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Practice the five-part critical thinking test that employers and graduate programs use: inference, recognizing assumptions, deduction, interpretation and evaluating arguments, in the real answer formats, against a 30-minute clock. Try 10 sample questions with answers first, then see your score out of 40 the moment you finish the full test. Taking the test and seeing your score is free; a detailed report and certificate are optional.
Instant score out of 40
A practice test, not an IQ test. Every question on this page and in the timed test was written by IQ Metrics. Your result is a score out of 40, never an IQ, and there is no percentile, because a fair percentile needs a large group of earlier test takers to compare with. IQ Metrics is not affiliated with Pearson, the Watson-Glaser test or any other test publisher.
Ten critical thinking practice questions, two from each part, easy first. Pick an answer to see if you are right and why each other answer is wrong. The clock starts on your first click: the full test gives you about 45 seconds a question, so aim to finish all ten in about 7 minutes. These ten are not in the timed test, so practicing them gives nothing away.
Passage: A gym added a 6 a.m. spin class in January. Each class has 20 bikes, and every class in January and February was fully booked, with people on a waiting list.
Statement: If the gym added a second 6 a.m. spin class, some people would sign up for it.
Using only the passage and common knowledge, how true is this inference?
Answer B: Probably true. Every class was full and people were waiting, so demand is higher than the 20 places. A second class would very likely attract some of them, but it has not been tried, so it is not certain.
Why the others are wrong:
Passage: A city's water company reported that average household water use fell by 8 percent last summer compared with the summer before. In May, the company had sent every household a leaflet with water-saving tips.
Statement: The leaflet caused the fall in water use.
Using only the passage and common knowledge, how true is this inference?
Answer C: Not enough information. The fall came after the leaflet, but the passage gives nothing that separates the leaflet from other possible causes, such as a cooler or wetter summer, or a price rise. Coming after something is not the same as being caused by it.
Why the others are wrong:
Statement: Let's hold the team meeting by video call, so that our colleagues in the other office can join.
Statement: Our colleagues in the other office are able to join a video call.
Does the statement take this for granted?
Answer A: Assumption made. The whole point of choosing a video call is that the other office can join. That only works if they are able to join a video call.
Why the others are wrong:
Statement: We should hire a second receptionist, because callers are waiting too long to get through.
Statement: The current receptionist is not working hard enough.
Does the statement take this for granted?
Answer B: Assumption not made. The speaker blames the waits on there being too many calls for one person, which is why they want a second receptionist. Their argument does not depend on the current receptionist's effort.
Why the others are wrong:
Premises: All of the hotel's suites have a balcony. Room 410 is a suite.
Statement: Room 410 has a balcony.
Taking the premises as true, does the conclusion necessarily follow?
Answer A: Conclusion follows. Every suite has a balcony, and Room 410 is a suite, so Room 410 has a balcony.
Why the others are wrong:
Premises: Every member of the chess club is a student. Some students play the violin.
Statement: Some members of the chess club play the violin.
Taking the premises as true, does the conclusion necessarily follow?
Answer B: Conclusion does not follow. The violin players are 'some students', but they may all be students outside the chess club. The premises never link the two groups.
Why the others are wrong:
Passage: A bike-share scheme counted 12,000 rides in June and 9,000 in July. There were two rainy days in June and nine in July.
Statement: There were fewer rides in July than in June.
Taking the passage as true, does this conclusion follow beyond a reasonable doubt?
Answer A: Conclusion follows. 9,000 rides in July is fewer than 12,000 in June. The conclusion says nothing about why, so it follows directly from the counts.
Why the others are wrong:
Passage: A company found that employees who chose to attend its optional time-management workshop finished more of their projects on time over the next quarter than employees who did not attend.
Statement: The workshop improved employees' time management.
Taking the passage as true, does this conclusion follow beyond a reasonable doubt?
Answer B: Conclusion does not follow. The workshop was optional, so the people who went may already have been better organized or more motivated. The result fits that explanation just as well, so the workshop's effect is not shown beyond a reasonable doubt.
Why the others are wrong:
Question: Should the office replace its old printers with new, faster models?
Statement: Yes; the new printers come in a nicer shade of gray.
Treating the argument as true, is it strong (important and directly related to the question) or weak?
Answer B: Weak argument. The color of the printers is a trivial detail. It has nothing to do with whether faster printers are worth buying.
Why the others are wrong:
Question: Should the town lower the speed limit near its elementary school to 20 miles per hour?
Statement: Yes; at lower speeds drivers have more time to stop and collisions cause less serious injuries, and children cross the road there every school day.
Treating the argument as true, is it strong (important and directly related to the question) or weak?
Answer A: Strong argument. It is directly about the purpose of the limit, the safety of the children who cross there, and it gives an important reason why a lower limit helps.
Why the others are wrong:
Your pace: The full test has 40 questions in five parts, against a 30-minute clock.
Take the full 40-question test →A critical thinking test measures how well you judge information: what follows from it, what it takes for granted, and how strong an argument is. Every question gives you the facts, so no special knowledge is needed; what is measured is how carefully you reason from them. [1]
The best-known format is the one used by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, which its publisher describes as 40 items, timed at 30 to 40 minutes, in five areas: drawing inferences, recognizing assumptions, deduction, interpretation and evaluating arguments. [2]
Do the scores mean anything outside the test? In a US study of 133 adults and students, people with higher critical thinking scores reported fewer negative life events [3], and in a UK study of 109 university students, an inference test predicted final degree results beyond what school grades predicted. [4] Critical thinking can also be taught: a review of 341 results from teaching studies found a clear average gain. [5]
This critical thinking practice test has 40 questions in 30 minutes, eight in each of the five parts, part by part and easy to hard within each part, in the same answer formats as the real tests.
| Part | What you see | What you decide | Questions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inference | A passage of facts and one possible inference. | How true is it? True, Probably true, Not enough information, Probably false or False. | 8 |
| Recognizing assumptions | A statement or piece of advice, and a proposed assumption. | Assumption made, or not made. | 8 |
| Deduction | Two premises, taken as true, and a conclusion. | Conclusion follows, or does not follow. | 8 |
| Interpretation | A passage of evidence, such as survey or study results, and a conclusion. | Conclusion follows beyond a reasonable doubt, or does not. | 8 |
| Evaluating arguments | A yes-or-no question and one argument, taken as true. | Strong argument, or weak argument. | 8 |
Inference is the only part with five answers, and the one that costs people the most points. Judge each inference using only the passage and common knowledge.
The facts make it certain. Nothing else could be the case.
More likely true than false, but not certain. Most predictions belong here.
The facts give no real basis either way. Common for claims about causes.
More likely false than true, given the facts, but not ruled out.
The facts contradict it, or rule it out completely.
Each part has a fastest way in and a trap that costs people points. The answer choices change from part to part, so always read the last line of each question.
Fastest method: Separate what the passage proves from what it only suggests. A cause claimed from things that merely happened together is usually Not enough information.
Common trap: Choosing True for something that is only likely, such as a prediction.
Fastest method: Ask: if the assumption were false, would the statement still make sense? If not, it is assumed.
Common trap: Marking something as assumed because it sounds related, when the statement does not depend on it.
Fastest method: Treat the premises as true even if they sound odd. "All A are B" does not mean "all B are A", and "some" never means "all" or "none".
Common trap: Accepting a conclusion because it is true in real life, when it does not follow from the premises.
Fastest method: Check who was measured and what was compared. Results about one group rarely prove a general rule.
Common trap: Treating a link between two things as proof that one causes the other.
Fastest method: Strong = important AND directly related to the question. Judge relevance, not whether you agree.
Common trap: Calling an argument weak because it argues for the side you disagree with.
You get one point for each correct answer, out of 40. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so never leave a question blank.
On an employer’s critical thinking test your result is usually turned into a percentile: how you did compared with a group of earlier test takers. Each employer sets its own bar. Our guide to Watson-Glaser scores explains how those scores are reported.
This practice test does not have a norm group yet, so it shows your raw score out of 40: no percentile, and never an IQ. Because four of the five parts have two choices, guessing alone scores a little under half, as on the real tests, so the questions you get right beyond that are what count.
Halfway through the clock, you should be starting part three (question 17). Each part begins with easier questions.
About 45 seconds a question. Two questions share each passage, so the second one is quicker: read the passage once, carefully.
The slowest part: five answers to weigh. Do not spend more than a minute on one.
Quick once you use the test: if it were false, would the statement still work?
Logic, then evidence. Treat the premises and passages as true.
Judge relevance quickly. In the last minute, answer everything you skipped: a wrong answer costs nothing.
Critical thinking improves with instruction and practice. [5] For a test, the biggest gains come from learning the rules of each part, because each part asks a slightly different question.
Employers use critical thinking tests for jobs that involve analysis and judgment, such as law, consulting, finance and management, and many graduate schemes use them in the first rounds of selection.
They are often given alongside other aptitude tests, and the format is the same wherever you meet it: a short passage and a statement to judge, part by part.
A critical thinking test checks how well you judge information: what follows from it, what it takes for granted, and how strong an argument is. The most common format has five parts: inference, recognizing assumptions, deduction, interpretation and evaluating arguments. You need no special knowledge; every question gives you the facts to work with.
40 questions in 30 minutes, about 45 seconds each. There are eight questions in each of the five parts, and each part goes from easy to hard.
Yes. Taking the full 40-question test and seeing your score out of 40 is free, and so are the 10 sample questions with answers on this page. You enter a name and email so we can show and save your result; no payment or card is needed. A detailed report (score by part, question-by-question review, pace and a practice plan) and a printable certificate are optional and paid.
Inference (how true a statement is, given some facts), recognizing assumptions (what a statement takes for granted), deduction (what must follow from premises), interpretation (what follows beyond a reasonable doubt from evidence) and evaluating arguments (whether an argument is strong or weak).
“True” means the facts make it certain. “Probably true” means it is more likely true than false, given the facts and common knowledge, but not certain; predictions about the future usually belong here.
When the facts give you no real basis either way. It is the right answer more often than people expect, especially when a statement claims a cause and the passage only shows that two things happened together.
Deduction asks whether a conclusion MUST be true if the premises are true: pure logic. Interpretation asks whether a conclusion follows beyond a reasonable doubt from evidence, such as survey or study results.
A strong argument is important and directly related to the question. A weak argument is not directly related, or deals with a minor or trivial point. Strong arguments can exist on both sides of the same question.
The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal is a critical thinking test published by Pearson’s TalentLens and used by employers; its publisher describes it as 40 items in five areas, timed at 30 to 40 minutes. This is not that test. It is an independent practice test written by IQ Metrics in the same five-part format, so it is useful practice, but IQ Metrics is not affiliated with Pearson or the Watson-Glaser test, and its score is not a Watson-Glaser score.
One point for each correct answer, out of 40, and no penalty for a wrong answer, so never leave a question blank. Your score appears as soon as you finish, with how many questions you answered and how long you took.
On an employer test your result is usually a percentile: how you compare with a group of earlier test takers, and each employer sets its own bar. This practice test has no norm group yet, so it shows your raw score out of 40, never a percentile or an IQ. Use it to compare your own attempts and to find your weakest part.
Learn the rules of each part, especially the five inference answers and the difference between deduction and interpretation. Then practice under time, and read the explanation for every question you miss. A review of studies of critical thinking instruction found that it can be taught.
Some evidence says yes. In one US study, people with higher critical thinking scores reported fewer negative life events, and in one UK study an inference test predicted university degree results beyond school grades. Both are single studies with their own tests, so treat a practice score as a guide to your skills, not a prediction about you.
Yes. The 10 sample questions on this page come with answers and explanations, and the “Print or save as PDF” button under them saves all ten, with answers, as a PDF.
Employers hiring for jobs that involve analysis and judgment, such as law, consulting, finance and management, and many graduate programs. They are often given alongside other aptitude tests.
40 critical thinking questions, 30 minutes, five parts. Find a quiet spot, read each passage carefully, and see your score out of 40 free the moment you finish.
Start the 30-minute test →Watson-Glaser is a trademark of Pearson. IQ Metrics is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Pearson or any other test publisher. This is an independent practice test with original questions; its score is a practice score out of 40, not a publisher’s score and not an IQ.
