How the TPAQ works
You rate statements for how well they describe you. Test Partnership’s practice questionnaire uses a seven-point scale from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree and asks you to describe yourself as you generally are now, not as you wish to be in the future.
The real questionnaire is computer adaptive, untimed and typically takes 10 to 20 minutes. Test Partnership lists 180 questions on its product page, says it covers roles from apprentice to CEO, and supplies norm groups as well as the option for employers to build their own benchmarks.
The nine factors
The TPAQ measures nine global factors in what Test Partnership calls its Big5+ model: Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Stability, Extraversion, Industriousness, Integrity, Openness to Experience and Resilience.
The full TPAQ-45 Complete measures 45 traits under those nine factors, plus 16 competencies, in about 20 minutes. The shorter TPAQ-27 Express takes about 10 minutes. The factsheet lists six report types, including a JobFitScore.
How to approach it
Answer as you are now, which is what the instructions ask, and use the whole scale where it fits. There is no clock, so read each statement properly, but do not agonise over any single one.
How our practice version works
Our TPAQ practice has 90 statements, ten for each of the nine factors, on the same seven-point scale. A tap records your answer and moves you on; there is no going back and no skipping.
It is a fixed set of statements, not adaptive, and the profile it gives you is our own reading across the nine factors, for reflection rather than a score to beat.