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The PI Cognitive Assessment: 50 questions, 12 minutes, nine question types

The Predictive Index test is the one hiring test where you may go back and where wrong answers cost nothing. That changes how you should take it. Here is the format, every question type and what your score means.

Updated October 13, 2026 · by TimedPrep

What it is and who uses it

The PI Cognitive Assessment is published by The Predictive Index. Its product page describes "a 12-minute, 50-question timed test" of verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning that measures how fast you learn and adapt, not education or job knowledge. Employers use it for hiring and promotion across many industries.

It nearly always arrives with a second, much shorter questionnaire, the PI Behavioral Assessment, which has no right answers. We cover that in the personality section guide.

Invitations are sent from the employer's Predictive Index account; the publisher's help pages give the sender as a "noreply" address at mailer.predictiveindex.com. If yours looks different, see which test did I get.

Format and rules

Most of what follows comes from the publisher's Administrator's Guide, the document it gives to employers.

Two of these rules make the PI different from the Wonderlic and the CCAT. First, because nothing is lost on a wrong answer, you should never leave a question blank. Second, because you can move between pages, you can take the quick questions on each page first and come back for the slow ones if time remains. Each candidate also gets their own set of questions in their own order, so do not expect the test to start easy and get harder.

The nine question types

The publisher's own sample question set shows nine sub-types, three in each category, and its scoring page gives the maximum per category: 16 verbal, 18 numerical, 16 abstract. Every sample question there has four answer choices, except formal logic, which has three. Practice material with five choices per question does not match the publisher's format; our full PI-format tests use four.

The samples below are practice questions written by us in the format of the PI Cognitive Assessment.

Verbal 1: analogies

"A is to B as C is to ?" Put the first pair into a short sentence and reuse the sentence. With four choices you can usually cross out two at a glance.

Verbal 2: antonyms

Pick the word most nearly opposite. Think of your own opposite first, then find the closest match. Beware the choice that means the same as the given word.

Verbal 3: formal logic

Assumptions, then a conclusion to judge: correct, incorrect, or cannot be determined. Only the given statements count, not what you know about the world. "If it rains, the game is canceled; the game was canceled" does not tell you that it rained.

Numerical 1: number series

Find the next number. Check differences between neighbors, then ratios, then every other term. If nothing has appeared in 20 seconds, mark your best choice and move on; you can come back.

Numerical 2: word problems

Short arithmetic stories: percentages, rates, prices, averages. No calculator, so round, estimate and compare with the choices. Write intermediate results down if your employer allows scratch paper.

Numerical 3: lowest value

Which of these values is the smallest? Fractions, decimals and percentages are mixed. Compare everything with one half first to throw out most choices, then convert only the survivors to decimals.

Abstract 1: series

Three or four figures in a row; which comes next? Follow one element at a time: the position of a dot, the turn of an arrow, the shading.

Abstract 2: analogies

The first figure is changed into the second; apply the same change to the third. Say the change in words ("turned a quarter turn, shading swapped") before you look at the choices.

Abstract 3: common features

Two figures on top share one feature. Three of the four figures below share it too; pick the one that does not. List what the top two have in common (shape, shading, number); usually only one thing survives, and that is the rule.

Scoring: 100 to 450, and what the employer does with it

The score is based only on the number of correct answers. The Administrator's Guide says scores range from 100 to 450 in 10-point steps, with a global average of 250. Its example: a score of 340 is at the 86th percentile. The Predictive Index's own blog adds that 250 corresponds to a raw score of 20 correct.

What matters to the employer is not the percentile but the target score it has set for the role. A candidate at or above the target gets the top match rating, and the guide says there is "no penalty for being above" it. Below the target, the match rating slides down. When an employer has not picked a job family, the software's starting target is 250. The publisher also tells employers to treat the result as one data point, not as the only reason to hire or reject.

The report shows the employer how many you got right in each category too, but the publisher tells employers these sub-scores "do not provide meaningful information" for decisions.

Whether you see your score is the employer's policy. The guide tells employers to say before the test whether results will be shared. The publisher's sample set gives no score at all. That is why a timed practice test is useful: our result page shows your raw score, an estimated position against the published average, your accuracy by sub-type and your time per question. Our estimates are estimates; the scaled-score conversion is the publisher's and is not public.

How to prepare in 2 to 3 days

1. Day 1 (30 minutes). Take a full timed test cold. Look at which of the nine sub-types cost you the most seconds.
2. Day 2 (40 minutes). Drill your two slowest sub-types. Then take a second full test using the page method: on each page of five, answer the quick ones, mark a best choice on the slow ones, move on. Aim to be on question 17 at minute 4 and question 33 at minute 8.
3. Test day (15 minutes). A short warm-up, then the checklist. In the last 30 seconds, make sure nothing you have seen is blank.

More on pacing in 50 questions in 12 minutes, and on the guessing rule in guess or skip.

TimedPrep has one full PI-format test free with no sign-up. $29 one-time adds five more full tests with explanations; $49 adds the drill trainer. Access lasts 12 months; money back within 14 days, no questions.

The Behavioral Assessment that comes with it

The PI Behavioral Assessment is untimed and takes about six minutes. You see one list of adjectives twice: first you tick the words that describe how you are expected to behave at work, then the words that really describe you. It measures four drives (dominance, extraversion, patience, formality) and has no right answers. Do not try to game it; read the honest how-to first.

Common questions

How many questions are on the PI Cognitive Assessment?

50 questions in 12 minutes: verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning. Most people do not answer all 50.

What is a good score?

The scale runs from 100 to 450 with an average of 250, about 20 correct answers. There is no universal good score; each employer sets a target for the role, and the default starting target is 250.

Do wrong answers count against you?

No. Incorrect answers do not count against the score, so answer everything you reach.

Can you go back and change answers?

Yes. The test shows five questions per page and lets you move between pages until time runs out.

Can you use a calculator or scratch paper?

No calculator. Scratch paper is the employer's call: the publisher does not restrict it. Ask your recruiter if the invitation does not say.

Can you retake it?

Only if the employer allows it. The publisher tells employers that nobody should take it more than three times and that the highest score should be used.

Related guides

• 50 questions in 12 minutes: a pacing plan that works
• What happens after you submit the test
• CCAT vs Wonderlic vs PI Cognitive Assessment
• Guess or skip? What each publisher actually says
• The personality part of your hiring test: what it is and how to answer it