What you get
The PI Cognitive Assessment test (PICA) is a general cognitive ability test that measures your problem-solving skills, reasoning ability, and ability to learn.
Employers use cognitive ability assessments such as the PICA because they are an objective indicator of your future performance as an employee.
The PICA assesses your cognitive ability through three categories: verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, and abstract reasoning.
The assessment consists of 50 questions with a time limit of only 12 minutes. As you can see, the time available is extremely limited, with an average of approximately 4 questions per minute.
It is not uncommon for test takers to not answer all of the questions within the given time.
Calculators are not allowed for the PI Cognitive Assessment test.
The present official name for the test is The Predictive Index (PI) Cognitive Assessment (PICA). But it has previously been known as The Predictive Index Learning Indicator (PILI), and earlier as The Professional Learning Indicator (PLI). It is not uncommon to see the test still branded as PLI, and the score report and all other test information be labeled with the PLI test name.
As mentioned, the Predictive Index Cognitive Assessment consists of three main categories: verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, and abstract reasoning.
The three categories can be divided further into nine sub-categories, we will explain each sub-category below.
The numerical reasoning category assesses your logical reasoning, basic algebra skills, and your ability to work through word problems.
You are given a series of numbers with one or more numbers missing within or at the end of the series. You must complete the series by adding the missing number(s).
To do this, you must identify the rule applied in the series. This rule is normally of a mathematical nature.
Example:
Find the missing numbers:
2, ?, ?, 8, 10, 12
A) 3, 5
B) 4, 6
C) 3, 4
D) 5, 7
The correct answer is option B.
Explanation:
In this series, the number is increased by 2 with every step.
You are given a list of values and have to determine the lowest or the highest value from the list.
Example:
Which of the following has the highest value?
A) 25% of 13
B) 3½
C) 15/5
D) π
The correct answer is B.
Explanation:
To solve the question, convert all values to decimal values and compare them:
25% of 13 = 13 / 4 = 3.25
3½ = 3.5
15/5 = 3
π = 3.14
So, the highest value is 3½.
Numerical word problems, also called math word problems, are mathematical questions presented in a written format. The questions will assess your mathematical ability and your logical reasoning.
The verbal reasoning questions of the PI Cognitive Assessment evaluate how well you understand a word's precise meaning, how words relate to one another, and your deductive reasoning ability.
This category consists of questions that assess your ability to make decisions based on deductive reasoning.
Typically, you will be presented with two or three facts followed by a conclusion. You must then decide if the conclusion is true or false based on the facts alone or if it there is enough information to answer.
Example:
Facts:
All crows are black.
All black birds are loud.
All crows are birds.
Conclusion:
All crows are loud.
Does the conclusion follow?
A: Yes
B: No
C: Insufficient information
The correct answer is “true.”
In this section, test takers are presented with a word and must identify its antonym. An antonym is a word that means the opposite.
For example, wide and narrow are antonyms.
These questions test your ability to identify connections between words.
The abstract reasoning questions of the PICA will assess your ability to solve conceptual problems by identifying relationships and analyzing patterns.
In this type of question, you are presented with a series of objects and have to either find the item that continues the series or the item that is missing in the series. To do this, you must first identify the rules and patterns of the series.
You are first given a pair of related objects. You are then given one of two objects from another pair. You have to determine the relationship between the objects in the first pair to find the missing object in the second pair.
Common features are questions that assess your ability to see relationships and patterns between shapes.
You are shown two shapes/items above four answer items. The two shapes above the others have common features that three of the four answer items also share.
You have to find the answer item that does not share that common feature.
Example:
The two figures at the top share a common feature. One of the figures below does NOT share this same feature. Which figure below does NOT share the common feature?
The correct answer is option A.
Explanation:
Each box contains four figures: One large square, one large circle, one small square, and one small circle.
Except item A, the sequence of the figures is always the same either from the left or the right:
Large square, large circle, small square, small circle
We have included practice questions of every type in our Predictive Index Test Prep Package.
The average raw score for the PICA test is 20 out of 50, meaning that on average, candidates answer 20 questions out of 50 correctly. However, to be considered for the job, you should aim for a raw score of at least 25, in many cases even higher.
It is interesting to know that only 1% of candidates manage to answer more than 40 questions correctly.
It is not uncommon for candidates to be required to take the PICA test twice.
In this case, the first assessment will be done online and remotely. Normally, this test will not be proctored.
The second test will either be completed at the office of the employer, or online again—this time proctored.
The two scores are compared, so the first score should not be significantly higher than the second.
In other words: it is risky to cheat on your first non-proctored test.
Preparing for the PICA will help you perform better and increase your chances of landing the job. There are several things you can do to prepare for the PICA:
We can help you prepare for the PI Cognitive Assessment test. With our Predictive Index Test Prep package, you get more than 500 PICA practice questions with explained solutions, two full-length simulated PICA tests, extra study tools, and guidance throughout your training. Get access now.
Try our free PICA practice test, we've included each of the question types explained above.
What you get
What you get
