
How our practice version works
Our version follows the published structure: five sets of three questions, 180 seconds per set, ten close answer options per question, and a calculator expected. When a set’s clock runs out, any questions in that set you have not answered are missed and the next set begins.
You cannot go back, skip, flag or review, and difficulty steps up or down between items on a ladder of our own, since Test Partnership does not publish its algorithm. Nothing is deducted for a wrong answer, so always answer before the clock runs out.