Hi there,
Looking to prepare for the cognitive section of the Caliper Assessment? You’ve come to the right place!
- Learn all you need to know about the Caliper test questions in math and abstract reasoning.
- Take a free Caliper practice test with answers and explanations.
- Get links to useful, free practice resources for your Caliper assessment.
- Understand your test score and test results.
What is the Caliper Assessment?
The Caliper Profile is a multiple-choice assessment that is used to predict job performance. It is made up of two parts: a section that measures cognitive abilities, and a section that measures personality traits. This article will focus mainly on the cognitive section as that’s where training can lead to substantial improvements in your score!
Continue reading about the Caliper cognitive section below ↓ or click here to learn more about the Caliper personality test.
Caliper Cognitive Section
The Cognitive section of the test will assess your cognitive abilities with questions that include abstract patterns, number series, shapes, matrices, figural reasoning, and analogies. Generally, you will be presented with some kind of pattern – made up of numbers, letters or shapes – and you will have to figure out what comes next. The Cognitive section of the test is made up of two main parts:
Shapes (Abstract Reasoning)
These multiple choice questions will test your abstract cognitive abilities. This means you will have to be able to understand and manipulate shapes and have a strong understanding of spatial orientations. You will be presented with abstract patterns of shapes and figures, and will be asked to figure out what comes next.
- Figural Analogies – These questions are basically what they sound like – they are analogies, but instead of comparing words, they compare shapes. They will test your ability to understand and compare shapes and figures to each other.
- Figural Series – In Figural Series questions, you will be presented with a sequence of figures and shapes, with one space left blank. You will have to choose which shape or figure fits into that blank space. The blank space may be at the end of the sequence, the beginning, or anywhere in between.
- Matrices – These questions will present you with a 3 x 3 set of 9 squares with shapes and figures in 8 of the boxes. You will have to figure out the pattern to determine what the missing shape or figure will be to complete the matrix. The shapes are arranged in a 3 x 3 square, and it’s possible for there to be patterns horizontally, vertically, or even both. This will require extra practice to get used to looking for patterns in both directions.
Math (Numerical Reasoning)
These multiple choice questions will test your cognitive abilities as it pertains to numbers. The question styles are somewhat similar to the Abstract Reasoning questions, but it requires a different style of thinking to find patterns that exist in numbers instead of in shapes and figures.
- Number Series – These questions will present you with a series of numbers, and you will have to figure out what number completes the sequence. Patterns can be incredibly simple or incredibly complicated. It’s important to practice to make sure you are comfortable recognizing patterns in number series questions.
Free Caliper Practice Test
Take this quick test to assess your current performance in the topics discussed above. Upon completion of the practice test, you’ll get a score report that will compare your performance to that of other candidates who’ve take this test, and in addition, you’ll get access to the solutions and explanations.
How is Your Score Calculated?
Your test results are generated as soon as you finish the test and hit submit. They will be immediately sent to your employer for review. However, you will not be able to see your results or the Caliper Assessment answers. In some instances, you will be able to request a score report from the employer.
The cognitive section of the test will be presented separately as Abstract Reasoning and will help comprise the Problem-Solving part of your Caliper profile.
Caliper’s cognitive, abstract reasoning score, as seen in the report
Once your results are viewed by the hiring manager, they can see how well you fit into the specific position. The results can also be used once an employee is hired, during the onboarding and training process, and even over the course of an employee’s development at a company.
When you take the Caliper, you are measured against a norm group, meaning your results are dependent on how other people perform on the assessment. Your results show a snapshot of your behavioral traits and cognitive abilities, including your strengths, weaknesses, motivators and stressors.
Scores are grouped into three buckets based on score range from 1-99:
- 60-99 – Natural fit for a position and strong alignment with the role. This means you are a good potential fit for the specific position you are applying for.
- 40-59 – Moderate alignment. This means you show some level of competency, but are somewhat inconsistent. You may need further training for the role.
- 1-39 – Weak alignment. This means that this is not one of your strong areas, and that you are likely a poor fit for the role.
As you can see, how well you perform on the assessment plays a large role in how your potential employer views you as a candidate. This is why it is vital that you prepare for the test, especially when it comes to the cognitive section.
Additional Resources for the Caliper
There’s a lot more out there to help you prepare for the Caliper. Check out these helpful links below to learn more about the test and find helpful practice materials:
The Caliper Personality Assessment
The Caliper can be used as a pre-employment tool for hiring, as well as for development and promotion of current employees. The assessment measures 22 different personality traits that employers can use to assess if a person is a good fit for a specific position.
The assessment is made up of 180 multiple choice questions and is untimed, though on average it takes about two hours to compete. It can be administered online or with pen and paper, and employers can choose whether or not to proctor the test. All questions must be answered for the test to be submitted.
The two main question types are:
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- Multiple choice behavioral questions. Identify both most and least likely responses based on a specific scenario presented to you.
- Agree/Disagree questions. Similar multiple choice question type where you will be presented with a statement and would have to answer on scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Slightly different variations may be formatted as true/false or on a scale from always to never.
Seven Competency Areas
The Caliper Assessment assesses seven major areas of competency:
- Leadership – ability to lead, team building, ability to coach and lead others, and delegate tasks.
- Active Communication – skills of influence, conflict management, negotiation, and listening
- Interpersonal Dynamics – helpfulness, relationship building, collaboration and teamwork
- Decision making – decisiveness, strategic thinking, overall decision making abilities
- Problem solving – tests creativity, innovation, analytical thinking, ability to learn and adapt
- Process management – time management, planning, prioritization, organizational skills
- Self management – composure, resiliency, enthusiasm, conviction, motivation, perseverance, self awareness, adaptability professionalism
Not all areas are tested equally, and employees can focus more or less on specific traits, depending on the position they are hiring for. For example, they may focus more on Leadership for a managerial role; if they are hiring a nurse, they may focus more on Interpersonal Dynamics.
