Wonderlic Personnel Test

Handbook for Candidates

Table of Contents

• Description of the Wonderlic Personnel Test
• Tips on Preparing for the test
• Tips for the day of the test
• Tips when taking the test
• After the test
• Sample Test Questions

Description of the Wonderlic Personnel Test

The Wonderlic Personnel Test is a short form test of general cognitive ability and has been used worldwide since 1937. Cognitive ability is often referred to as general intelligence and is used to describe the level at which an individual learns, understands instructions and solves problems.

The Wonderlic Personnel Test contains 50 questions that increase in difficulty and must be completed within 12 minutes. It contains various types of questions that must be completed without the aid of a calculator or other problem-solving device. The questions include word comparisons, disarranged sentences, sentence parallelism, following directions, number comparisons, number series, analysis of geometric figures and story problems requiring either mathematics or logic solutions.

Tips on Preparing for the test

• If you have a disability that could affect your test performance you must inform the responsible Human Resources Advisor, as soon as possible, so appropriate accommodations can be made.
• Review basic math skills such as the use of fractions and decimals; algebra and basic math problems
• Review vocabulary skills and logic
• Practice taking tests, under timed conditions, to become more accustomed to time pressures.
• Determine the exact location, date, and time of the test.

• If you do not feel well on the day of the test and find that this will impact on your test results, inform the responsible Human Resources Advisor to make alternate arrangements if possible.
• Arrive in plenty of time so that you do not feel rushed or overly stressed. You will not be admitted to the testing room once the testing session is in progress.
• Bring a photo ID card, your PRI (for CRA employees only) or applicant number (for non-CRA candidates) with you at the testing session.

• Read the instructions thoroughly and completely before you begin.
• It is unlikely that you will finish the test but try to answer as many questions as you can. You are given 1 point for each correct answer and you do not lose any points for incorrect answers.
• Read the question thoroughly. Make sure you understand what the question is asking before answering.
• Try to determine an answer before you look at the choices, if there are any, but make sure you read all of the choices before identifying a final answer. If you are not sure of the answer, eliminate those that do not apply first. From the remaining responses, make your choice. If you are uncertain, take your best guess. There is no penalty for incorrect answers.
• Make sure that you write your answers in the brackets as indicated on your test sheet. Answers that are not in the brackets provided will be considered incorrect.
• Work quickly and do not spend too much time on one question. If you are undecided after reviewing the answers, move to the next question. When you have finished, return to the questions you skipped.
• Review your work if you have finished the exercise before the time limit. This is time well spent.

• When the test is over, the test booklet and the Background Information sheet is sent to RSAS for scoring.
• You will receive the test results in writing within a few weeks of writing the test.
• Your score is valid for an indefinite period of time provided that the test standards do not change. If the test standards change, you may be asked to complete a different test to re-establish your level of proficiency.
• If you do not achieve the score you were seeking, you may rewrite the test after a period of 180 days.
• Since the Wonderlic Personnel Test is a standardized assessment tool, you are not allowed to discuss or share its content. Failure to comply with this regulation and/or engaging in a fraudulent practice will result in disciplinary action.

Sample Test Questions

1. Look at the row of numbers below. What number should come next?
   
   

   8

   4

   2

   1

   ½

   ¼

   ?

   
   
2. Assume the first 2 statements are true. Is the final one?
   
   
   1. true
   2. false
   3. not certain?

   The boy plays baseball. All baseball players wear hats. The boy wears a hat.

3. Paper sells for 21 cents per pad. What will 4 pads cost?
   
   
4. How many of the five pairs of items listed below are exact duplicates?
   
   

   Nieman, K.M	Neiman, K.M
   Thomas, G.K	Thomas, C.K
   Hoff, J.P.	Hoff, J.P.
   Pino, L.R.	Pina, L.R.
   Warner, T.S	Wanner, T.S

   
   
5. PRESENT PRESERVE -- Do these words
   
   
   1. Have similar meanings
   2. Have contradictory meanings
   3. Mean neither the same nor opposite?
   
   
6. One of the numbered figures in the following drawing is most different from the others. What is the number in that figure?
   
   
   
   
7. A train travels 20 feet in 1/5 second. At this same speed, how many feet will it travel in three seconds?
   
   
8. When rope is selling at $.10 a foot, how many feet can you buy for sixty cents?
   
   
9. The ninth month of the year is
   
   
   1. October
   2. January
   3. June
   4. September
   5. May
   
   
10. Which number in the following group of numbers represents the smallest amount?
    
    

    7

    .8

    31

    .33

    2

    
    
11. In printing an article of 48,000 words, a printer decides to use two sizes of type. Using the larger type, a printed page contains 1,800 words. Using smaller type, a page contains 2,400 words. The article is allotted 21 full pages in a magazine. How many pages must be in smaller type?
    
    
12. The hours of daylight and darkness in SEPTEMBER are nearest equal to the hours of daylight and darkness in:
    
    
    1. June
    2. March
    3. May
    4. November
    
    
13. Three individuals form a partnership and agree to divide the profits equally. X invests $9,000, Y invests $7,000, Z invests $4,000. If the profits are $4,800, how much less does X receive than if the profits were divided in proportion to the amount invested?
    
    
14. Assume the first two statements are true. Is the final one?
    
    
    1. true
    2. false
    3. not certain?

    Tom greeted Beth. Beth greeted Dawn. Tom did not greet Dawn.

15. A boy is 17 years old and his sister is twice as old. When the boy is 23 years old, what will be the age of his sister?

Answers:

1. 1/8
2. True
3. $0.84
4. 1
5. 3
6. 4
7. 300 feet
8. 6 feet
9. september
10. $0.33
11. 17
12. March
13. $560.00
14. Not certain
15. 40 years old