Developing numerical ability

Modern day numerical reasoning tests are used as part of recruitment and training processes to measure your ability to understand, manipulate and make decisions based on numerical information.

While answering questions of a numerical nature may come naturally to some, for others it will instil a sense of fear and anxiety. If you belong to the latter category and are expecting to take a numerical reasoning test then it might serve you well to brush up on your numerical ability.

But just how exactly do you develop your numerical ability?

 

Developing your numerical ability 

Your numerical ability is like a muscle – and like any muscle it will respond to consistent and regular exercise. Regularly exercising your numerical ability ‘muscles’ will help it to grow stronger, and if you do not, it will become weaker.

Completing practice questions will help you to ‘exercise’ and therefore develop your raw numerical ability, but the benefits are limited. To build your raw ability to its maximum strength you need to combine regular practice with regular use of that ability. This will encourage your numerical ability to become stronger and more well-rounded.

Your raw numerical ability can be exercised and developed through any activity that requires you to use it, such as:

  • Completing number puzzles (like Sudoku), word games and problem solving challenges.
  • Adding things up in your head – such as prices when you go to the supermarket or pub (although the latter becomes increasingly difficult the longer you’re there!).
  • Reconciling your current account at the end of each month.
  • Reviewing and interpreting more complex sets of numerical data, such as a set of accounts, financial reports or website analytics data at work.
  • Analysing numerical information to identify and pull out key themes, trends and changes. Or looking at where the biggest differences occur between values, such as income vs outgoings.
  • Taking part in discussions about numerical information.

 

Like any form of exercise these activities will be most successful when you integrate them into normal life. If you can perform exercises in a way that becomes habitual, your raw numerical ability will grow steadily. It is often much easier to introduce small changes on a daily basis, such as a daily Sudoku puzzle, than attempt infrequent or overly demanding numerical exercises.

Remember that there is an upper limit to your numerical ability!

Just as we can’t all grow our muscles to the same size as Mr Universe, we can’t all grow our numerical ability to the level of Pythagoras. What you can do however, is combine knowledge of the test, your test-taking strategies and practice to develop your numerical ability to its maximum – this will help you achieve your personal best score.

Follow

Would you like to have our content delivered to your feed? Follow us in your favorite channel!

Or subscribe to our newsletter
Find your Soft Skills
Let's Go!
Post a job and find a match

Access the Soft Skills Marketplace

Assessment Platform

Full suite for online psychometric asessments

Assessment Service

Get our expert insights to make better decisions

Let us find you the right match

Recruitment & Staffing services

Browse job opportunities

Access the job board

Match yourself with opportunities

Soft Skills Marketplace

Find your soft skills strengths

Understand what makes you unique

Practice Center

Practice PQ's and Ability tests for free

Clevry Blog

Read our latest articles on Soft Skills and recruitment

What are Soft Skills?

Everything you need to know.

Case Studies

Dive into the success of our customers

Sample Reports

Check our library of sample reports, generated by the Clevry platform

Want to check out a sample report to see what Clevry can uncover?