NHS-style numeracy and literacy test

What the real test usually looks like

There is no single NHS numeracy and literacy test. The NHS is made up of many separate employers, and each one decides how to check applicants' everyday maths and English, if it checks them at all. An employer may use its own test, an online screening, or an assessment run by a local college or training provider. The length, the time limit, the level and whether you can use a calculator all vary. Your invitation, or the recruitment team, is the best guide to yours.

One public example. Cambridge University Hospitals says its healthcare support worker applicants need a good level of English and maths (GCSE Grade D / 3 equivalent). After the interview, applicants complete literacy and numeracy screening "to assess the level you are working at and put in any support needed". Applicants agree to have their contact details passed to the trust's Functional Skills college provider, which registers them for the literacy and numeracy diagnostic assessment (CUH Careers). That page does not give a number of questions or a time limit.

Areas these screenings commonly cover:

• Numeracy: the 24-hour clock, fractions, percentages, ratios, simple measures (milliliters and liters, grams and kilograms) and reading simple tables.
• Literacy: spelling, punctuation, grammar, choosing the right word, and reading short notices, letters or instructions for their meaning.

These are everyday skills, not clinical ones. Nursing and midwifery drug calculation tests are a different kind of test, and our questions never give dosing advice.

What our mocks cover. Each full mock has 40 questions in 60 minutes: 20 numeracy questions, done without a calculator, then 20 literacy questions. Every question has four options, and you can go back and flag questions.

What our mocks leave out. Because each employer chooses its own test, no mock can match yours exactly. Ours does not include written tasks such as a letter or a short essay, and it assumes no calculator. If your employer has sent sample questions, use them alongside ours.

Question types with worked examples

One worked example for each common question type, with the trap most people fall into.

1. The 24-hour clock. A shift starts at 07:30 and lasts 12 hours and 30 minutes. It ends at 20:00. Trap: writing 8:00 when the question asks for 24-hour time. Times after noon add 12 to the hour.

2. Fractions. Two fifths of 45 people on a training course are new staff. One fifth is 45 / 5 = 9, so two fifths is 18. Trap: stopping at one fifth (9), or answering with the other three fifths (27).

3. Percentages without a calculator. What is 15% of 60? 10% is 6 and 5% is 3, so 15% is 9. Trap: reaching for a long method. Build percentages from 10%, 5% and 1%.

4. Measures. Change everything to the same unit before adding. 1.2 kg + 450 g is 1,200 g + 450 g = 1,650 g, or 1.65 kg. Trap: adding 1.2 and 450 as if they were the same unit.

5. Spelling. Words like "necessary" (one c, double s), "receive" (e before i after c) and "separate" (a in the middle) come up often. Trap: choosing the version that looks familiar from quick typing. Check letter by letter.

6. Reading a notice. Read the whole notice before the options. Most questions turn on a date, a time or a condition such as "after" or "unless". Trap: answering from what you expect a hospital to do instead of what the notice says.

How to prepare

1. Ask what your test involves. Your invitation or the recruitment team can tell you whether it is on paper or online, how long it takes and whether a calculator is allowed. Formats vary too much to assume.
2. Brush up on mental arithmetic. Times tables, halving and doubling, and building percentages from 10% make most numeracy questions quick without a calculator.
3. Practice the 24-hour clock. Convert times both ways and add and subtract minutes across the hour.
4. Know your measures. 1,000 ml in a liter, 1,000 g in a kilogram. Change to one unit before you add.
5. Keep a list of words you misspell. Practice them in short sentences. Watch apostrophes in plurals and in "its" and "it's".
6. Read notices for detail. Underline dates, times and conditions before you choose an answer.
7. Practice at a steady pace. Take a full mock of 40 questions in 60 minutes so the length feels normal, then review every explanation, including for the questions you got right.
8. Remember what the screening is for. At Cambridge University Hospitals, for example, it is used to find the level you are working at and any support you need (CUH Careers). Do your best, and stay calm.

How scoring usually works

Scoring depends on the employer. There is no national scale and no single pass mark. An employer may use the result to help decide on a role, to plan training and support, or both. Cambridge University Hospitals, for example, says its screening is to "assess the level you are working at and put in any support needed", and asks for English and maths at about GCSE Grade D / 3 level (CUH Careers). Your invitation should explain how your result is used.

Our practice score is the number of our own questions you answered correctly, with a breakdown for numeracy and literacy, so you can see where to focus. It is a practice score: it is not a score from any NHS employer or training provider, and it does not predict whether you will pass.

Common mistakes on numeracy and literacy screenings

• Mixing units. Adding liters to milliliters, or grams to kilograms, without converting first.
• Answering the other half. Giving the number used when the question asks how many are left.
• Counting time wrongly across the hour. 14:10 minus 25 minutes is 13:45: take 10 minutes to reach 14:00, then 15 more.
• Using "less" for things you can count. Fewer patients, less time.
• Apostrophes in plurals. "Medicines", not "medicine's".
• Skimming the notice. Missing a start date or an "after" can change the answer.

A one-week study plan

• Day 1: Take the free sample above. Note whether numeracy or literacy cost you more.
• Day 2: Mental arithmetic: times tables, fractions and percentages from 10%.
• Day 3: The 24-hour clock and measures. Twenty quick conversions.
• Day 4: A full timed mock. Review every explanation.
• Day 5: Spelling, punctuation and commonly confused words from your mock.
• Day 6: A second mock. Compare your numeracy and literacy scores with the first.
• Day 7: A short review in the morning, then rest. Check the time and place of your screening.