Wonderlic

About the Wonderlic Exam

The Wonderlic exam is a popular cognitive ability test designed to measure general intelligence and problem-solving skills. It is used by employers, colleges, universities, and organizations to help evaluate candidates.

There are a couple of different Wonderlic exams, but the main version people think of is the Wonderlic Cognitive Ability Test (formerly known as the Wonderlic Personnel Test).

Types of Wonderlic Exams

There are several different types of Wonderlic assessments you may be asked to take. The version you take will depend on your employer / school and what they require.

Wonderlic Select

This is the most in-depth assessment as it involves a cognitive portion, motivation portion, and a personality portion. The Wonderlic Select evaluates candidates on the following:

• Cognitive Ability: 50 Questions
• Motivation: 58 Questions
• Personality: 150 Questions

The cognitive ability portion of the exam will be timed (12 minutes). The other two sections are not timed.

Wonderlic Cognitive Ability Test

The cognitive ability test is used by employers to evaluate a candidate’s problem solving, reasoning, and learning ability.

The cognitive ability test includes:

• Questions: 50
• Time Limit: 12 Minutes

The cognitive ability test is part of the Wonderlic Select assessment, but employers can choose to only administer the cognitive ability section if they choose.

The Wonderlic Cognitive Ability Test is associated with the Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT), which was Wonderlic’s traditional cognitive ability assessment.

Wonderlic Cognitive Ability questions can be grouped into 4 categories of questions:

• English Knowledge
• Math
• Logic
• General Knowledge / Quick Recognition

Take a Wonderlic practice test to get a better idea of what to expect.

Wonderlic Personality Test

This exam is designed to give a future employer insight into how you will behave on the job and whether you will be a good fit or not. There are five areas your employer can measure with this version:

• Cooperation
• Dependability
• Stress Tolerance
• Sociability
• Open-mindedness

It is important to answer questions as honestly as possible with this test as there are no right or wrong answers.

Wonderlic Motivation Test

This exam is designed to give a future employer insight into your interests and see what motivates you the most. Six characteristics make up your results:

• Practical
• Investigative
• Artistic
• Supportive
• Enterprising
• Traditional

There are also no right or wrong answers in this test, so be as honest as possible.

Wonderlic Scholastic Level Examination (SLE)

This exam is very similar to the Cognitive Ability test listed above. The main difference is this version is administered by colleges and universities who are evaluating prospective students.

Within this exam, there are 2 versions:

• SLE: 50 Questions, 12 Minutes
• SLE-Q: 30 Questions, 8 Minutes

This exam covers 4 categories of questions:

• English Knowledge
• Math
• Logic
• General Knowledge / Quick Recognition

Take a Wonderlic SLE practice exam to get a better idea of what to expect.

How is the Wonderlic Exam Scored?

The traditional Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT) used a straightforward 0-50 scoring system. One point was awarded for a correct answer and zero points for an incorrect answer.

The updated Wonderlic Select uses a more advanced scoring system and algorithm for the cognitive ability portion. It now takes into considerations things like question difficulty, response patterns, and the impact of guessing.

Learn more about Wonderlic scoring.