SHL numerical reasoning test practice

What the real test usually looks like

There is more than one SHL numerical reasoning test. The version depends on what your employer chose, and the invitation often names it. Here is what is reported for the main ones:

• Multiple choice: commonly reported by preparation sites as 16 questions in 20 minutes, each with four or five answer options and a calculator usually allowed (JobTestPrep).
• An older version: commonly reported as 18 questions in 25 minutes. JobTestPrep says it is becoming less common but that several employers still use it (JobTestPrep; Practice4Me).
• Verify Interactive Numerical Reasoning: SHL's fact sheet lists up to 10 questions in 18 minutes, adaptive, built for any device including phones. Instead of picking an answer, you may create charts and graphs or fill in spreadsheets (SHL fact sheet).

SHL's own product page for Verify Numerical Reasoning (Managerial and Professional) gives a completion time of 30 minutes, which probably includes the instructions, and describes the test as measuring your ability to make correct decisions or inferences from numerical or statistical data (SHL). Its practice page lists both an interactive, drag-and-drop version and a standard multiple choice version (SHL).

Calculator. Preparation sites commonly report that a simple calculator is allowed on most SHL numerical reasoning tests unless you are told otherwise (GraduatesFirst). Read your instructions to be sure.

What the questions look like. Each question gives you a table or chart of business figures: sales by region, costs by department, staff numbers, exchange rates. You use only the figures you need and pick the answer. Most questions come down to a few skills: percent change, shares of a total, ratios, converting currencies and projecting a trend.

How our full mocks work. Our mocks are in the style of SHL's multiple choice numerical reasoning test: 18 questions in 25 minutes on business tables, five options each, with a calculator allowed and no going back once you move on. They leave out the interactive version, where you build charts or fill tables, and they are not adaptive: everyone sees the same questions, while the real test adapts to your answers. If your invitation mentions both numbers and words, our general SHL-style practice test mixes the two.

Question types with worked examples

One worked example for each common question type, with the trap that catches most people.

1. Percent change. "Costs rose from $250,000 to $290,000. What is the percent increase?" The change is $40,000 on a starting $250,000: 40,000 / 250,000 = 16%. Trap: dividing by the newer figure, which gives about 13.8%. Always divide by the earlier one.

2. Share of a total. "Team A has 45 of the company's 300 staff. What percentage is that?" 45 / 300 = 15%. Trap: using the wrong total, such as one office instead of the whole company. Check what "all" means in the question.

3. Ratio. "A budget is split between marketing and research in the ratio 3:5. The total is $64,000. How much goes to research?" There are 3 + 5 = 8 parts, so one part is $8,000 and research gets 5 x $8,000 = $40,000. Trap: dividing by 5 instead of by the total number of parts.

4. Currency conversion. "If 1 pound buys 1.25 dollars, what is $500 in pounds?" Each pound buys more than a dollar, so the answer must be smaller than 500: 500 / 1.25 = 400 pounds. Trap: multiplying, which gives 625. Decide first whether the answer should be bigger or smaller.

5. Projection. "Sales were 2,000 last year and rose 10% this year to 2,200. If growth continues at the same rate, what will they be next year?" 2,200 x 1.10 = 2,420. Trap: adding the same 200 again, which gives 2,400. A steady percentage rise grows by a little more each year.

6. Two figures together. "Orders rose 20% and the average order value fell 10%. What happened to revenue?" Multiply the factors: 1.20 x 0.90 = 1.08, a rise of 8%. Trap: subtracting 10 from 20 and getting 10%. Our percentage questions guide covers more of these.

How to prepare

1. Find out which version it is. Multiple choice, interactive, or an older format: the timing and the way you answer differ. Your invitation or the employer's careers page often says.
2. Know your pace. At 16 questions in 20 minutes you have 75 seconds each; at 18 in 25 minutes, about 83 seconds. If one question passes double its share, choose your best answer and move on.
3. Practice with the calculator you will use. A calculator you know is faster. If the test shows one on screen, practice with an on-screen calculator.
4. Read the question before the table. Then find only the figures you need. Tables carry far more data than one question uses.
5. Check the units. "$ thousands", "millions" and percentages in the headers are where many wrong options come from.
6. Estimate before you calculate. A rough answer rules out most options and catches slips with the decimal point.
7. Drill the five core skills. Percent change, shares, ratios, currency conversion and projections. Our numerical reasoning test and ratio questions guide give more practice.
8. Take full timed mocks. Twenty minutes or more of table questions is tiring in a way ten questions are not. Practice at the full length so the pace feels normal.

How scoring usually works

SHL does not publish a pass mark, and the employer decides how to use your result for each role. Preparation sites commonly report that SHL numerical scores are comparative: your score is compared with a large group of people who took the test before, and reported as a percentile, with five bands from A to E (JobTestPrep).

• Raw score: the number of questions you answered correctly.
• Percentile: where that score sits in the comparison group. The 70th percentile means you scored higher than about 70% of the group.
• Comparison group: the people you are compared with. The same raw score can give a different percentile against a different group.
• Adaptive versions: SHL describes its interactive numerical test as adaptive, which it says gives a more precise score (SHL fact sheet). In an adaptive test the questions change with your answers, so the difficulty of what you answered counts, not just how many.

Results usually go to the employer rather than to you, so ask the recruiter if you would like feedback. Our SHL scores guide explains SHL's reports in more detail.

Our practice score is the number of our own questions you answered correctly, with a breakdown by question type. It is a practice score: it is not an SHL score, percentile or cut-off, and it does not predict whether you will pass.

Common mistakes on SHL-style numerical reasoning

• Dividing by the wrong figure. Percent change is the change divided by the earlier value, every time.
• Missing the units. A table in $ thousands turns 3,040 into $3,040,000. Many wrong options are the right digits in the wrong unit.
• Converting currency the wrong way. Ask whether the answer should be bigger or smaller before you multiply or divide.
• Adding instead of compounding. A steady percentage rise is not the same as adding the same amount each period.
• Mixing up rows. With three regions and two years, it is easy to read the right number from the wrong row. Put a finger on the screen, or note the figures on paper first.
• Calculating everything exactly. When the options are far apart, a rounded estimate is enough and saves time.

A one-week study plan

About 30 to 45 minutes a day. If your test is in two days, do days 1, 4 and 6.

• Day 1: Take the free sample above and note which question types cost you the most time.
• Day 2: Percent change and shares of a total, 20 questions, with the percentage questions guide.
• Day 3: Ratios and currency conversion, 20 questions, checking each answer for size before you calculate.
• Day 4: A full SHL-style numerical mock at the real pace. Review every miss and every slow question.
• Day 5: Projections and two-step questions, where two figures change at once.
• Day 6: A second full mock. Compare your score and your time with day 4.
• Day 7: Light review, check your invitation for the calculator rule, and set up your calculator, pen and paper.