Since I assume that the majority of the readers of this blog would not be able to compete in the 40 yard dash, the leaping competition or the bench press, let’s see how you would score on the Wonderlic test. This is the test given to College football players at the NFL Draft Combine.

Here is the definition from Wikipedia: The Wonderlic Personnel Test is a twelve-minute, fifty-question intelligence test used to assess the aptitude of prospective employees for learning and problem-solving in a wide range of occupations. The score is calculated as the number of correct answers given in the allotted time. A score of 20 is intended to indicate average intelligence (corresponding to an intelligence quotient of 100; a rough conversion is accomplished via the following formula: IQ = 2WPT + 60). A new version was released in Jan, ‘07 called the Wonderlic Personnel Test - Revised. It contains questions deemed more appropriate to the 21st century.

So if you want to know how you would do, first here are the scores from the examples from Paul Zimmerman’s The New Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football. According to Zimmerman, examples of average scores for each position are:

* Offensive tackle - 26
* Center - 25
* Quarterback - 24
* Guard - 23
* Tight end - 22
* Safety - 19
* Linebacker - 19
* Cornerback - 18
* Wide receiver - 17
* Fullback - 17
* Halfback - 16

The scores for the average person

While an average football player usually scores around 20 points, Wonderlic, Inc. claims a score of at least 10 points suggests a person is literate . Furthermore, when the test was given to miscellaneous people of various professions, it was observed that the average participant scored a 24. Examples of scores from everyday professions included:

* Chemist - 31
* Programmer - 29
* Journalist - 26
* Sales - 24
* Bank teller - 22
* Clerical worker - 21
* Security guard - 17
* Warehouse - 15

Here are some questions representative to those on the test as compiled by ESPN:

1. Look at the row of numbers below. What number should come next?
8 4 2 1 ½ ¼ ?

2. Assume the first two statements are true. Is the final one:
1. true, 2. false, 3. not certain?
The boy plays baseball. All baseball players wear hats. The boy wears a hat.

3. Paper sells for 21 cents per pad. What will four pads cost?

4. How many of the five pairs of items listed below are exact duplicates?
Nieman, K.M. Neiman, K.M.
Thomas, G.K. Thomas, C.K.
Hoff, J.P. Hoff, J.P.
Pino, L.R. Pina, L.R.
Warner, T.S. Wanner, T.S.

5. RESENT RESERVE - Do these words
1. have similar meanings, 2. have contradictory meanings, 3. mean neither the same nor opposite?

6. One of the numbered figures in the following drawing is most different from the others. What is the number in that figure?

7. A train travels 20 feet in 1/5 second. At this same speed, how many feet will it travel in three seconds?

8. When rope is selling at $.10 a foot, how many feet can you buy for sixty cents?

9. The ninth month of the year is
1. October, 2. January, 3. June, 4. September, 5 May.

10. Which number in the following group of numbers represents the smallest amount?
7 .8 31 .33 2

11. In printing an article of 48,000 words, a printer decides to use two sizes of type. Using the larger type, a printed page contains 1,800 words. Using smaller type, a page contains 2,400 words. The article is allotted 21 full pages in a magazine. How many pages must be in smaller type?

12. The hours of daylight and darkness in SEPTEMBER are nearest equal to the hours of daylight and darkness in:
1. June, 2. March, 3. May, 4. November.

13. Three individuals form a partnership and agree to divide the profits equally. X invests $9,000, Y invests $7,000, Z invests $4,000. If the profits are $4,800, how much less does X receive than if the profits were divided in proportion to the amount invested?

14. Assume the first two statements are true. Is the final one:
1. true, 2. false, 3. not certain?
Tom greeted Beth. Beth greeted Dawn. Tom did not greet Dawn.

15. A boy is 17 years old and his sister is twice as old. When the boy is 23 years old, what will be the age of his sister?

These are sample test questions and are intended for demonstration purposes only. The Wonderlic Personnel Test is published by Wonderlic, Inc.

Answers
1. 1/8
2. true
3. 84 cents
4. 1
5. 3
6. 4
7. 300 feet
8. 6 feet
9. September
10. .33
11. 17
12. March
13. $560
14. not certain
15. 40 years old