Aon test and cut-e scales: the subtests explained

An Aon test is a set of short subtests, and the employer chooses which ones you get. The tests used to be called cut-e, and many of them still carry the name scales. One recruitment can therefore include a 5-minute inductive pattern test and a 12-minute numerical test. Below are the subtests with Aon’s own time limits, what they measure and how to prepare.

What is an Aon test?

Aon is the test provider, and cut-e is the old name you still see in many places. Search for cut-e test, Aon test or Aon scales and you end up in the same family of tests.

Aon’s tests are short and tightly timed. Most subtests take 5 to 12 minutes. That sounds manageable, but it leaves little time per task, and every second you spend figuring out the format comes out of the time you have for solving.

The subtests and Aon’s own time limits

This is Aon’s own list of its ability tests:

• scales clx (inductive-logical reasoning): 6 minutes
• scales ix (inductive reasoning): 5 minutes, 20 tasks
• scales cls (inductive-logical thinking): 12 minutes, 12 tasks
• gapChallenge (deductive-logical thinking): 6 minutes
• switchChallenge (deductive reasoning): 6 minutes
• scales numerical (numerical reasoning): 12 minutes, 37 tasks
• scales verbal (verbal reasoning): 12 minutes, 49 tasks
• gridChallenge (working memory): 9 minutes, 9 tasks
• digitChallenge (numeracy): 6 minutes

Aon lists a few more, such as mechanical reasoning and language skills, which we don’t cover here. Read your invitation carefully. If it names the subtests, you know exactly what to practice and can leave the rest.

The inductive tests: clx, ix and cls

In the inductive tests you find the rule behind a pattern and apply it. In scales ix you look for the common rule and pick the item that doesn’t fit. In scales cls you sort new images into the pattern they match, and in scales clx you spot what a set of examples has in common.

Watch the pace. In scales ix you have 5 minutes for 20 tasks, which is 15 seconds per task. In scales cls you have a full minute per task. The thinking is the same, the pressure very different, so practice with the time limit you will actually face.

switchChallenge and gapChallenge: the deductive tests

In deductive tests you are given rules and draw conclusions from them.

switchChallenge is Aon’s deductive reasoning test, and it lasts 6 minutes. A row of four symbols goes through a four-digit code and comes out in a new order, and you work out which of the codes on offer produced the change. In harder tasks the codes are chained, so the output of one code is the input to the next. You get as many tasks as you can finish in the time.

gapChallenge is Aon’s deductive-logical test, also 6 minutes long. You see a grid of 4×4 or 5×5 cells where no symbol may repeat in a row or column, a bit like a sudoku, and you choose the symbol that belongs in the cell marked with a question mark. New tasks keep coming until the time runs out. It is often said to be the same test that used to be called scales lst.

For more on the ability behind these two tests, see our guide to deductive reasoning tests.

Numerical, verbal and working memory

scales numerical and scales verbal are the longest subtests at 12 minutes each, and they also have the most tasks: 37 and 49. In both you judge whether statements about the information you are given are true. That works out to under 20 seconds per task in numerical and under 15 in verbal, so preparing for them is mostly about getting fast and sure. Our guide to numerical reasoning tests covers the numerical side.

gridChallenge measures working memory and takes 9 minutes with 9 tasks. You hold information in mind while you work on something else. digitChallenge is a 6-minute numeracy test with basic arithmetic done in your head.

We haven’t found an official description of how Aon reports results, so we won’t guess at any cutoff scores here.

Aon’s own practice tasks

Aon has free practice tasks and short screencasts for its tests and recommends getting to know the format before the real thing. There are PDF practice tasks for most of the ability tests, gapChallenge, switchChallenge and digitChallenge among them, and a screencast for each test. Start there, especially for the subtests with an unusual format.

Aon gives some practical advice as well. Work through the untimed examples in each test’s introduction. Answer quickly but carefully, because wrong answers generally lower your score. Choose a quiet time, since a timed test can’t be paused once it starts.

Research supports practicing too. A meta-analysis of 50 studies found that scores rose by an average of 0.26 standard deviations on a second attempt, and TRR, a Swedish career transition organization, found that three hours of practice gave up to 20 percent better results before the effect leveled off.

• Find out which subtests you will take.
• Do Aon’s practice tasks for each one.
• Practice with the right time limit, so 15 seconds per task doesn’t come as a shock.
• Take the tests rested. The short time limits leave no room for lost minutes.

Who uses Aon in Sweden?

The Swedish Public Employment Service uses Aon when it recruits its own staff, and Saab uses Aon’s tests for personality, ability and skills. An Aon test in a recruitment may also include a personality test.

Our tasks are our own and imitate the task types; they are not Aon’s. Want to start now? Try our Aon practice: twelve tasks in Aon’s answer formats from scales numerical, scales ix, gapChallenge and switchChallenge, with an explanation for every task. The subtests also have their own practice tests with Aon’s time limits, and gridChallenge has its own working memory test. Everything is free, and you get new tasks every time.