RANRA practice test

What the real test usually looks like

The RANRA is a two-part numerical reasoning test. Its full name is the Rust Advanced Numerical Reasoning Appraisal. The Buros Center for Testing lists it as published in 2001 to 2002 by Pearson Assessment, and records that the publisher told Buros in December 2021 that the test is out of print (Buros). Some employers still use it, so if your invitation names it, it is worth preparing for. NHS England's public health recruitment is one public example.

The two parts, as commonly reported by preparation sites (JobTestPrep):

• Comparison of quantities. You see two values, A and B, and choose one of four answers: A is greater, B is greater, they are equal, or there is not enough information to compare them.
• Sufficiency of information. You see a question and two numbered statements, and decide whether statement (1) alone, statement (2) alone, both together, each alone, or neither even together gives enough information to answer it. There are five choices, always in the same order.

One public example: NHS public health recruitment. NHS England's assessment centre for public health training includes the RANRA as its numerical reasoning paper, beside a critical thinking paper and a situational judgement test. It lists the RANRA at 40 minutes, and says no calculators, other stationery or paper are allowed; a wipeable board is given at the test center (NHS England). Pearson VUE's page for the same sitting describes the RANRA as 40 minutes, 32 questions (Pearson VUE). Other employers may set different rules, so check your invitation for the time and whether a calculator is allowed.

What our mocks cover. Our full mocks are in the style of the RANRA as Pearson VUE describes that sitting: 32 questions in 40 minutes, 16 comparison of quantities questions then 16 sufficiency of information questions, with the fixed answer choices above in their usual order. You can go back and flag questions. No calculator is needed, and none is offered. The RANRA has no picture-based part, so nothing of that kind is left out.

Question types with worked examples

One worked example for each part, with the trap most people fall into.

1. Comparison of quantities: the unknown that can go either way. x is a whole number between 1 and 10. Quantity A: x squared. Quantity B: 2x. If x is 1, A is 1 and B is 2, so B is greater. If x is 2, both are 4. If x is 3, A is 9 and B is 6, so A is greater. The answer is that the information is not enough to compare them. Trap: testing one convenient value. Always try the smallest value, the largest and a middle one before you commit.

2. Comparison of quantities: when you do not need the exact number. Quantity A: 49 x 51. Quantity B: 50 x 50. You do not need to multiply. 49 x 51 is (50 - 1)(50 + 1), which is 2,500 - 1, so B is greater by exactly 1. Trap: reaching for long multiplication. The test rewards seeing the structure, which also saves time when no calculator is allowed.

3. Sufficiency of information: the "each alone" answer. A rectangle is 12 cm long. What is its area? (1) Its width is 5 cm. (2) Its perimeter is 34 cm. From (1), the area is 12 x 5 = 60. From (2), 2 x (12 + width) = 34, so the width is 5 and the area is 60 again. Each statement alone is sufficient. Trap: answering "both together" because statement (2) feels like extra work. Test each statement on its own first.

4. Sufficiency of information: you never have to solve it. What was Lee's salary last year? (1) This year Lee earns $52,000. (2) This year's salary is 4% higher than last year's. Neither statement alone is enough, but together they are: last year's salary is 52,000 / 1.04. You can stop there. Whether the answer is a round number does not matter. Trap: doing the division. The question is only whether an answer can be found.

5. Sufficiency of information: the hidden second answer. x squared = 16. What is x? (1) x is a whole number. (2) x is greater than 0. From (1), x could be 4 or -4, so it is not enough. From (2), x must be 4. Statement (2) alone is sufficient, but (1) alone is not. Trap: forgetting negative numbers.

How to prepare

1. Read your invitation first. Check how long your sitting is, whether a calculator is allowed and whether you will have paper. At NHS England's public health assessment centre, for example, there is no calculator, no paper and a wipeable board instead (NHS England).
2. Learn the answer choices by heart. The four comparison choices and five sufficiency choices stay the same on every question. Knowing them cold saves you reading them each time.
3. Use a fixed routine for sufficiency questions. Test statement (1) alone, then (2) alone, then both together only if neither worked alone. That one routine picks out the right choice of the five every time.
4. Try several values for any unknown. For comparison questions with a letter, try a small number, a large number, zero, a fraction and a negative number, if the question allows them.
5. Rebuild your mental arithmetic. Practice percentages (10% and 5% are easy building blocks), fractions of whole numbers, simple speed, distance and time, and multiplying near round numbers.
6. Stop calculating once you can decide. You often only need to know which side is bigger, or whether an answer exists, not its exact value.
7. Practice at the real pace. 32 questions in 40 minutes, as listed for the NHS sitting, is 75 seconds a question (Pearson VUE). Take full timed mocks so that pace feels normal.

How scoring usually works

Results go to the employer or recruiter who invited you. We could not find a public description from the publisher of how RANRA scores are calculated or reported, so we do not state one here. Employers decide how they use the result, and there is no published pass mark that applies everywhere.

Our practice score is the number of our own questions you answered correctly, with a breakdown by part (comparison of quantities and sufficiency of information), so you can see where to focus. It is a practice score: it is not a RANRA score, percentile or cut-off, and it does not predict whether you will pass.

Common mistakes on RANRA-style questions

• Testing only one value. In comparison questions with an unknown, a single test value can hide the case where the answer flips. Try at least three.
• Forgetting zero, fractions and negatives. "x is a number" allows all of them. "x is a positive whole number" does not. Read the conditions carefully.
• Assuming percentage changes cancel. A rise of 20% and a fall of 20% leaves you below where you started.
• Choosing "both together" too fast. Many statements that look incomplete are enough on their own. Test each one alone first.
• Using facts from one statement when testing the other. When you check statement (2) alone, set statement (1) aside completely.
• Solving when you only need to decide. In sufficiency questions, once you know an answer can be found, move on.