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Tr u a d vi s t e d c t h e e fr o m in d u gu r u s t r y s Num erical Reasoning Tests How to give yourself the edge AssessmentDay Alan Redm an Practice Aptitude Tests Num erical Reasoning Tests How to give yourself the edge Pu blis h e d N o ve m be r 2 0 10 As s e s s m e n tD ay Ltd All rights r...

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Num erical Reasoning Tests

Tr u a d vi s t e d c t h e e fr o m in d u gu r u s t r y s

How to give yourself the edge

Alan Redm an

AssessmentDay Practice Aptitude Tests

Num erical Reasoning Tests How to give yourself the edge

Pu blis h e d N o ve m be r 2 0 10

As s e s s m e n tD ay Ltd

All rights reserved. No part of this publication m ay be reproduced or transm itted in any form or by any m eans, electronic or m echanical, including photocopy, recording or any inform ation storage and retrieval system, without prior perm ission in writing from the publisher.

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Copyright © Assessm entDay Ltd 20 10 Author Alan Redm an

Num erical Reasoning Tests: How to Give Yourself the Edge

H o w th is gu id e w o rks This guide will help you develop the skills, knowledge and strategies you need to dem onstrate your strengths when taking num erical tests. It’s a com petitive job m arket out there and em ployers are increasingly turning to num erical tests to help them m ake choices about who to invite to interview. To m axim ise your chances of success in the hunt for a job you need to give yourself an edge by ensuring that your num erical test perform ance does not let you down. You should use this guide alongside the practice test questions on the Assessm entDay website to take your num erical test perform ance to its highest level. This guide has been written by a charted occupational psychologist who is a director of a leading psychom etric test publisher. By taking on- board the advice contained within this guide you will be getting expert coaching from a leading voice of the psychom etric testing industry.

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Num erical Reasoning Tests: How to Give Yourself the Edge

Contents Se ctio n 1: Kn o w w h at yo u ’re u p again s t ..... 4   How a num erical test works ..................................................................... 5  What m aths do I need to know? .............................................................. 6   What is high-level critical reasoning? ...................................................... 7  The top-five professional level num erical tests used by em ployers ........ 8  

Se ctio n 2 : Be co m e a te s t-takin g black-be lt 11  How strategies m ake the difference to your score ................................. 11  Preparing for your test ............................................................................ 12  Focus, nerves and concentration ............................................................ 13  Effective test session behaviours ............................................................ 14   Online testing vs. paper and pencil tests ................................................ 19   Why not cheat? ....................................................................................... 19 

Se ctio n 3 : D e ve lo p in g yo u r n u m e rical ability ....................................................... 2 2   Key num erical abilities to develop ......................................................... 22   Moving your score upwards ................................................................... 23  Where else to practice ............................................................................ 24  

Se ctio n 4 : Yo u r righ ts as a te s t-take r ........ 2 6   What the em ployer should tell you up front about the test .................. 26   Should your test be adjusted? ................................................................. 27  What to do if the test session goes badly? .............................................. 27  What happens to your test score ........................................................... 28   What to do about test score feedback .................................................... 28   A final word ............................................................................................ 29 

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Section 1: Know what you’re up against

Num erical Reasoning Tests: How to Give Yourself the Edge

Section 1: Know what you’re up against The guide begins by orientating you in the current world of num erical testing. This section explains how the tests work, what num erical abilities they m easure and a preview of the m ost widely used professional level tests used by em ployers today. This section includes: 1. 2. 3. 4.

How a num erical test works What m aths do I need to know? What is high-level critical reasoning? The top-five professional level num erical tests used by em ployers

Anyone who tells us “y ou have nothing to fear but fear itself” probably doesn’t expect to be asked to com plete a num erical test anytim e soon. When you are required to sit a num erical test there can be plenty to fear; the prospect of not perform ing well enough and m issing out on a great job opportunity. Then there is the fear of the test itself.

um erical tests are the num ber one source of anxiety for m ost test takers. People seem to fear a num erical test m uch m ore than a verbal test, which is the other m ost com m only used test by em ployers. The fear can com e from m any places: previous poor num erical test results, stressful m aths exam s at school or college or fear of the unknown. Whatever its source, fear itself is a m ajor obstacle to perform ing well in test.

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Fear leads to anxiety; anxiety leads to stress and stress leads to the dark-side: under-perform ance and failure. So the first step in m axim ising your num erical test score is to deal with the fear; learn to laugh in its face. The best way to defuse the fear, anxiety and stress of taking a num erical test is through understanding. Once you know how they work, what skills you need and what the tests look like you can m ove away from fear and into confidence. This section explains how the tests work, what num erical abilities they m easure and give you a preview of the m ost widely used professional level tests used by em ployers today. With this knowledge in place you can put the fear to one side and focus on m axim ising your num erical test perform ance.

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Num erical Reasoning Tests: How to Give Yourself the Edge

H o w a n u m e rical te s t w o rks The great thing about num erical tests is that they are not the sam e as a m aths test. Of course, they involve num bers and calculations but they are not trying to m easure your m aths ability in the sam e way as a school exam . This is great news for those of us with dark m em ories of im penetrable m aths questions requiring skills like algebra, trigonom etry and probabilities. Num erical tests do not require you to write out longhand answers; they do not require knowledge of form ulae and theories; they do not require you to revise beforehand. Num erical tests are fundam entally different from m aths tests because of what they are built to m easure. Rather than assess your understanding and application of a m aths syllabus (such as GCSE or A-Level) they are designed to m easure your ability to correctly interpret num erical inform ation and use it to solve problem s and m ake decisions. Modern tests base the inform ation on real-life num erical data you would find in the workplace. So num erical tests only really require you to perform the kinds of analysis with num bers you’d be expected to perform at work. This difference between m aths exam s and num erical tests m eans that som etim es people’s scores from both are different. Em ployers often see candidates with great m aths qualifications who dem onstrate poor num erical test results. This is generally the result of the m aths qualifications being pushed up by good exam technique, lots of revision and effective m em ory ability. The num erical test score is lower because it is not affected by exam technique, revision and m em ory; the num erical test relies on effective analysis, problem solving and good test-taking technique, of which you will learn m ore in section 2 of this guide. This is great news for those test-takers who have traditionally struggled with m aths exam s. Num erical tests are different - they m easure different skills in a different way. Em ployers often see candidates with low or m ediocre m aths qualifications who can perform very well on the m uch m ore job-relevant num erical test.

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Num erical Reasoning Tests: How to Give Yourself the Edge

As well a being different from m aths exam s, num erical tests tend to share a num ber of com m on characteristics, so you will always know what to expect. Com m on characteristics of num erical tests include: • Mu ltip le ch o ice an s w e rs - no longhand answers or showing your working-out • U s e o f calcu lato rs p e rm itte d - no m ental arithm etic required • Strict tim e lim its - som e are generous while som e are very short (we cover this in section 2) • Exam p le qu e s tio n s be fo re yo u s tart th e te s t - these are not tim ed or scored • N o p rio r kn o w le d ge re qu ire d - no equations to m em orise (or surreptitiously write on your arm ) • Re le van t to th e w o rkp la ce - m odern tests are based on the kind of num erical inform ation you would deal with in the job Understanding how num erical tests work, how they are different from m aths exam s and their com m on characteristics should begin to dispel the fear of the unknown. Any rem aining anxiety about your perform ance can be countered by developing a deeper understanding of the inner-workings of tests and, in section 2 of this guide, the m ost effective test taking techniques to develop based on this understanding.

W h at m ath s d o I n e e d to kn o w ? Num erical tests are not the sam e as m aths exam s but you will still need some m aths skills - you will be dealing with problem s based on num bers after all. Fortunately for those of us with a less than warm relationship with m aths the skills you need are far sim pler than those expected by m aths GCSE. Here’s a list of the m ost widely used m aths calculations in num erical tests: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Addition Subtraction Multiplication Division www.AssessmentDay.co.uk

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Num erical Reasoning Tests: How to Give Yourself the Edge

5. Averages 6. Percentages 7. Ratios If you are unfam iliar or unconfident with any of these m aths skills you should focus your tim e on test practice questions that require the form s of calculation that trouble you. You could also look to use basic m aths study aids to supplem ent your developm ent through the practice questions. Rem em ber that you will be allowed to use a calculator during the num erical test to com plete these calculations.

W h at is h igh -le ve l critical re as o n in g? Graduate and professional tests are at the top of the num erical-test tree as far as difficulty is concerned. These top-level tests m easure the advanced skill of num erical critical-reasoning to reflect the dem ands of the jobs for which they are used to help recruit and the calibre of candidates who apply The difficulty of these tests does not lie in the types of calculations you are required to perform ; num erical critical-reasoning tests are still based around the seven basic m aths skills described above. Their difficulty is the result of the com plexity of the num erical data the questions are based upon and the nature of the problem s you are required to solve. Num erical critical reasoning is the ability to analyse and m anipulate num erical inform ation in order to draw inferences, determ ine underlying relationships and m ake decisions. These high-level tests are different from those you m ight be expected to com plete for entrylevel or m id-level roles because you are expected to dem onstrated abilities that are above and beyond sim ply understanding num erical data and answering questions about it. Instead you will need to work in a m ore com plex way to arrive at correct answers. What this m eans in reality is that to answer a num erical criticalreasoning test you are often required to perform m ultiple calculations. In other words there m ay be several stages of calculation you need to www.AssessmentDay.co.uk

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Num erical Reasoning Tests: How to Give Yourself the Edge

com plete to reach an answer. Som etim es this even involves a degree of estim ation or dealing with am biguities, as you som etim es would at work. If this sounds a little daunting don’t worry. The calculations are still based on basic m aths skills. You can m axim ise your score by developing effective test-taking technique (as described in section 2). You can com plete som e practice questions to get a preview of the dem ands presented by critical reasoning questions; they m ay not be as bad as you think!

Th e to p -five p ro fe s s io n al le ve l n u m e rical te s ts u s e d by e m p lo ye rs A good test-taking technique is to always ask an em ployer which test they use – it is best practice for test users to provide this kind of inform ation so don’t take no for an answer! Once you know which test the em ployer uses you can find out m ore about the assessm ent by looking at the test publisher’s website; this m ay also provide additional practice questions. If you are asked to com plete a high-level num erical test in the UK it is likely to be one of the top-five used by em ployers. These are briefly described below along with som e advice on where you can find out m ore.

1. SH L Ve rify Ability Te s ts SHL are the m ost widely used test publisher by em ployers in the UK so you are likely to com e up against their assessm ents when going for a job. SHL’s professional level num erical test is drawn from their Verify series. The num erical test has a tim e lim it between 17-25 m inutes and you will need to work quickly to get through all the questions. You can find out m ore about the test on SHL’s website (SHL.com ). 2 . U to p ia n u m e rical critical-re as o n in g te s t This test is published by Criterion Partnership and contains num erical inform ation relating to an environm ental them e, but you don’t need prior knowledge of green issues to perform well in the test. The www.AssessmentDay.co.uk

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Num erical Reasoning Tests: How to Give Yourself the Edge

num erical test consists of 30 questions and you have a generous 45 m inutes tim e-lim it; m ost people attem pt all of the test questions within the tim e lim it, but beware because the questions get progressively harder. More inform ation about the test and practice questions can be found at the Criterion Partnership website (criterionpartnership.co.uk). Criterion have also published a book for test for people taking a num erical test, which is available through Am azon: “Practise and Pass - Professional: Num eracy Tests” by Alan Redm an.

3 . Grad u ate -Man age m e n t As s e s s m e n t ( GMA) This is a very old num erical test published by Previsor; its age m eans that a lot of em ployers still use it, especially in the public sector and civil service. The test has 33 questions and a tim e lim it of 30 m inutes, which m eans that m ost candidates do not get tim e to attem pt all the questions. You can find out m ore at previsor.co.uk.

4 . In fin ity Se rie s Man age rial an d Grad u ate Ability Te s ts This online test series is relatively new and so is not used in such a widespread way as those in the top 3, but its use m ay spread with tim e. The test varies the num ber of questions each candidate takes by taking your answers to the previous questions into account. The num erical test has around 20 questions and the tim e lim it is 22 m inutes (though this varies with the num ber of questions the test decides to give you). You can learn m ore at kenexa.com .

5. Be s p o ke n u m e rical te s ts Many larger em ployers, who deal with thousands of assessm ents each year, will use a bespoke num erical test that has been developed specifically for them . Bespoke tests have the advantage of containing subject m atter that is specific to the role, which gives candidates a helpful insight into the types of num erical dem ands they m ight face in the job. Bespoke tests also contain questions that won’t be found in off-the-shelf tests. The em ployer should still provide you with inform ation about the test. For practice questions you should use the Assessm entDay.co.uk website.

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Section 2: Becom e a testtaking black belt

Num erical Reasoning Tests: How to Give Yourself the Edge

Section 2: Becom e a test-taking black-belt When you’re taking a num erical test, it’s not all about m axim um effort; it’s about the right kind of effort in the right places. This section introduces you to the advanced test taking strategies you will develop to ensure that your test score is not dragged down by errors, slips and poor technique. Test-taking black-belts achieve their high scores by applying the num erical abilities they have developed through practice using the sharpest strategies. This section includes: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

How strategies m ake the difference to your score Preparing for your test Tim ing and pacing - when to race and when to pause Focus, nerves and concentration Avoiding stupid m istakes Why not cheat? Online testing vs. paper and pencil tests

he conventional approach to increasing your score on a num erical test involves com pleting lots of practice questions. This can certainly help you to develop your num erical ability and increase your fam iliarity with test questions and confidence when taking a real test.

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But if you really want to grow your test score to its m axim um you need to ensure that your practicing is partnered by a focus on the developm ent of your test-taking strategies. The only way to lift your test perform ance to its highest level is to m ake sure that your num erical ability is not let down by poor test-taking habits.

H o w s trate gie s m ake th e d iffe re n ce to yo u r s co re Two candidates can have equal levels of num erical ability, but one candidate can score significantly higher on a num erical test than the other. Why is this? Differences we see in people’s test scores are often down to factors unrelated to their num erical ability, such as: www.AssessmentDay.co.uk

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Num erical Reasoning Tests: How to Give Yourself the Edge

• • • •

Lack of fam iliarity with test taking Poor tim ing Stupid m istakes Nerves and anxiety

Candidates with high scores tend to posses high levels of num erical ability com bined with effective test-taking strategies. These test-taking black belts know that when you’re taking a num erical test, it’s not all about m axim um effort; it’s about the right kind of effort in the right places. This section introduces you to the advanced test-taking strategies you will develop to ensure that your test score is not dragged down by errors, slips and poor technique. Test-taking black-belts achieve their high scores by applying the num erical abilities they have developed through practice using the sharpest strategies. This section describes the winning strategies that can m ake a real difference to your num erical test perform ance.

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