SHL Practice Tests: Free Walkthroughs by Section

The honest answer is that SHL practice works, but only if you practise the right way: timed, by section, and reviewing why each answer is correct. SHL's Verify tests are adaptive and unforgiving on pace, so doing a hundred untimed questions teaches you less than doing twenty under the clock and understanding every one. This page gives you one worked sample for each Verify section, with the full reasoning, so you can see exactly what each section rewards.

Quick takeaways

SHL Verify G+ is adaptive and timed: the multiple-choice version is 30 questions and the Interactive version is 24 questions, both with a 36-minute limit.
The reasoning sections are numerical, inductive, deductive, and verbal. The combined General Ability test mixes them; the modular subtests isolate one each.
Below are four worked practice questions, one per section, with the answer and the method.
The score is a percentile or sten against a comparison group, not a raw mark, because the test adapts to your performance.
There is no universal pass mark. The cutoff is set per role, and competitive roles often screen around the 50th to 70th percentile or higher.
The best preparation is timed, by section, with review. Practising untimed builds familiarity but not the pace the 36-minute limit demands.

How to use this practice set

Work each question before reading the walkthrough, and time yourself loosely: a real Verify item gives you roughly a minute, less under adaptive pressure. The four sections below reward different things, and the fastest way to improve is to find which one costs you the most time and drill it. For the full picture of the SHL suite and how Verify fits in, read SHL Assessment: All the Tests Explained.

The chart below is the by-section reference: what each section tests and the trap to watch.

Numerical reasoning

Numerical items give you a chart or table and ask a calculation, usually a percentage, ratio, or rate. They reward reading the right figures quickly and avoiding unnecessary steps.

Worked example. A monthly sales chart shows January at 120 units, February at 150, and March at 135. What was the percentage change in sales from January to March? Work it directly from January to March: the change is 135 minus 120, which is 15, and 15 divided by 120 is 0.125, a 12.5 percent increase. The answer is plus 12.5 percent. The trap is routing through February, which is irrelevant to a January-to-March comparison and only burns time.

Inductive reasoning

Inductive items show a sequence of shapes or numbers and ask what comes next. They reward spotting the single underlying rule rather than testing many.

Worked example. A number sequence runs 1, 3, 6, 10, and asks for the next term. Look at the gaps: 1 to 3 is plus 2, 3 to 6 is plus 3, 6 to 10 is plus 4, so the gaps increase by one each step. The next gap is plus 5, giving 15. The answer is 15. The method is to read the differences first; on shape versions, find the one feature that changes step to step and ignore the rest.

Deductive reasoning

Deductive items give you statements and a conclusion, and ask whether the conclusion necessarily follows. They reward strict logic, not plausibility.

Worked example. Premises: "If a project is approved, it gets funded. Project X was not funded." Conclusion: "Project X was not approved." Does it follow? It does. If approval guaranteed funding, then no funding means it cannot have been approved, because approval would have forced funding. This is a valid chain. The contrast to watch is the reverse error: "Project Y was not approved, therefore it was not funded" does not follow, because funding could come from another route.

Verbal reasoning

Verbal items give you a passage and a statement to judge as True, False, or Cannot say, based only on the passage. They reward disciplined reading and ignoring outside knowledge.

Worked example. Passage: "Last year the company opened three new offices in Asia, its first offices outside Europe." Statement: "Before last year, all of the company's offices were in Europe." True, False, or Cannot say? The answer is True. The passage states the Asian offices were the company's first outside Europe, which means every office before then was in Europe. The trap is overthinking it into Cannot say; the phrase "its first offices outside Europe" settles it.

How the score works

Because Verify is adaptive, your result is not a raw count out of 30. The test adjusts difficulty as you go, and your score reflects the difficulty of the items you answered correctly. It is reported as a percentile or a sten against a comparison group, so a percentile of 70 means you outperformed 70 percent of that group.

The infographic below lays out the four sections, what each tests, and the trap to avoid, alongside the format facts.

There is no universal pass mark. The cutoff is set per role, and competitive graduate and commercial roles often screen around the 50th to 70th percentile, with the most selective employers higher. For cross-test benchmarks, see the guide linked below.

Pacing: what the 36 minutes demands

The 36-minute limit, spread across 24 to 30 questions, gives you roughly a minute to ninety seconds per item, but the adaptive design changes how you should use it. You cannot flag a hard question and return to it later the way you can on a fixed-form test, so the decision is in the moment: commit to an answer and move, because a slow correct answer and a fast correct answer score the same, while a question you never reach scores nothing.

The most common pacing mistake is over-investing in a single numerical item with an awkward chart. If the figures are not yielding in about a minute, take your best estimate and move on. Inductive and verbal items are usually faster, so banking those keeps the average on track.

How to prepare in a week

Spend the first two days on your weakest section, identified from the four above. For most candidates that is numerical under time pressure, so drill percentages, ratios, and chart reading until the calculation is automatic. Spend the next two days on full-length, strictly timed sets so the per-question pace feels normal and you build the instinct to commit and move. Use the final days to review every item you missed and write one line on the method, because on this test the method transfers even when the specific question does not.

Practise with the clock running, not off. For full-length timed practice with worked walkthroughs for every item, work through our SHL General Ability practice.

FAQ

Are there free SHL practice tests?

Yes. This page gives one worked sample for each Verify section with full walkthroughs, and our practice tool runs full-length timed sets. SHL licenses its real tests to employers and does not sell an official practice version to candidates.

What sections are on the SHL Verify test?

Numerical, inductive, deductive, and verbal reasoning. The combined Verify G+ General Ability test mixes them into one score; the modular Verify subtests isolate one reasoning type each.

How long is the SHL Verify G+ test?

Both versions have a 36-minute limit. The multiple-choice version is 30 questions and the Interactive version is 24 questions. The test is adaptive, so difficulty changes with your performance.

How is the SHL test scored?

As a percentile or sten against a comparison group, not as a raw mark, because the test adapts. There is no universal pass mark; the cutoff is set per role, and competitive roles often screen around the 50th to 70th percentile or higher.

How should I practise for the SHL test?

Timed, by section, with review. Identify your weakest reasoning type, drill it under the clock, then do full-length timed sets. Untimed practice builds familiarity but not the pace the adaptive 36-minute format demands.

Can you use a calculator on the SHL numerical test?

A basic on-screen or physical calculator is usually permitted on the numerical sections, but confirm with your invitation. Even with one, the time pressure means setting up the calculation correctly matters more than the arithmetic itself.

Is guessing penalised on the SHL Verify test?

There is no negative marking, but because the test is adaptive you cannot freely skip and return, so a deliberate best-guess-and-move is better than stalling. Do not leave the clock to run out on a question you could have guessed.

Can you retake an SHL test?

Retake policy is set by the employer, not SHL. Some allow a retake after a waiting period; many do not allow one within the same application. Because Verify draws from an item bank, a retake usually presents different questions.

Pillar. SHL Verify G+ General Ability overview and prep. The full pillar page with format, scoring, and prep paths.
Deep practice. Full SHL General Ability practice. $39 one time. Pass Guarantee. Timed, adaptive-style sets with worked explanations.
Suite. SHL Assessment: All the Tests Explained (Verify G+, OPQ, MQ). What each test in the SHL suite is and how it is scored.
Overview. The SHL Test in 2026: Verify G+, OPQ, Numerical, and Verbal. What the whole SHL test is, how each part is scored, and how to prepare.
Compare. CCAT vs SHL General Ability. How the two cognitive tests differ in format and difficulty.
Guide. What is a good cognitive test score: per-test benchmarks. Cross-test benchmarks including SHL, CCAT, Wonderlic, and Watson-Glaser.

Practice on PrepClubs

Full-length SHL Verify practice, by section and timed.

A handful of explained questions beats a hundred rushed ones. Our SHL practice runs numerical, inductive, deductive, and verbal items at the real adaptive timing, with a worked walkthrough for every question so you learn the method, not just the answer. $39 one time. Pass Guarantee.

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