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Critical thinking test
Discover your candidates' analytical skills with our robust critical thinking tests. Fair and accurate for every role.
24 mins
24 questions
Fair and inclusive
Powering hiring decisions at Lenovo, EDF and more
Predict on-the-job performance through critical thinking
Our Insights™ Critical Thinking Test evaluates candidates’ ability to analyse information objectively, evaluate arguments, identify assumptions, and make sound judgements in complex or ambiguous situations.
The assessment presents candidates with realistic scenarios and evidence-based information. Candidates must assess the strength of arguments, recognise flaws in reasoning, and draw well-supported conclusions, measuring judgement and decision quality rather than prior knowledge or role-specific experience.
PERFECT FOR THESE ROLES
- Legal roles - Law firms, in-house legal, and legal training
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Judgement - Roles involving decision-making and judgement -
Early Careers - Graduate, apprentice, and early talent -
Analysis - Analyst, strategy, and problem-solving roles -
Complexity - Any role requiring evaluation of complex information
Test Partnership has helped us create a more consistent and objective hiring process. The assessments support fairer decision-making and have been a valuable part of our broader approach to inclusive recruitment.
Catherine Knight Senior Talent Manager, Eversheds Sutherland
How we know this assessment works
This mechanical reasoning assessment measures how candidates understand physical principles and reason through practical mechanical problems, supported by robust assessment science that ensures accuracy and fairness.
Consistent results you can trust
Produces consistent reasoning scores, giving confidence in shortlisting and pass/fail decisions.
Reliability coefficient: α = .85, exceeding accepted psychometric standards.
Proven to measure cognitive ability
Strong relationship with established cognitive measures, confirming the test measures genuine critical reasoning ability.
Correlation with composite cognitive measures: r = .61.
Fair and robust by design
Tested across multiple norm groups to ensure fair and consistent outcomes across different backgrounds.
Built using established psychometric methods for high-volume hiring.
Suitable for all roles and levels
This critical thinking assessment measures how candidates evaluate arguments, analyse evidence, and make sound judgements in complex situations, supported by robust assessment science that ensures accuracy and fairness.
Assesses how well candidates analyse arguments, assess the strength of evidence, and identify flawed reasoning, without relying on subject-matter expertise or job-specific knowledge.
Questions are weighted by difficulty, meaning performance on harder questions contributes more to the final score than performance on easier ones. The test adapts as candidates progress, so ability can be measured more precisely and efficiently.
All our assessments have robust evidence to prove they do not adversely affect protected groups. Our test development process includes trialling our questions on tens of thousands of participants from mixed backgrounds, and our research shows 'Cohens d' effect sizes better than industry best-practice.
Sample reports and questions
Review real sample reports and try example questions to see exactly how the assessment works in practice — from the candidate experience through to the hiring insights.
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Critical thinking is also available in a format built to make AI assistance harder.
We deliver the results that matter most
See how hiring teams use Test Partnership to make better hiring decisions.
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We [utilised] the TPAQ-45 Personality Profile to bolster our team selection process. One standout feature is the platform's user-friendly interface, facilitating smooth navigation, while the results are both comprehensive and easily understandable. I wholeheartedly endorse Test Partnership for its exceptional utility; it has proven invaluable in forecasting future performance, assessing personality traits, and enhancing candidate experiences.
Iona McCullagh Talent Acquisition Team Leader, STR Group
Test Partnership is an easy to use resource for testing graduates and junior-mid level candidates. It has been good for replicating tests quickly and integrates very nicely with our ATS system.
Sarah Taylor Talent Acquisition, CloudRock
Great product and the communication with the team is great, very clear and quite low response times as well!
Nina Voitenko Early Careers Coordinator, Evelyn Partners
Ben has always been extremely helpful when we have any questions and the tests themselves are so valuable to really understand our people. Test Partnership is user friendly, quick and simple and the team are always on hand and respond very quickly for any questions we may have so for this reason I would recommend to anyone.
Anna O'Mahony Operational Support Lead, Vitality
The system was incredibly easy to use and was designed bespoke for our needs. We utilised various assessments that allowed us to screen candidates against our values and the behaviors we were looking for in the right candidates. The system worked really well, saving us time and making the screening process much easier.
Emma Faulconer Talent Acquisition Manager, Cadent Gas
We used TP for mass student Graduate and School Leaver online testing before enrolling them onto Apprenticeship schemes. Critical Thinking, verbal reasoning and Psychometric, it made it a lot easier to filter candidates, it has improved our process and we would recommend the service.
Sasha Dickerson Talent Aquisition Consultant, Kreston Reeves
Test Partnership has helped us create a more consistent and objective hiring process. The assessments support fairer decision-making and have been a valuable part of our broader approach to inclusive recruitment.
Catherine Knight Senior Talent Manager, Eversheds Sutherland
Test Partnership has helped us bring great insight and objectivity to our early talent application process across training contracts, apprenticeships, and internships. We also value their supportive approach and clear communication, which contribute to a smooth and positive candidate experience.
Mwansa Chomba Early Talent Assistant, DAC Beachcroft LLP
Test Partnership offers great assessments tests... I appreciate the fact that support is immediately available to help me choose the right tests for the role I am recruiting for. I like the format of their soft skills, numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning tests and reports. They are easy to understand with the necessary level of detail to help us make the best hiring decisions. For an SME like us, Test partnership makes hiring easier and cost effective.
Marina Prifti HR Manager, Ampersand
We were struggling to identify high-potential candidates... the results are amazing. Firstly it's an important cost saving - especially in entry and associate level roles where we internally run the whole recruitment process among the assessments. Also, we are able to evaluate our candidates and recognize better any red flags.
Petros Raftopoulos Human Resources Business Partner, Pernod Ricard
Critical thinking FAQs
Critical thinking tests are essential for roles in problem-solving, decision-making, and complex analysis, such as managers, analysts, and many other professions. They are valuable across diverse industries, including healthcare, law, engineering, and research, as they necessitate sound judgment and reasoning.
Critical thinking tests provide valuable insights but aren't infallible. Their accuracy depends on test quality, relevance to the job, and how well candidates perform under test conditions. Properly designed tests, like Test Partnership's, administered fairly, can help assess critical thinking abilities effectively.
Using critical thinking tests in the hiring process is crucial because they help identify candidates with strong problem-solving skills, decision-making abilities, and analytical thinking, ensuring you select individuals who can thrive in complex roles and contribute to your organisation's success. These tests provide objective data to supplement interviews, reducing hiring bias and improving overall hiring decisions.
You receive clear, detailed reports on each candidate’s performance, including scores, benchmarks, and summaries. Reports are available instantly in the platform or sent directly to your ATS once the test is completed.
No. You can invite as many candidates as you need to each test. This makes using critical thinking tests in your application process easy for both small hiring campaigns and high-volume recruitment.
