Logical reasoning test: what employers use

Logical reasoning test is the umbrella term for the test in a job application where answers are right or wrong. You will also see it called a logic test, a cognitive ability test or an aptitude test. Under the label sit several different task types, and which ones you get depends on the test publisher your employer uses. This guide maps the types, names the tests employers in Sweden send, and explains how the results are scored.

What a logical reasoning test measures

At heart these tests measure the same thing: general mental ability, often shortened to GMA. That means seeing patterns, keeping several things in mind at once and drawing the right conclusion from them. Matrigma, for example, reports a score for general mental ability compared with the working-age population.

Two kinds of reasoning run through almost every test. Deductive reasoning goes from given rules to a conclusion that must be true. Inductive reasoning goes from examples to the rule behind them. Many tests also include numbers, tables and charts. SHL Verify Interactive G+ is a good illustration: it measures deductive, inductive and numerical reasoning and gives you a score for each plus an overall score.

The task types under the label

• Matrices: a 3×3 grid of shapes with one cell missing. Used by Matrigma and Alva Labs, and covered in the abstract reasoning test guide.
• Rule-finding in series and groups: number series, picking the item that breaks a pattern, sorting images by rule. See the inductive reasoning test guide.
• Deductive tasks: statements, schedules and rankings where you work out what must follow. See the deductive reasoning test guide.
• Numerical tasks: tables and charts with percentages and changes. See the numerical reasoning test guide.

Matrigma and Alva Labs both use matrices. Here is what one looks like:

Which logic tests employers use

The test usually comes from one of a few publishers, and if you recognize the name in the invitation, you know roughly what to expect. These are the ones we have sources for:

• Matrigma from Assessio. The standard version is adaptive and takes 12 minutes, one minute per task. Nacka Municipality has used Matrigma since February 2026, and the Administrative Court of Appeal in Gothenburg and the Swedish Transport Administration use it too. More on the Matrigma page.
• The Alva Labs logic test. It is adaptive, with 20 scored tasks and two minutes per task. Academic Work and the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority use it. See the Alva Labs logic test page.
• SHL Verify Interactive G+. It is adaptive and interactive, takes 36 minutes and has at most 24 questions. See the SHL test page.
• Aon, formerly cut-e. Short subtests of 5 to 12 minutes each, and the employer picks which ones you take. The Swedish Public Employment Service uses Aon when it recruits its own staff. See the Aon test page.

If your employer is not on this list, it only means we have no reliable source. Look for the publisher’s name in the email.

Where the test comes in the process

The test usually comes early, often before you have met anyone. At Academic Work the tests are the second step, after your application has been reviewed. Nacka Municipality’s recruitment guidelines say tests should be done early in the process. The result is often used to decide who goes on to an interview, so it can be the first real cut. That is a good reason to prepare when you apply instead of waiting for an interview invitation.

How scores and retakes work

Your result is compared with a norm group, not with the other applicants. Matrigma gives a score from 0 to 10 against the working-age population, and about 68 percent land in the middle range. Alva Labs gives a score from 1 to 10 against working adults, where 5 and 6 are the most common results.

Retakes are limited. At Alva Labs you take one logic test per organization, and a new attempt with the same organization opens after 24 months. Matrigma results are not shared between companies, but each employer decides how long a result is valid; the Administrative Court of Appeal in Gothenburg keeps it for two years.

How to prepare

Practice is allowed, and it helps, within limits. A meta-analysis of 50 studies with more than 134,000 participants found that scores rose by 0.26 standard deviations on average on a second attempt, most when the same type of test came back. What you gain is familiarity with the format and the clock.

Start with the publishers’ own material: SHL and Aon both have practice tasks. Then take our free logic test, 12 matrix tasks with an explanation for every one. When you know which test you will take, try a full practice test with the same structure and time limit. Everything on Logiktester is free and needs no account. Our tasks are our own and imitate the task types, and we cannot promise any result.