Spatial Reasoning Test Preparation

To help you pass spatial psychometric tests, use these preparation assessments, advice, and solutions to help you increase your score.

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Have you been asked to take a spatial reasoning test and you're not sure what to expect? Need to ace the test to get to the next assessment stage?

Our practice tests are created by the same psychologists who design tests for the likes of SHL, Kenexa, and Saville Assessment. So our test platform and example questions will give you a good feel for the spatial reasoning tests employers use. Read on and soon you'll have a complete understanding of what spatial reasoning tests are and be confident taking that test.

What are spatial reasoning tests?

Spatial reasoning tests are tests that are designed to determine a candidate's ability to manipulate 2D and 3D objects, visualize movements and change between shapes, and spot patterns between those shapes. Everyday we use spatial reasoning as we deal with objects in our daily lives and most people will be familiar with the general conception behind the spatial reasoning questions.

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There are various types of spatial reasoning questions that one may face within a spatial test, so it's important that you are familiar with all the different types of questions.

These tests are more typical for technical and engineering roles, and will likely only be included in your application process if the role requires a person with good spatial reasoning ability.

The following images explain the format of an example spatial reasoning question:

screenshot of spatial reasoning test 1
screenshot of spatial reasoning test 2

What to expect from a spatial reasoning test

If you are due to take an application in a career that requires high spatial reasoning, such as architecture or engineering, then you will be taking a spatial reasoning test as part of that application. As a result, it is important that you are able to develop and demonstrate these skills effectively. So knowing what to expect from these spatial tests will be extremely useful.

Survey results

In 2020, we surveyed job applicants to find out more about their spatial reasoning tests. We asked them what tasks they faced in their spatial test, to get a better understanding of what are the most likely operations you will be tasked with. 85% of candidate's tests included 2D to 3D operations.

frequency of spatial reasoning operations

These tests will be most commonly be timed with multiple-choice answer options. Do not worry, you will almost certainly be given instructions before your test starts so make sure to pay close attention to the time allowance and all other key information given to you.

These are some of the more common questions types in a spatial reasoning test:

Organising 2D shapes

In this question type you must demonstrate your ability to correctly manipulate 2D shapes. You will need to answer which option correctly represents the manipulation of the shape that it is asking you to achieve. Questions of this style will assess your ability to understand relative size and orientation.

Here is an example to try before moving onto the next question type...

(Don't scroll too far if you want to try it without giving away the answer)

spatial reasoning sample question

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The correct answer is: A

Transforming 2D nets to 3D shapes

In this question type you must manipulate a 2D net shape, for example a cube, and identify which of the answer options can be created by that 2D net. This can be challenging due to figuring out each side of the shape as it requires you to work out how each side will look once it's been folded together and rotated.

Here is an example to try before moving onto the next question type...

(Don't scroll too far if you want to try it without giving away the answer)

spatial reasoning sample question 2

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The correct answer is: C

Rotations and reflections

In this question type you must manipulate a 2D or 3D shape with rotation or reflection. Many consider these question types to be of the easier variety as it is a spatial reasoning task more familiar to the everyday.

However, the ability to rotate 3D shapes mentally can be much harder and will require strong understanding of the properties of an object. The answer options will be the same 3D form but you will typically have a mark or styling on the side of the shape to help you distinguishing its point as an anchor.

And lastly, here is an example to try in this question format:

spatial reasoning sample question 2

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The correct answer is: B

Those are the common types of questions you will face, hopefully you managed to answer a couple of our examples correctly.

Free practice spatial reasoning test

Here you can take our free spatial test to show you how they work in improving your score.

Free Spatial Reasoning Test
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This sample spatial test has 12 questions and will take 8 minutes to complete. We rate this as medium difficulty and is typical of the same level as graduate employer spatial reasoning tests.

Spatial Reasoning Test 1
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  • 22 questions
  • 15 mins
Spatial Reasoning Test 2
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Spatial Reasoning Test 3
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Spatial Reasoning Test 4
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How to prepare for spatial tests

As we can determine from above, spatial reasoning tests are not easy. There are a variety of different question types to answer and as a result, many different skills are required to be able to confidently answer spatial reasoning questions.

This is why we recommend that you practice these questions with tests until you are no longer struggling with them. It is our most important advice to you. Remember, your assessment will be timed so you need to make sure that you are not spending too much time on any question or getting too much anxiety due to the difficulty of the test.

Now, we have timed practice tests that will simulate the real experience which you can find in our spatial reasoning practice pack - there's really no better way to practice.

It is very uncommon that you will just be taking a spatial reasoning test on its own - they are often combined with tests such as numerical reasoning, verbal reasoning, inductive reasoning etc. Don't worry, we have information on all these test types, with free practice questions and extensive practice packs that are sure to boost your test performance.