Inductive Reasoning Test Practice
You are shown examples and never told the rule. Infer it, then use it to pick the next frame, the odd one out or the right group.
One of the logical reasoning formats, alongside deductive reasoning, abstract reasoning and diagrammatic reasoning.
Inductive Reasoning Practice Tests
Inductive Reasoning
Identify the rule(s) governing a sequence of shape frames and select the correct next frame. Mirrors the SHL Verify Inductive Reasoning test format.
scales ix (Inductive Reasoning)
Nine black and white objects, eight of which obey a hidden rule. Find the one that breaks it. Twenty tasks in five minutes with negative marking. Mirrors the Aon cut-e scales ix test.
scales cls (Inductive Reasoning)
Two groups of grids each follow a different hidden rule. Work out the rules, then decide which group an unmarked grid belongs to. Mirrors the Aon cut-e scales cls logical test. Twelve minutes, negatively marked, so skip rather than guess.
Elements Logical
Work out the rule governing a sequence of abstract figures and pick the frame that comes next. Individually timed questions that get harder while you keep answering correctly. Mirrors the Talent Q Elements Logical test.
Insights Inductive Reasoning
Fifteen figure sequences with the next frame missing, sixty seconds each and no borrowing time from the next item. Adaptive, with difficulty tuned to the 70% success rate Test Partnership targets.
Kenexa Logical Reasoning
Work out the rule governing a sequence of shape frames and pick the frame that continues it. 24 questions on one 20-minute clock, no words and no numbers. Mirrors the Kenexa / IBM logical reasoning test (LRT).
Logical Reasoning
Find the rule running through a sequence of shape frames and choose the frame that comes next. Sova describes it as pattern recognition and abstract thinking using shapes and sequences.
Connector Ability: Figure Series
The first part of GITP’s Connector Ability (Figuurreeksen). Four frames of small shapes that move round a three by three grid, and you pick the fifth from four. Adaptive, 90 seconds an item, an unanswered item counts as wrong, and speed is not scored.
TMA Logisch Figuurlijk Inzicht (Figure Series)
Fifteen figure series, grids and odd-one-out rows in 10 minutes. The question line tells you whether to find the figure for the gap or the one that does not belong, and reading it is half the test.
Figurenreeksen (Abstract Reasoning)
Ixly figural reasoning, mixing the 3x3 grid its own manual shows with the progressive figure series its product page describes. Four options labelled A to D, 45 seconds an item, adaptive difficulty.
Exclusion (Logisch nadenken met plaatjes)
Five figures in a row: four share a principle and one does not. Find the odd one out. 30 items on one 7-minute clock, easy to hard, no penalty for a wrong answer. Mirrors the Exclusie subtest of the NOA MCT-M and MCT-H capaciteitentest, and the item type in Harver’s Logical Reasoning (Exclusion).
Logical Reasoning (Exclusion)
Five figures: four follow a rule and one does not. Pick the odd one out, then press Next. 30 items on one 7-minute clock, easy to hard, with no Skip and no penalty for a wrong answer. Mirrors the Logical Reasoning subtest of Harver’s NOA Cognitive Ability module.
Letterpatronen (Letter Patterns)
A part of the Dutch police cognitietest. A row or a small table of letters with two cells missing, and you type the two letters that make the pattern work. Adaptive, starting easy, with no clock on screen until ten seconds remain.
What Inductive Reasoning Measures
Generalising from examples
Every item gives you specific cases and asks for the general rule behind them. It is the reasoning you use to learn how an unfamiliar system behaves by watching it work.
Testing a guess quickly
A rule that fits the first three frames often fails on the fourth. Strong candidates check each guess against every frame before choosing, rather than stopping at the first rule that seems to work.
Recognising common rules on sight
Aon scales ix allows 20 tasks in five minutes, about 15 seconds each. At that pace, knowing the usual rules well enough to see them, rather than reason them out, is part of what is measured.
Question Formats
Next in the series
A row of four or five frames, each changed from the last by one or two rules, and a choice of what comes next. SHL Inductive Reasoning, Korn Ferry Elements Logical, Kenexa Logical Reasoning, Sova and Test Partnership Insights all use it.
Odd one out
Several figures share a rule and one breaks it. Aon scales ix shows nine black and white objects with one rule breaker; NOA Exclusion and Harver Logical Reasoning show a row of five figures.
Which group does it belong to
Two sets of figures each follow their own hidden rule, and you decide which set a new figure belongs to. This is the Aon scales cls format.
Letter and figure patterns
The same inference with letters or small grids. The Dutch police Letterpatronen asks for the two letters that complete a pattern, and GITP Figure Series moves small shapes round a three by three grid.
How to Prepare
Check one feature at a time
Run a fixed checklist: shape, count, shading, rotation, position, size. Working through it in the same order every time is faster than staring at the whole frame hoping the rule appears.
Test your rule on every frame
A rule that explains three frames and not the fourth is the wrong rule. Before you choose, run it across every frame you have been shown.
Expect two rules at once
Harder items run two rules on different features, such as a shape that rotates while a dot moves round the corners. If one rule leaves two answers standing, a second one is in play.
Know the marking before you guess
Prep sources report negative marking on Aon scales ix and scales cls, so skipping beats guessing there. NOA Exclusion and Harver Logical Reasoning take nothing off for a wrong answer, so never leave those blank.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an inductive reasoning test?
A test that shows you a set of examples, usually shapes or figures, and asks you to work out the rule they follow and apply it. There is no reading or arithmetic. The answer is the next frame in a series, the odd one out, or the group a new figure belongs to.
Is inductive reasoning the same as abstract reasoning?
Very nearly. Both ask you to infer a rule from shapes, and the vendor picks the name: SHL and Aon say inductive, while Cubiks, Clevry and PI say abstract for much the same task. Practise under whichever name your invitation uses, because the clock and question style follow the vendor.
How long is an inductive reasoning test?
It depends on the vendor. Aon scales ix allows five minutes for 20 tasks, Kenexa Logical Reasoning 20 minutes for 24 questions, and NOA Exclusion seven minutes for 30 items. Test Partnership Insights gives each item sixty seconds of its own.
Why do I keep finding two answers that fit?
Because a second rule is in play. Items are built so that one rule eliminates most options and a second, often on a different feature, decides between the last two. When two answers survive, look at what you have not yet checked: shading, count or position.
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