WonScore Test 2024: Practice Tips and Study Guide
Updated November 20, 2023
- What Is the WonScore?
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- WonScore Practice Test Questions
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- What Is a Good Score for the WonScore Test?
- How to Prepare for the WonScore Test in
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Final Thoughts
When candidates are looking to impress during job applications, acing the WonScore assessment makes a real difference.
This test has three sections that investigate cognitive ability, motivational forces and personality style.
Practicing WonScore sample test questions helps candidates prepare well and score highly so that they can impress prospective employers.
Learning these tips and techniques to speed up how you answer the questions during the test can help you do much better.
Ultimately, employers want to hire the best long-term match for any role – so understanding the WonScore assessment and how it works will help you become that perfect hire.
The WonScore assessment has been developed to help companies streamline their selection processes to find the most qualified potential candidates.
The tool was created by Wonderlic and can predict from a pool of applicants those who will be top-performers, as well as assess their strengths and weaknesses.
The way it works is that each employer inputs the important aspects they are looking for in the test software. The WonScore tool then utilizes this information, which is tailored for specific jobs.
It is particularly helpful for employers hiring for various roles across niches that all might have different requirements.
What Is the WonScore?
The Wonderlic WonScore test is typically made of three separate exams – these are:
- The Wonderlic Personnel Test
- The Wonderlic Motivation Potential Assessment
- The Wonderlic Personal Characteristics Inventory
According to Wonderlic, these tests, when taken together, are able to provide results more predictive and helpful to potential employers than resumes, interviews and single measurement assessments do.
Practice a WonScore Test with JobTestPrep
Wonderlic Personnel Test
The first test we will look at is the flagship one: the Wonderlic Personnel Test – also called the Wonderlic Cognitive Ability Test.
This is the closest to a traditional IQ test that people might be familiar with.
Over 12 minutes, it features 50 multiple-choice questions that assess the candidate’s ability to absorb, learn, retain information and solve problems.
(There is a shorter version of the assessment newly available too, known as the ‘Quick-test', which takes only eight minutes and contains just 30 questions).
Four different categories are tested:
- English knowledge
- Logic
- General knowledge/quick recognition
- Mathematics
Questions from each category are presented in random order – because time is limited, candidates will have to quickly adapt from type to type.
Mental agility definitely helps, but this can also be developed through repetition and doing WonScore test preparation.
The hardest part of this cognitive test is how quickly the time goes – so you may have to choose between speed and accuracy.
Don’t waste too much time on any single question – as you will have only 14 or 15 seconds per item. The more you practice, though, the better your confidence will get and your score will improve.
It’s unlikely that you will finish all the questions, so don’t fret if you can’t manage it. There is also no penalty for guessing answers, so it’s worth doing that for the questions you have run out of time for.
They are multiple-choice, so you will boost your score a little (by the law of averages) even if you’re merely guessing.
Wonderlic Motivation Potential Assessment
The second of the three WonScore tests is the Wonderlic Motivation Potential Assessment and it is used to test the motivations of job candidates as well as their particular interests.
This assessment consists of 58 forced-choice questions and usually takes candidates about 20 minutes to complete.
In this motivational section, every answer you give reveals some of who you are to employers so they can make better hiring decisions.
You must think about how you can show your potential employer that you’re capable of performing the role you are applying for and that your motivations match those needed in the job.
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Wonderlic Personal Characteristics Inventory
The final part of the WonScore is the Wonderlic Personal Characteristics Inventory.
It looks at the personality of the individual taking the test and assesses whether they would be a good fit for the employer in question, using their specific corporate cultural values.
There are 105 questions and are all based on the Big Five Personality Model from psychological research. (The Big Five are often known by the acronym OCEAN: Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism).
There is no time limit for the personality section – which is a good thing as you want to answer it carefully, like with all psychometric tests.
It is said that there is no right or wrong answer when taking this kind of test, but you must be continuously thinking of whether your personality is a good fit for the job and if you’re demonstrating this with your WonScore test answers.
Don’t underestimate the importance of having thought about this well in advance – so that you are sure you are only applying for roles that are a good fit for you.
WonScore Practice Test Questions
Here are some sample WonScore test questions from the three different sections of the WonScore:
Wonderlic Personnel/Cognitive Ability Test
Which of the following is the latest date?
a) Jan. 26, 1998
b) Feb. 22, 1989
c) Feb. 2, 1998
d) Jan. 17, 1998
e) Jan. 31, 1989
Which of the following is the biggest in diameter?
a) The moon
b) The sun
c) Pluto
d) Mars
e) A soccer ball
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A total of 33 minutes was spent washing 12 cars. How long would it take to wash 84 cars?
a) 189 minutes
b) 265 minutes
c) 211 minutes
d) 242 minutes
e) 231 minutes
Which of the following four responsibilities do you think you would most like to have at work?
a) Walking your colleague’s dog
b) Driving a tractor
c) Teaching new employees
d) Singing the national anthem
'I like trying new things, even if I might not be good at them.'
a) Strongly agree
b) Agree
c) Neither agree nor disagree
d) Disagree
e) Strongly disagree
What Is a Good Score for the WonScore Test?
Each section of the WonScore test is marked differently.
With regards to the Wonderlic Personnel/Cognitive Ability Test, the scoring is simply objective. An individual’s results out of 50 are counted and sorted into four categories compared to their peers:
- Weak
- Cautionary
- Moderate
- Strong
To be considered a serious candidate in your application, it’s generally recommended that you aim for the top – ‘Strong’ – category.
There are 50 questions in this cognitive section, but the average person only scores 20 answers correctly, because the timing is quite tight.
Above 25 (or around the 85th percentile would be considered a good, strong score.
Some technology or analyst roles will need a higher score (above 32), while other jobs will have a lower passing threshold – around 20 points (for example, a bank teller).
Prospective employers will decide the exact passing threshold for each particular role, but you want to score as highly as you possibly can to stand out.
You can research or ask ahead what the best or typical scores are for the role you are interested in, so that you are well-informed.
The personality and motivation tests are different to the cognitive one, though; they are not pass or fail tests.
In these sections, the potential employer will determine whether your WonScore test answers provided are a good match for the team and role they are recruiting for.
Some candidates might be tempted to manipulate their WonScore assessment answers towards what they think the organization is looking for, but this isn’t advised. The best outcome is for you to end up in a role you are truly suited to, so ideally you want to answer the personality and motivation tests truthfully.
If your recruiters are pleased with you, they will then begin interviews or perhaps start inviting candidates for the next stage or assessment center.
Each company will have a different way of moving forward after they receive your WonScore test results, so be sure to ask them what the next steps are.
Practice a WonScore Test with JobTestPrep
How to Prepare for the WonScore Test in
The WonScore is not meant to be an easy test. Industrial organizational psychologists and AI (artificial intelligence) scientists have built the WonScore to be as accurate as possible for employers to recruit effectively.
To make sure you succeed in turn, you want to put in as much effort as you can to prepare and do justice to this assessment.
Preparing themselves thoroughly for the WonScore test can ensure candidates have a successful job hunt.
There are numerous ways that a candidate can prepare for the WonScore test – here are some tips and tricks for you:
Step 1. Take WonScore Practice Tests
To ensure confidence and familiarity with the test question formats, it’s crucial to practice. You can do this wilth paid for or free WonScore practice tests.
There are only 14 or 15 seconds to answer each question in the cognitive section, so being familiar with the style allows you to identify what’s being asked and respond quickly.
Wonderlic also advises doing the prep and the actual tests at home, since it is a more controlled environment, versus a public space which can be distracting or noisy with unreliable internet connections.
Step 2. Learn Shortcuts
Because time is tight, particularly in the Personnel/Cognitive Ability Test, it’s worth having some shortcuts on hand to speed up the process of answering questions.
For instance, if a question is asking you to multiply a decimal by a set number, then you can round that number up, complete the multiplication faster and then find the closest match from the limited choices available.
Similarly, time and distance questions can be sped up when you practice them and remember the key formulas.
Step 3. Practice Time Management
You should prepare for the WonScore assessment by managing your time well, and not just in the weeks coming up to the test when you are preparing.
During the actual assessment, there are only 14 or 15 seconds available to answer each question – and that includes your reading and checking time, so you have to be swift and efficient. This is where doing Wonderlic WonScore practice exam questions will come in handy.
Step 4. Learn Basic Skills
To help you perform better in the cognitive sections, you can learn or brush up on basic skills like your multiplication tables, simple sums, etc, in advance.
This will help improve the speed of your calculations. During your preparation, you should also take the time to think about your personality and how it fits to the job role you are applying for – this will ensure you are primed to answer the personality and motivational sections most appropriately.
Step 5. Rest
Like with any stressful experience, feeling physically at your best helps. You should ensure you’ve had a good rest before you take the WonScore.
Making sure you are well hydrated and have had a protein-rich breakfast can also help focus the mind.
The WonScore assessment is typically made of three separate exams – these are the Wonderlic Personnel Test, the Wonderlic Motivation Potential Assessment and the Wonderlic Personal Characteristics Inventory. There are a total of 213 WonScore test questions spread over the three tests.
The first (Wonderlic Personnel Test) features 50 multiple-choice questions that assess the candidate’s ability to absorb, learn, retain information and solve problems over twelve minutes.
The second of the three (the Wonderlic Motivation Potential Assessment) consists of 58 forced-choice questions and usually takes candidates about 20 minutes to complete. The final part of the WonScore is the Wonderlic Personal Characteristics Inventory. It looks at the personality of the individual taking the test and has 105 questions.
The WonScore assessment can take approximately an hour to complete. It is typically made of three separate exams – these are the Wonderlic Personnel Test, the Wonderlic Motivation Potential Assessment and the Wonderlic Personal Characteristics Inventory.
There are a total of 213 questions spread over the three tests, but only the first 50 questions are timed (twelve minutes are given for this).
The second of the three (the Wonderlic Motivation Potential Assessment) consists of 58 forced-choice questions and usually takes candidates about 20 minutes to complete.
The final part of the WonScore is the Wonderlic Personal Characteristics Inventory. It looks at the personality of the individual taking the test and has 105 questions, which usually take about 25 to 30 minutes to finish.
The WonScore assessment has been developed to help companies streamline their selection processes to find the most qualified potential candidates.
It checks cognitive ability through the first section – the Wonderlic Personnel Test – and four different categories are tested within it: English Knowledge, Logic, General Knowledge/Quick Recognition and Mathematics.
The second of the three sections (the Wonderlic Motivation Potential Assessment) consists of 58 forced-choice questions and looks at the individual’s psychology and motivations around work.
They are looking to see if the answers match what is needed by the company the candidate is applying to.
The final part of the WonScore is the Wonderlic Personal Characteristics Inventory. It looks at the personality of the individual taking the test to work out whether they would be a good fit for the potential role and the organization too.
The WonScore is not meant to be an easy test. Industrial organizational psychologists and AI (artificial intelligence) scientists have built the WonScore to be as accurate as possible for employers to recruit effectively.
Preparing themselves thoroughly for the WonScore test can ensure candidates have a successful job hunt. Part of this is doing lots of practice in advance to build speed and confidence.
Another important way to prepare is to research the company and the role you are applying for to work out whether you would be a great fit.
Each section of the WonScore test is marked differently and not all of the sections are pass-or-fail.
With regard to the Wonderlic Personnel/Cognitive Ability Test, the scoring is objective, though. An individual’s results are sorted into four categories: Weak, Cautionary, Moderate and Strong.
To be considered a serious candidate in your application, it’s generally recommended that you aim for the top – ‘Strong’ – category.
Each company will have a different way of moving forward after they receive your test results, so be sure to ask them what the next steps are.
If they say you have failed, the company will have the choice of whether to invite you back to take a retest.
In general, Wonderlic has a lot of faith in their software and they discourage retests – unless it seems like there was a connectivity malfunction or if the results indicate a retest might be helpful.
It is worth noting that retest warnings are only given for two of the three sections – the cognitive and personality components of the WonScore.
Warnings are given when responses from the test taker may indicate questions were misunderstood or may impact a fair evaluation of the candidate.
Sometimes a retest encourages applicants to purposely reply differently to ‘pass’, and this can muddy the waters, so that’s another reason that retests are discouraged.
Some jobs will require a higher mark in the WonScore than others. This is easier to discuss in detail for the cognitive section since that’s the only part of the test that is pass/fail.
There are 50 questions in this cognitive section, but the average person only scores 20 answers correctly, because the timing is quite tight. Above 25 (or around the 85th percentile would be considered a strong score.
Each employer will set the passing score as they see fit. Some technology or analyst roles will need a higher score (above 32), while other jobs will have a lower passing threshold – around 20 points (for example, a bank teller).
Prospective employers will decide the exact passing threshold for each particular role. You can research or ask ahead what the best or typical scores are for the role you are interested in, so that you are well-informed.
Final Thoughts
The WonScore test helps companies choose the best candidates for their open positions by providing lots of data points that go above and beyond the old-fashioned resume and cover letter.
Wonderlic designs many tests that are helpful for employers during their recruitment process and it has been a leader in psychometric testing since 1937, so it is an expert in its field.
You can do lots of sample and free tests to do its WonScore assessment justice and score well – it’s a chance for you to show how well you have prepared.
While it might seem to favor the employer, the WonScore helps candidates too because it removes the reliance on bland resumes and the use of generic ‘buzzwords’ – instead it eliminates bias and allows candidates to showcase their actual talents.
Wonderlic says that it has designed a process that allows hiring based on your potential rather than certain privilege factors like your type/level of education or your years of industry-specific experience.
The WonScore can also protect candidates by matching them to a corporate culture that actually fits their personality and motivations – so they end up in jobs that are a great long-term fit.
In summary, the cognitive skills of candidates are tested by WonScore assessments, as well as their personality types and motivational styles, for a win-win situation.
