Numerical reasoning tests: what they are and how to pass

Last updated 26 August 2026 · Capply team

What the test looks like

You are shown a data source, usually a table, a bar or line chart, or a short block of text with figures in it, and asked a multiple-choice question about it. Most graduate tests give you roughly 45 to 90 seconds per question, and a calculator is normally allowed. Providers whose numerical tests you are likely to meet include SHL, Korn Ferry, Saville Assessment, Talogy and Aon. Their styles differ slightly, but the same core skills carry across all of them. (Capply is independent and not affiliated with any provider.)

The question types that come up again and again

• Percentage change: "Sales rose from £1.2m to £1.5m. What was the percentage increase?" Learn the difference between a percentage of a number and a percentage change between numbers cold.
• Reverse percentages: "After a 20% fall, revenue is £960k. What was it before?" The trap answer (£1,152k, adding 20% back) is always one of the options.
• Ratios and proportions: splitting amounts by a ratio, or scaling a figure from one group to another.
• Currency conversion: converting through an exchange rate, sometimes twice, and knowing which direction to divide.
• Weighted averages and totals: combining figures across rows or categories, where the trap is averaging the averages.
• Reading the right series: multi-line charts and multi-column tables where the real skill is selecting the right row, column or line before any maths starts.

The traps that cost the most marks

• Units and scale: the chart is in thousands, the answers are in millions. Check the axis label every single time.
• The wrong base: percentage change is always measured against the starting value. The distractor calculated from the final value is always offered.
• Nearly-right options: answer options are generated from the mistakes people predictably make, so "it matches one of the options" is not evidence you are right.
• Perfectionism: spending three minutes on one hard question costs you two or three easier ones. Flag, guess, move on.

How to practise

Practise with the real formats, timed, and review every wrong answer to find which step failed: extraction, method or arithmetic. Most people discover their errors cluster in one or two categories, and fixing those categories moves their score more than any amount of general maths revision. Adaptive practice, which raises the difficulty as you improve, keeps every session productive. The full method is in our psychometric test prep guide.