The Wonderlic personnel test (WPT) is a short test that provides insight into a candidate’s intellectual strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the requirements of a particular job or assignment. It consists of a series of English, reading, math and logic problems that increase in difficulty as the test progresses and can be administered in 12 minutes. The test is commonly used in organized sports, especially American football, to determine whether potential recruits have the cognitive skills to learn complex games from a team notebook and mesh together with a unit.
Finding a truly unbiased and accurate measurement of a person’s intelligence has always been an elusive and somewhat controversial goal of many test developers. During the 1930s, a pioneer in the field of intelligence testing named Eldon Wonderlic developed a very short test that purportedly gave prospective employers and educators a general idea of an applicant’s overall intelligence level. This test has come to be known as the Wonderlic personnel test (WPT).
The purpose of the test is not necessarily to assign an actual IQ or IQ number to test takers. Instead, it provides insight into a candidate’s intellectual strengths and weaknesses as they relate to the requirements of a particular job or assignment. Positions that require stronger math skills, for example, may require above-average results.
The test itself consists of a series of English, reading, math and logic problems that increase in difficulty as the test progresses. In fact, the first set of questions is generally considered simple enough for testers of average intelligence. The last ten questions are considered the most difficult, although not too difficult for college-educated students. There is no penalty for right or wrong answers and the Wonderlic Staff Basic Test can be administered in 12 minutes.
Employers and recruiters can administer the test as part of a larger application process and use these results to determine whether a candidate has general aptitude for the position. Test scores are typically stated as a number, with 20 or 21 considered average, just as a score of 100 would mean average intelligence on a Stanford-Binet intelligence test. Test candidates may need to score at least a 20 for employment under consideration in some situations, and even higher for positions requiring higher cognitive ability and aptitude.
Perhaps the most common use of the Wonderlic staff test is in organized sports, especially American football. Recruiters and coaches need to know whether potential recruits have the cognitive skills to learn complex games from a team notebook and mesh together with a unit. Legendary football manager Tom Landry is said to have placed a heavy emphasis on test scores, and even some simulated football video game programs include a modified WPT session to determine which positions a player is qualified to select.
Of course, a short, general test like this isn’t designed to produce the same clinical results as a larger battery of intelligence tests, like the Stanford-Binet series. Results from a WPT should generally be considered a rough guide to a candidate’s level of cognitive ability and general aptitude, not general intelligence. It works best as a quick assessment tool during the application process, but the test should not be used to justify unlawful discriminatory actions.
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