Cognitive assessment measures how quickly someone reasons, solves problems, and adapts to novel material. It does not measure intelligence in any global sense; it measures the trainability and learning agility of a candidate against the kinds of problems the workplace asks of them.
What it measures
Six sub-domains in the v1.0 bank:
- Logical reasoning — applying rules, identifying assumptions, evaluating arguments (4 items).
- Pattern recognition — completing numeric, shape, and letter sequences (4 items).
- Problem solving — multi-step applied problems (2 items).
- Learning speed — applying a freshly-introduced rule to a new situation (2 items).
- Working memory — holding, ordering, and re-ordering short information sets (4 items).
- Numerical reasoning — applied calculations on Saudi riyal budgets, Saudization ratios, Hijri-year math, and 15% VAT (6 items).
The aggregate is a score band: developing, proficient, or advanced. Sub-domain scores are also reported so a hiring manager can see whether the band is balanced or skewed.
What an item looks like
Multiple choice with four options per item, and one correct answer. Items vary by sub-domain — a working-memory item asks the assessee to memorize a short sequence and then recall or reverse it; a numerical-reasoning item presents a riyal-denominated government contract or a specific Saudization ratio and asks for the related calculation; a pattern item shows a sequence with a missing step.
The numerical items are deliberately anchored to the Saudi context: riyal budgets, Saudization percentages, Hijri-year math, quarterly government contracts, and 15% VAT. The aim is to measure numerical reasoning on figures the assessee meets in daily work, not on foreign units.
The Cognitive Core bank contains 51 items; 50 are drawn per attempt, stratified across subscales so every facet appears in every attempt. Every attempt is unique.
Time-bounded
25 minutes for the default template. Per-item time targets range from 30 to 90 seconds depending on difficulty and are recorded on the item metadata. The clock starts when the assessee opens the runner and continues until they submit or time runs out. The runner shows the remaining time at the top.
If the timer expires before submission, every unanswered item is scored as incorrect. This is intentional — the assessment is meant to test how someone performs under time pressure, not how thoroughly they would solve the same problems given an hour.
How the result reaches the competency profile
Cognitive results contribute to competencies tagged as cognition-relevant: typically Analytical thinking, Problem solving, Learning agility. The fidelity weight is moderate; cognitive scores are noisy enough that the platform does not let one result dominate the profile.
How to read the report
Three parts:
- The score band with sub-domain breakdown.
- A narrative explaining what the band suggests about the candidate's likely on-the-job performance, with caveats appropriate to the noise in the score.
- A norm-comparison panel showing where the candidate falls relative to a reference group. The reference group in v1.0 is global, not Saudi-normed; a Saudi-norm sample is on the v1.1 watch list.
When to use it
- High-volume hiring for roles that demand fast thinking and rapid learning (graduate programmes, early-career analyst roles).
- Cohort comparison — when ranking candidates against each other for a single role and the cognitive band helps tie-break otherwise similar profiles.
- Internal reskilling decisions — when deciding whether to invest training in someone for a substantially different role.
When not to use it
- As a final filter for senior roles. Senior performance correlates more with experience, judgement, and domain than with raw cognitive band.
- For cultural-fit decisions. Cognitive scores have nothing to say about how someone will work with the team.
- For roles where the relevant cognition is highly domain-specific. A doctor's cognitive ability matters in the medical sense, which is not what this assessment measures.
Next
Technical assessment — the third type — is covered next.