The Pre-Employment Math Test, also known as Basic Math Skills Test, shows you whether a candidate can figure out a discount and catch a wrong total before it reaches a customer.
A math slip on an invoice or a refund costs real money. It also costs you the trust of the customer who spotted it first.
This employment math test covers 8 everyday topics in 30 questions. Candidates work through plain problems and short word problems at three levels of difficulty.
You get a clear report on where each person is strong and where they slip.
EmployTest helps you scale hiring at your own pace with pay-per-test block pricing and no long-term contracts.
Most candidates say they’re good with numbers. A short test lets you verify it.
In the 2023 adult skills survey reported by the National Center for Education Statistics, 34% of U.S. adults scored at Level 1 or below in numeracy. That number was 29% in 2017.
Roughly 1 in 3 adults may struggle with a percentage or a fraction. A resume won’t tell you which ones.
A basic math test for employment gives every applicant the same problems. You compare people on what they can do. Here’s more on how pre-employment tests catch inflated resume claims.
The Basic Math Skills Test has 30 questions across eight topics. Results are scored by topic, so you see which skills hold up.
Each question is tagged Basic, Intermediate, or Advanced. Several are word problems built around everyday work, like finding a new price after an increase.
Before you send a test, you want to know the questions fit the job. Fair enough.
Questions range from plain arithmetic to short workplace scenarios. A Basic item might ask for a simple sum.
An Advanced word problem might ask the candidate to find a new total after a percentage increase. Fraction questions climb from adding two fractions up to dividing them.
Every candidate gets the same set of questions. That keeps scores fair across your whole applicant pool.
The report also tracks how many seconds each person spends on every question. A long pause on an easy item tells you more than the score alone.
The report arrives by email as soon as the candidate finishes. Candidates never see their own scores.
In the sample report, a candidate scored 90% overall but missed two of the word problems. That’s your cue for the interview.
Small and mid-sized businesses use this test for one opening or several at once. The steps stay the same either way.
Each completed test uses one test credit. The report format is the same for every candidate, so side-by-side comparison is simple.
Math shows up in more jobs than most hiring managers expect. O*NET lists mathematics as an essential skill for bookkeeping, payroll, bank teller, and logistics work.
A math skills test for employment fits positions like these:
If the job touches money or stock counts, this test belongs in your process.
A math aptitude test for employment and a basic math test measure two separate skills.
The Basic Math Skills Test checks calculation. Can the candidate divide correctly and get a percentage right?
A numerical reasoning test checks interpretation. Candidates read a table or chart and draw the right conclusion from it.
Choose basic math when the job runs on accurate figures. For jobs where people make decisions from reports, numerical reasoning is the better match.
This guide on why employers test numerical reasoning covers that side in more detail.
Give the math test after the resume screen and before the first interview. That keeps interview slots for candidates who can handle the numbers.
A review of hiring research published by SIOP ranks job knowledge tests and work samples among the top predictors of job performance, next to structured interviews.
Use them together. Let the topic results shape your interview questions.
Say a candidate missed a percentage word problem. Ask them to walk you through a real refund on the spot.
That way you verify the skill on the test and again in conversation.
Some jobs need math in a specific setting. EmployTest offers more math tests matched to the work.
Start with the Basic Math Skills Test for general screening. Move to a specialized test when the job calls for it.
Math skill is one part of the picture. Pair it with a test that shows how a candidate thinks and works.
A bookkeeping hire, for example, might take the Basic Math Skills Test and the Attention to Detail Test together. Two short tests give you a fuller view of one candidate.
It measures whether a candidate can handle the everyday math a job needs. The Basic Math Skills Test covers addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, percentages, and conversion. Word problems are mixed in so you can see how candidates apply math to real tasks.
There are 30 questions across eight topics. Each one is tagged Basic, Intermediate, or Advanced. Your score report breaks results down by both topic and level.
The score report goes only to you. It arrives by email as soon as the candidate finishes, and you decide how to use the results in your hiring process.
Most hiring managers send it after the resume screen and before the first interview. Then they use the topic results to plan follow-up questions. A miss on a percentage word problem is a good place to start the conversation.
Start with the overall score. Then check results by level, since strong Advanced results point to someone who handles multi-step problems. Look closely at the topics tied to the job, like percentages for retail pricing. Time per question shows where a candidate slowed down.
Pricing is simple and flexible as your needs change. Each test completed uses one test credit. (See pricing for credits)
Yes, just visit Try for Free to provide your information and we’ll send a free sample of the test you request.
