Named tests
The PI Cognitive Assessment
In short
The PI Cognitive Assessment is a timed workplace test from The Predictive Index: 50 questions in 12 minutes covering simple math, basic logic and language comprehension. The score is the number of questions answered correctly in the time allowed, with Verbal, Numeric and Abstract Reasoning subscores. PI also offers 18 and 24-minute versions and allows up to three attempts.
Want your own number? The test is 25 visual puzzles, about 12 minutes, no sign-up.
What the PI Cognitive Assessment measures
The Predictive Index describes its cognitive assessment as a 50-question, 12-minute timed test covering simple math, basic logic and language comprehension (Predictive Index: Cognitive Assessment). Results come with three subscores:
| Subscore | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Verbal | Understanding and reasoning with language |
| Numeric | Simple math and number reasoning |
| Abstract Reasoning | Basic logic problems |
Source for the subscores: PI's help documentation (Predictive Index: Cognitive Assessment). The descriptions are plain-language summaries.
Format and timing
The standard version gives 12 minutes for 50 questions, about 14 seconds each. PI also offers 12, 18 and 24-minute versions and allows up to three attempts (Predictive Index: Cognitive Assessment). At 14 seconds a question, it helps to move on from a question that is taking too long.
How the score works
The PI cognitive score is set by the number of questions answered correctly in the time allowed (Predictive Index: Cognitive Assessment). The score counts correct answers within the limit. The three subscores show where those correct answers came from.
PI's help article does not publish a universal pass mark, and the employer decides how scores are used for a role. If you are asked what score you need, the employer is the only one who can answer.
PI vs CCAT vs Wonderlic
| Test | Questions | Standard time | What is reported |
|---|---|---|---|
| PI Cognitive Assessment | 50 | 12 minutes | Number correct, plus Verbal, Numeric, Abstract subscores |
| CCAT | 50 | 15 minutes | Raw score and percentile |
| Wonderlic Select (cognitive section) | 50 | 12 minutes | No single numerical score |
Sources: PI (Predictive Index: Cognitive Assessment), Criteria (Criteria: CCAT prep), Wonderlic (Wonderlic: FAQ).
Criteria's UCAT is a useful contrast: 40 multiple-choice questions in 20 minutes, no verbal questions, and a raw score with a percentile ranking (Criteria: UCAT). The PI keeps a verbal subscore, so language comprehension counts.
Retakes: up to three attempts
PI allows up to three attempts (Predictive Index: Cognitive Assessment). That matters for reading a second score. Across studies, retaking a cognitive ability test raised scores by about a quarter of a standard deviation on average, and more when the same form was reused (Hausknecht et al., 2007). A higher second score can reflect familiarity with the format as much as any change in ability, so an employer comparing candidates may want to know which attempt a score came from.
How it compares with an IQ test
The PI is a hiring test scored by number correct, not an age-normed IQ test given by a psychologist. On the research side, a meta-analysis of 85 years of personnel research estimated the validity of general mental ability for predicting job performance at 0.51 (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). That is not a finding about the PI specifically. See IQ test vs aptitude test for the wider differences.
How to practice
Because familiarity raises scores, as noted above, short timed practice before the real thing is reasonable. Our free PI-style practice set has 10 original questions at 30 seconds each, and the number series puzzles help with quick numeric reasoning. They are not PI items, and no IQ Octopus score predicts a PI result.
IQ Octopus is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Predictive Index or any other publisher named here. Test names are used only to identify and describe the tests. Our free practice tests are not copies of any published test, and no score on IQ Octopus predicts a score on another test.
Try one · Quantitative Reasoning
Which number comes next?
2, 58, 5, 56, 8, ?
Tap the option you think is right, or show the answer.
Show the answer
The next number is 54 (option 3).
How to solve it
- The gaps jump around, so look at every other number.
- The 1st, 3rd, 5th numbers (2, 5, 8) go up by 3 each time.
- The 2nd, 4th, 6th numbers (58, 56) go down by 2 each time.
- The missing number continues the second series: 56 - 2 = 54.
That was 1 puzzle. The full test has 25.
Sources
- The Predictive Index. What is the PI Cognitive Assessment? docs.predictiveindex.com/en/articles/10579885-what-is-the-pi-cognitive-assessment
- Criteria Corp. CCAT prep for candidates. www.criteriacorp.com/candidates/ccat-prep
- Criteria Corp help center. Universal Cognitive Aptitude Test (UCAT). criteriacorp.helpdocs.io/article/j1y2ae6axg-universal-cognitive-aptitude-test-ucat
- Wonderlic. Frequently asked questions about Wonderlic assessments. wonderlic.com/blog/candidates/frequently-asked-questions-about-wonderlic-assessments/
- Hausknecht, J. P., Halpert, J. A., Di Paolo, N. T., & Moriarty Gerrard, M. O. (2007). Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2), 373-385. doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.2.373
- Schmidt, F. L., & Hunter, J. E. (1998). Psychological Bulletin, 124(2), 262-274. doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.124.2.262