How the Occupational Math Assessment works
You are asked to solve word problems and do numerical calculations with percentages, fractions, decimals, proportions, basic algebra, basic geometry and basic probability. OPM’s sample is a one-line equation to solve for x, with five numeric options.
Each question has a five-minute clock and you cannot go back. There is no calculator on screen; OPM allows your own calculator and scratch paper, so have both ready.
It is the rarest part of the battery. In OPM’s Competency Lookup Tool it appears in only 14 job series, about 2% of standard batteries: Economist, Financial Administration, Financial Clerical, Accounting, Auditing, Accounting Technician, Civilian Pay, Military Pay, Budget Analysis, Civil Engineering, Contracting, Financial Analysis, Appraising and Operations Research. The announcement lists Arithmetic/Mathematical Reasoning when it is included.
How to solve a USA Hire maths question
Five minutes is generous, so spend it on accuracy:
- Write down what the question asks for, including the unit, before you calculate.
- For a percentage, say aloud what it is a percentage of. Most wrong options use the wrong base.
- Estimate the answer first so you can reject options of the wrong size.
- Use the calculator for the arithmetic, not the thinking. Key the numbers in twice if they are long.
- For an equation, substitute your answer back in before you record it.
Worked example
An office has a printing budget of $7,200 for the year. By the end of August it has spent 65% of it. How much is left? Options: A. $2,250, B. $2,520, C. $3,600, D. $4,680, E. $4,950.
If 65% is spent, 35% is left. 35% of $7,200 is 0.35 × 7,200 = $2,520, option B. Option D, $4,680, is the amount spent, which is the answer you get if you stop one step early.
A probability item in the same style: a drawer holds 8 blue, 4 red and 6 green folders. The chance that one taken at random is green is 6 out of 18, which is 1/3.
Tips for the real Occupational Math Assessment
- Put a calculator, paper and pen next to you before you open the test. OPM lists all three as allowed materials.
- Brush up on percentage change, ratios, area and perimeter, simple equations and basic probability, the topics OPM names.
- Draw a diagram for any geometry or rate problem, as OPM’s tips suggest.
- Double-check before you press the record button. You cannot change an answer afterwards.
- If an item reaches four minutes, pick your best remaining option. A blank scores zero.
Practise Occupational Math on CogniPrep
Our Math practice has 15 word problems and calculations with five options each and a five-minute clock per question, covering the topics OPM lists. There is no calculator on screen, so use your own as you will on the day. It adapts to your answers and gives a score out of 100, weighted towards harder items, with feedback by topic. OPM publishes no question count, so ours is our own.