How the Wonderlic cognitive test works
Wonderlic Select, formerly WonScore, has three sections, and this is the only timed one and the only one with right and wrong answers. You get 50 questions and exactly 12 minutes. The types are mixed rather than grouped: word problems, number series, logic puzzles, vocabulary and analogies, plus spatial reasoning and pattern questions. They get progressively harder, and Wonderlic says many people do not finish.
No calculator, dictionary or other aids are allowed. Only a few questions need any calculation, because the test measures reasoning rather than maths. You usually take it online on your own device, and most employers do not proctor it.
Your score is not a simple count of right answers. Wonderlic weights each question by its difficulty and by the effect of guessing, and looks at your whole pattern of responses. The result is combined with the personality and motivation sections and weighted for the job, using job profiles built from O*NET data.
The employer sees your results as soon as you finish. You do not get a numerical cognitive score: the only result for candidates is a Candidate Feedback Report, and only if a link to it appears at the end.
How to approach the Wonderlic test
Fourteen seconds a question leaves room for one careful read and no more. Work like this:
- Read each question once, closely. Wonderlic says many mistakes come from misreading, not from not knowing.
- Work forwards. Wonderlic advises against skipping around in the hope of coming back.
- If you think you know the answer but are not sure, mark your best choice and move on. That is Wonderlic’s own instruction. A blind guess is unlikely to help.
- If a question has taken twice its share of time, make your best call and go to the next one.
- Check your pace at six minutes. Being around question 25 means you are on track.
Worked examples
Number series: “What comes next? 3, 5, 9, 17, 33, ?” A 49, B 57, C 63, D 65, E 66.
The gaps are 2, 4, 8 and 16, doubling each time, so the next gap is 32 and the answer is 33 + 32 = 65: D. Checking the gaps first is faster than hunting for a formula.
Word problem: “A printer prints 36 pages in 4 minutes. How many pages does it print in 15 minutes?” A 120, B 125, C 135, D 140, E 144.
Find the rate for one minute: 36 ÷ 4 = 9 pages. Then 9 × 15 = 135: C. E is what you get from 36 × 4, a slip that is easy to make at speed.
Tips for the real Wonderlic test
- Practise number series, word problems, logic, vocabulary and analogies. Wonderlic names these as the question types.
- Get quick at mental arithmetic: rates, percentages and fractions. You will not have a calculator.
- Take it somewhere quiet, on a stable connection, with your phone put away.
- Do not leave your invitation too long. Links generally stay active for up to 14 days.
- If you need an accommodation, contact the employer with as much detail and documentation as you can. They agree it with Wonderlic.
- Retakes are up to the employer. Ask your recruiter if you are unsure.
Practise the Wonderlic cognitive test on CogniPrep
Our Wonderlic test has 50 questions on a 12-minute clock, with five options each, served from easiest to hardest across five difficulty levels. Each question is labelled with its type: maths, logic, verbal, spatial or pattern. There is no Back button or flagging, and Skip leaves a blank. Wonderlic does not publish its weights or how it treats guessing, so ours are our own: each question counts by its difficulty level, with a deduction for wrong answers to correct for guessing, giving a score out of 100. The questions come from a bank of 60, so repeat runs overlap.