Brilliant Numeracy Tests

10 brill iant numeracy test s

Still not convinced? Let’s look at a few jobs that involve more

numeracy than you might expect.

Retail sales

Selling is not just about slick presentation skills and a flair for

customer relations. At the entry level, retail sales jobs require the

ability to handle money correctly and to deal with customers’

transactions competently. Mistakes here could be very costly. At

a more senior level, numeracy is used to analyse sales figures,

produce account sheets and balance budgets.

Teacher

To teach numeracy, it makes sense that you would need first to

be proficient yourself. But even if you do not wish to be a maths

teacher, many other academic disciplines require dexterity with

numbers. For example, all the sciences use mathematical calcu-

lations. Music, design, ITC: all of these fields involve an element

of maths. Even home economics involves working with measure-

ments. Teachers also need numerical abilities to calculate

students’ grades, to understand performance targets, and to

comply with school and departmental budgets.

Manager

Managers need to be able to quickly

and effectively digest figures and sta-

tistics for their team, department or

region. They need to analyse profit

and loss figures and to track their

own budgets as part of this financial

management process.

How hard will it be?

The numeracy test practice questions featured in this book span

a wide range of difficulty levels.This is deliberate and reflects the

range of tests in current usage. Starting with the easiest and

the placing of people in

jobs should not be solely

dependent on their

numeracy test results

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getting increasingly difficult, the practice questions cover the full

range of numerical reasoning ability.

The initial questions involve only the most basic mathematical

operations – for example, how to use subtraction, addition, mul-

tiplication and division. These are followed by increasingly

complex questions using ratios, decimal points, fractions and

percentages. At the next level, the practice questions involve

more complex features, such as the conversion of measurements

between different systems (e.g. changing pounds sterling into

another currency).The graduate-level practice questions require

the interpretation of statistical data shown in charts and on

graphs.The final numeracy practice questions, targeted at senior

managers, involve the analysis of complex financial data.

Remember, you are not about to sit

an A-level Maths test. Areas such as

complex algebra and the use of

mathematical formulae are not

included in any of the practice ques-

tions. The more esoteric mathematical operations, such as

powers, square roots, prime numbers and probabilities, will also

be avoided as they rarely appear in numeracy tests.

Most of the test questions will be multiple choice. Don’t be

fooled into thinking this makes them easier. Having written

many numeracy tests myself I can assure you that is not the case.

The answer options are designed to be deliberately tricky and to

catch out any sloppy errors.

Remember: multiple choice does not

mean multiple guess. If you want to

pass, you need to be able to work out

the answers.

What are numeracy tests? 11

remember, you are not

about to sit an A-level

Maths test

multiple choice does not

mean multiple guess

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12 brill iant numeracy test s

brilliant

recap

G There’s no getting away from it. Numeracy testing is now widely used

in the application process for many jobs and courses.

G Well-designed numeracy tests are used because they predict future

performance at work.

G Your numeracy test should mirror the maths calculations and problems

that will occur in the role that you are applying for.

G There are many different types of numeracy test on the market, at

varying levels of difficulty.

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