📊 Numerical Reasoning Test

What a numerical reasoning test measures

A numerical reasoning test is not a maths exam. It asks how quickly and accurately you can pull a specific figure out of a chart or table, do one or two simple operations with it, and decide what the data does and does not support. The arithmetic itself rarely goes beyond percentages, ratios, fractions and simple averages. The difficulty comes from the time limit, from data that is deliberately busy, and from statements that are almost supported by the figures but not quite.

Employers commonly place a short numerical test early in a hiring process for finance, analyst, graduate and commercial roles, because it gives every applicant the same task under the same conditions and takes minutes rather than hours to sit. It is one filter among several: a CV screen, an interview and a work sample usually sit alongside it. Knowing the format in advance is what separates a calm attempt from a rushed one, which is exactly what practice under a running clock buys you.

The format on Job Tests Portal

The standard run on this page is 25 questions in 15 minutes, and you set both before you start. The duration selector offers 10, 15, 25 and 40 minutes; the length selector offers 10, 20, 30 and 50 questions. Each item shows business data — bar charts, line graphs, tables and pie charts covering revenue, costs, research spending and regional growth — with a statement underneath.

• Answer options are always the same three: True, False, or Cannot Say.
• One point per correct answer; anything you skip counts as incorrect.
• Mental arithmetic is the intent — the questions are built around interpretation, not long calculation.
• A worked explanation appears for every question when you review your run.

Question types, with worked examples

1. Percentage change

A table shows regional revenue of 240 million in Q1 and 300 million in Q2. Statement: revenue rose by more than 20% from Q1 to Q2.

Answer: True

Why: The rise is 300 - 240 = 60. As a share of the starting figure that is 60 / 240 = 0.25, or 25%, which is more than 20%. Always divide by the earlier figure: dividing by 300 gives 20% and flips the answer.

2. Ratio and proportion

A chart shows total revenue of 312 million and operating expenses of 78 million. Statement: operating expenses are exactly one quarter of revenue.

Answer: True

Why: 312 / 4 = 78, so the statement holds exactly. Testing the round fraction is faster than computing 78 / 312 as a decimal — if a statement offers a neat fraction, multiply it out and compare.

3. Cannot Say items

A pie chart breaks down research spending for 2024 only. Statement: automation received more research funding than any other category in 2025.

Answer: Cannot Say

Why: The chart carries no 2025 figures at all, so nothing in the data makes the statement true or false. Cannot Say is about the data in front of you, not about whether the claim sounds plausible.

A practice method for numerical reasoning

1. Read the statement first. It tells you which row, column or series you need, so you can ignore the rest of the chart instead of absorbing all of it.
2. Check the units and the scale. Thousands versus millions, and axes that start above zero, are the two most common traps in this format.
3. Estimate before you calculate. Round 312 to 300 and 78 to 80: the answer is near a quarter. If your exact figure lands far from the estimate, you mis-read a number.
4. Test the boundary, not the value. For “more than 20%” you only need to know whether the change clears 20% — 20% of 240 is 48, and the rise is 60, so it clears. That is faster than computing 25%.
5. Ask what the data omits. Before choosing True or False, confirm the chart actually covers the year, region and measure named in the statement. If it does not, the answer is Cannot Say.
6. Time-box every item. At 25 questions in 15 minutes you have roughly 35 seconds each. Move on at 45 seconds and come back rather than sinking two minutes into one chart.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

• Dividing by the wrong base. Percentage change is always measured against the earlier figure; percentage share is measured against the total.
• Bringing in outside knowledge. If you know the industry, you may “know” a statement is true. The only evidence that counts is the chart on screen.
• Treating Cannot Say as a fallback for hard items. It is a specific verdict: the data does not address the claim. Use it when the information is missing, not when the sums are awkward.
• Missing qualifiers. Words such as almost, at least, more than and combined change what has to be checked. Underline them mentally before you calculate.
• Leaving questions blank. Skipped items score zero, so a reasoned guess on the last few is always better than an empty answer.

Where to go next

• Start the numerical reasoning practice test — set your own timer and length, then review every explanation
• Numerical reasoning method guide — the full step-by-step approach in one place
• Formulas and shortcuts — the percentage, ratio and average shortcuts worth memorising
• Verbal Reasoning Test — the same True/False/Cannot Say logic applied to written passages
• Critical Thinking Test — evaluating evidence and arguments
• All cognitive and aptitude tests — browse the full catalogue