Interviews tell you how well someone talks. This verbal reasoning assessment tells you how well they think.
It measures how well candidates read, understand, and draw conclusions from written information. That is exactly what most office, admin, and professional roles demand every day.
The best part? Results land in your account the moment the test is done.
Most candidates say they have strong communication skills. Almost none of them can prove it.
A verbal reasoning test for employment closes that gap. It gives every applicant the same reading passage and the same questions. You see who can actually understand instructions, policies, and written tasks, not just who sounds good in an interview.
According to SHRM, 78% of organizations using pre-employment assessments say they have improved the quality of their hires. That is a direct line between objective testing and better hiring decisions.
Not sure which verbal skills matter for your open role? Read: Skills Assessment Test: Pros, Types, Examples
This pre-employment verbal reasoning test presents short reading passages. Candidates answer questions that show how well they process and apply written information.
Three core skill areas are measured:
Reading Comprehension
Can they pull the key point from a paragraph? Can they understand instructions without asking twice? This section shows if a candidate reads accurately, not just quickly.
Language Logic
Does the candidate understand how words relate to each other in context? This measures verbal aptitude at a level that shows up in real tasks, like reading a policy, reviewing a report, or following written procedures.
Drawing Conclusions
Given a passage, can they identify what is true, false, or uncertain? This is the skill behind smart decisions, escalations, and avoiding costly misunderstandings at work.
Every completed test sends a full report to your account instantly. No waiting. No manual grading.
Your report includes:
Overall percentile score: where this candidate ranks against all test takers (1 to 99)
Score band: Caution, Moderate, or High, so you see fit at a glance
Verbal Reasoning competency bar: shows the candidate’s exact performance level for this skill area
Candidate comparison: stack candidates side by side with consistent data
If you want a deeper look at what percentile rankings mean when comparing candidates, read: Percentile vs Percentage: Key Difference If Hiring Employees
Use this test for job applicants whenever the role involves reading, writing, or acting on written information. That covers more roles than you might think.
Pair it with a cognitive ability test to get a fuller picture of how a candidate thinks and reasons across both verbal and logical dimensions.
Resumes tell you what someone has done. They do not tell you how well they read and reason on the job.
According to research, cognitive ability and reasoning tests account for 20 to 30 percent of variance in job performance across a wide range of roles, making them among the strongest predictors available in hiring.
This test is standardized. Every candidate sees the same passages, under the same time conditions. That removes the interview bias and gives you consistent, comparable data across your entire applicant pool.
Want to understand how cognitive tests improve your process? Read: Cognitive Ability Test For Employment: HR Guide
Getting started takes minutes. Here is how it works:
Candidates never see their own results. Everything goes directly to you.
What does a verbal reasoning assessment measure?
It measures how well a candidate understands written information and draws conclusions from it. The test uses short passages with multiple-choice questions covering comprehension, language logic, and inference. It shows you how someone thinks with written words, not just how well they talk.
Who should take a verbal reasoning test during hiring?
Any role that involves reading instructions, handling documents, communicating in writing, or interpreting policies is a good fit. That includes admin staff, customer service reps, HR assistants, legal support, and healthcare billing roles.
How is a verbal reasoning test different from a grammar test?
A grammar test checks spelling and punctuation rules. A verbal reasoning test checks whether someone can understand and apply written information logically. Both are useful, but verbal reasoning is the stronger predictor of job performance for roles that require reading and decision-making.
Can a candidate prepare for this test in advance?
Candidates can become familiar with the format, but they cannot memorize the answers. The test measures actual reasoning ability. Familiarity with the structure does not change how well someone can draw conclusions from a passage they have never seen before.
What score should I look for when hiring?
That depends on the role. For high-volume admin or data roles, a Moderate score may be enough. For roles requiring strong written judgment, such as legal support or HR, you may want a High score. Use the percentile ranking to compare your applicant pool and set a benchmark based on your best performers. SHRM recommends tying assessment scores to post-hire performance outcomes to refine your benchmarks over time.
How much does this cost?
Pricing is simple and flexible as your needs change. Each test completed uses one test credit. (See pricing for credits)
Can I get a free sample before I purchase?
Yes, just visit Try for Free to provide your information and we’ll send a free sample of the test you request.
