Whether you’re a student that’s about to send in their application to their college of choice or if you’re an aspiring professional that’s about to apply for their first job, there is a good chance that you will be asked to take a version of the Wonderlic Test.
This psychometric test, developed by Eldon Wonderlic back in the 1930s, is utilized by educational institutions and companies across various industries to see if the applicant has the cognitive abilities to succeed in their organization.
That being said, let’s take a closer look at the Wonderlic Test and why is it widely used across the country.
How Does It Work?
While there are many versions of the Wonderlic Test, most of them use a 50-item multiple choice format, the contents of which can be tailored or adjusted to suit the organization’s specific needs.
The subjects contained within range from reading comprehension and grammar-related questions to logical and numerical reasoning questions.
This is because the assessment is designed to function in the same way as an IQ test, hence the inclusion of such subjects.
What Makes the Wonderlic Test Challenging?
On its own, the Wonderlic isn’t that difficult because the questions are usually tailored for college-level individuals at most.
However, what makes it incredibly challenging, even for those who manage to practice and study for it, is its strict time limit.
You see, you are only only given 12 minutes to answer as much as you can from the 50-item test.
This means that you can only spare 14 seconds at most per question if you want to answer everything.
In the heat of the moment, this short time limit coupled with the 50-item exam can cause test-takers to panic, making them pick the wrong choices or make a number of miscalculations that accumulate over time, thus affecting their score in the end.
What Versions of the Wonderlic Can I Encounter?
Depending on the organization that you are planning, the specific version of the Wonderlic test that they may prescribe to you may vary.
In general, however, these are the ones that you are most likely to encounter as they are the ones that are most frequently used throughout the country:
- The Wonderlic Scholastic-Level Exam (SLE) – A version of the Wonderlic test that is specifically used as an alternative standardized entrance exam.
- The Wonderlic Cognitive Ability Test – Also known as the Wonderlic Personnel Test. This is seen as the ‘main’ version of the Wonderlic and has the standard 50-item test to be answered in 12 minutes.
- The Wonderlic Basic Skills Test (WBST) – A slightly different version of the Wonderlic and can be seen as the ‘easier’ one by many. Unlike the other Wonderlic Tests, gives the test-taker 40 minutes to answer a 90-question set divided into two parts: one for reading comprehension and language, and the other for numerical reasoning.
- The Wonderlic Perceptual Ability Test – This version of the Wonderlic Test is primarily used to confirm the perceptual ability of the candidate to succeed in tasks relating to bookkeeping, accounting, and data-entry positions. Here, questions will come in the form of error-checking or duplicate-finding.
Which Organizations Use the Wonderlic?
Any company or educational institution can use the Wonderlic as part of their admission or application process.
The Wonderlic Perceptual Ability Test is primarily used by banks and accounting firms in order to make sure that their applicants will not jeopardize the reputation of their organization by letting a simple typo or mistake slip by during the input process of every transaction.
How Do I Prepare for the Wonderlic Test?
Despite its challenging nature, the Wonderlic,like any other test, is something that anyone can prepare for.
Ideally, one can utilize a 50-item exam containing an equal or disproportionate number of questions from the various subjects contained in the actual wonderlic and they can then try to answer as many questions as they can.
However, for those who want to secure their dream job or college application, there are many online resources, both paid and free, that they can use as these resources frequently contain Wonderlic practice tests.
These tests are specially curated to mimic what you can expect to encounter in the actual Wonderlic, allowing you to prepare yourself efficiently and properly.
With a bit of luck and preparation, even you can pass the Wonderlic Test!
young woman studying -DepositPhotos
