Updated April 2026 · 11 min read · WonScore, Wonderlic Select, and the classic 50-question Wonderlic Personnel Test
| Company | Wonderlic, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Schaumburg, Illinois, USA |
| Core products | Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT) · WonScore · Wonderlic Select |
| Classic WPT format | 50 questions · 12 minutes · All question types mixed |
| Major use cases | US corporate hiring, emergency services, retail management, logistics, NFL Scouting Combine |
| Score range | 0–50 (raw); typical graduate benchmark is 28–30 |
Wonderlic is one of the oldest and most recognisable cognitive ability assessments in the United States. The Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT) — 50 mixed questions in 12 minutes — is famous for being used at the NFL Scouting Combine to assess player cognitive ability. In corporate hiring, Wonderlic is widely used by retail chains, logistics companies, financial services firms, and emergency services organisations in the US and Canada. The WonScore platform is a modern successor combining cognitive ability (Wonderlic Cognitive Ability test, or WCA), motivation, and personality into a composite hiring score.
50 questions in 12 minutes — exactly 14.4 seconds per question on average. Questions are short, varied, and presented in a fixed order that roughly increases in difficulty. Question types:
| Type | Approximate % | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal reasoning | ~30% | Word analogies ("Hot is to cold as large is to ___?"), sentence arrangement, word definitions |
| Numerical reasoning | ~30% | Arithmetic, percentages, ratio, fractions, basic algebra, number series |
| Abstract/spatial | ~20% | Shape analogies, pattern completion, visual reasoning |
| General knowledge | ~20% | Vocabulary, general logic questions, common knowledge |
The WPT does not separate question types — they appear in random order. This is the test's most distinctive feature: you might get a shape analogy, then a percentage calculation, then a word definition, then a number series. The cognitive switching required to shift between question types rapidly is itself part of what is being measured.
| Role category | Typical benchmark score |
|---|---|
| Professional / graduate roles | 28–32 |
| Managerial roles | 25–30 |
| Sales representative | 22–26 |
| Clerical/administrative | 18–22 |
| Trades and skilled labour | 15–20 |
Average score for the general working population: approximately 21. A score of 28 puts you in approximately the 70th percentile. For graduate-level roles, most employers set a minimum of 28–30. The maximum possible score is 50, but very few candidates achieve above 40 in the 12-minute window.
WonScore combines three components: the Wonderlic Cognitive Ability (WCA) test (an updated version of the WPT), a motivation questionnaire (what drives you, what kind of work environment you prefer), and a personality questionnaire (Big Five dimensions). The WCA is 30 questions in 8 minutes (same format, shorter). The composite WonScore is reported as a single number (0–100) combining all three components. Employers set minimum WonScores rather than minimum WCA scores.
Wonderlic tests are designed to be fast and broad — 12 to 50 questions in 10 to 20 minutes, mixing numerical, verbal, spatial, and basic logic. The expectation is that nobody finishes all questions.
Q. A train leaves station A at 9:00 travelling at 60 km/h. Another leaves station B at 9:30 travelling at 80 km/h in the opposite direction. The stations are 200 km apart. At what time do the trains meet?
By 9:30 the first train has covered 30 km, leaving 170 km between them. Combined closing speed: 140 km/h. Time to cover 170 km: 170 ÷ 140 ≈ 1.21 h ≈ 1h 13m. Meeting time: 10:43.
The trick is not the maths — it's doing the maths in under 30 seconds while resisting the urge to draw diagrams.
Wonderlic tests run roughly 30 seconds per question on average. Unlike SHL Verify, you're not expected to finish — the test measures both accuracy and throughput.
If you want a shortcut: TestSolve reads each test question on your screen and sends the answer to your phone in about 5 seconds. Free first solve, no signup. Pricing.
These companies commonly include Wonderlic assessments in their hiring process.