Named tests
Raven's Progressive Matrices
In short
Raven’s Progressive Matrices is a nonverbal test of pattern reasoning, first published by John C. Raven in 1938 and now sold by Pearson. Each item is a grid with a missing piece. The classic line has three forms: Coloured for young children, Standard for ages 6 and up, and Advanced for high ability. Results are reported as percentiles.
Want your own number? The test is 25 visual puzzles, about 12 minutes, no sign-up.
What the test measures
John C. Raven developed the matrices in the 1930s and first published them in 1938. They are nonverbal matrix puzzles, widely used as a measure of fluid, culture-reduced reasoning (Wikipedia: Raven's Progressive Matrices). Each item shows a pattern with a piece missing, and the test taker picks the piece that completes it. Answering needs no reading or vocabulary. The matrix reasoning guide explains the kinds of rules these puzzles use.
The three classic forms
Pearson's classic Raven's line has three levels, each aimed at a different part of the ability range (Pearson: Raven's brochure). The Coloured form is the easy level that spreads out the scores of the bottom 20 percent, and the Advanced form is the hard level that spreads out the top 20 percent.
| Form | Ages (Pearson) | Items | Typical time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) | 5:0 to 11:11 | 36 (sets A, Ab, B) | 15 to 30 minutes |
| Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) | 6:0 to 16:0 and 17+ | 60 (five sets of 12) | 20 to 45 minutes |
| Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) | 12:0 to 16:0 and 17+ | 48 (sets of 12 and 36) | 40 to 60 minutes |
Ages and times come from Pearson (Pearson: Raven's brochure). The item counts come from research papers rather than the publisher: the Standard form (Bilker et al., 2012), the Advanced form (Srivastava et al., 2023) and the Coloured form (Yip et al., 2025). The Standard form is presented in black and white (Bilker et al., 2012).
Format and scoring
Pearson lists the classic Raven's as untimed and given individually or in groups (Pearson: Raven's brochure). Results are reported as summary and detailed percentiles, not as a single IQ-style number (Pearson: Raven's brochure). Turning a percentile into an IQ-style number is a normal-curve conversion, and the percentile-to-IQ converter shows how that conversion works.
Raven's 2, the clinical edition
Pearson also sells Raven's 2 (Raven's Progressive Matrices, Clinical Edition) for ages 4 to 90, on paper or through Q-global. It reports a standard score and a percentile rank, and its digital forms are built from an item bank to limit overlap between test takers (Pearson: Raven's 2). A University of Oslo listing dates the American Raven's 2 to 2018, says its item bank holds over 300 items, and describes a 60-item paper version, a digital long form of 36 items for ages 4 to 8 and 48 for ages 9 to 69, and a 24-item digital short form (Univ. of Oslo: Raven's 2 listing).
How it compares with a full IQ test
A full battery such as the WAIS-5 samples verbal, spatial, memory and speed tasks. Raven's samples one kind of reasoning in depth. That makes it less dependent on language, but narrower. The Cattell Culture Fair test takes a similar nonverbal approach with four kinds of tasks.
How to practice matrix puzzles
Real Raven's items are not public, and we do not reproduce them. Our free matrices practice test and matrix puzzles use original, rule-generated matrix puzzles. They are not Raven's items, and an estimated IQ from IQ Octopus does not predict a Raven's percentile.
IQ Octopus is not affiliated with or endorsed by Pearson 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 · Abstract Reasoning
Which tile completes the grid?
Tap the option you think is right, or show the answer.
Show the answer
The missing tile has a large hatched diamond (option 5).
How to solve it
- Start with the first column and name what changes from tile to tile.
- Every row and every column contains each shape (pentagon, diamond and star) exactly once.
- Every row and every column contains each fill (hatched, solid and outline) exactly once.
- The size (large) stays the same in every tile.
- Check the rules on the second column, then apply them to the third.
- So the missing tile has a large hatched diamond.
That was 1 puzzle. The full test has 25.
Sources
- Raven's Progressive Matrices. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven%27s_Progressive_Matrices
- Pearson. Raven's Progressive Matrices brochure (CPM, SPM, APM). 2014. www.pearsonassessments.com/content/dam/school/global/clinical/us/assets/ravens/ravens-brochure.pdf
- Bilker, W. B., Hansen, J. A., Brensinger, C. M., Richard, J., Gur, R. E., & Gur, R. C. (2012). Development of abbreviated nine-item forms of the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices test. Assessment, 19(3), 354-369. doi:10.1177/1073191112446655 pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4410094/
- Srivastava, P., Jaarsveld, S., Sangani, K., et al. (2023). Verbal-analytical rather than visuo-spatial Raven's puzzle solving favors Raven's-like puzzle generation. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1205056. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1205056
- Yip, C. C. H., Wong, T. T., Wong, B. H. D., et al. (2025). Development and validation of a short form for the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices using a machine learning approach. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 43(3), 675-690. doi.org/10.1111/bjdp.12542
- Pearson Clinical Canada. Raven's Progressive Matrices, Clinical Edition (Raven's 2), product page. www.pearsonclinical.ca/store/en/p/P100008213
- University of Oslo, Department of Special Needs Education lab. Raven's Progressive Matrices Clinical Edition (Raven's 2) test listing. uv.uio.no/isp/english/about/oslo-spesialpedagogikk-og-laeringslab/lending-and-technical-services/lab-tester/ability-tests/raven%60s-progressive-matrices-clinical-edition-(raven%60s-2).pdf