Wonderlic score: what your number out of 50 means
A Wonderlic score is simply how many of the 50 questions you got right in 12 minutes. What that number is worth depends on who reads it. Here is what is publicly documented, with the source next to each figure.
Updated October 14, 2026 · by TimedPrep
- Raw score: the number of right answers out of 50 (or out of 30 on the 30-question version)
- Average: the test was built so that 20 means average; older studies put it at about 20 to 22
- Pass mark: none; each employer or school sets its own
- Your number: employers usually do not show it to candidates; schools compare it with a program minimum
The raw score: right answers out of 50
The classic Wonderlic is 50 questions in 12 minutes, and the score is the number you answer correctly. A blank and a wrong answer both count zero. Nobody is expected to finish, so the score is as much about pace as about knowing the answers: at 14.4 seconds a question, every question you sit on costs you the chance to read the next one.
The same 50-point scale is used by the Wonderlic Scholastic Level Exam (SLE), the version schools use for admission. Wonderlic's SLE page gives its standard version as 50 questions in twelve minutes and the remote "quicktest" as 30 questions in eight.
What the average is, and where the figures come from
- Built for 20. The test was designed so that a score of 20 indicates average ability (Pollick, 2003, as cited in the Wonderlic test article on Wikipedia).
- About 20 to 22 in older studies. That is the range prep companies quote. For the spread, our estimate uses about 7.5 points (one standard deviation), after an older published study of job applicants (Jensen, 1977, in the journal Intelligence).
- No current norms. Wonderlic Select, the hiring test employers send today, combines the timed section with motivation and personality sections. Wonderlic's candidate FAQ says there is no universal good or average score for it and that candidates are not given a numeric cognitive score.
So every "average Wonderlic score" you read is a historical figure from the 50-point test. It is still the best scale available for a practice score, as long as it is read as a rough guide.
A Wonderlic score chart, labeled as an estimate
Wonderlic publishes no score-to-percentile chart for candidates. The table below is arithmetic on the historical average (21) and spread (7.5), assuming scores follow a bell curve. It is the same estimate our practice result shows, and it is our estimate, not a Wonderlic table.
| Score | Percentile, est. |
|---|---|
| 10 | 7% |
| 15 | 21% |
| 18 | 34% |
| 21 | 50% |
| 25 | 70% |
| 28 | 82% |
| 30 | 88% |
| 32 | 93% |
| 35 | 97% |
| 40 and above | 99% |
How to use it: each extra right answer near the middle of the scale moves you about five percentile places. Going from 21 to 28 means seven more right answers in the same 12 minutes, and most of those come from pace, not from new knowledge.
Why employers and schools set their own cut-offs
A score only means something next to a job or a program. Wonderlic's candidate FAQ says results are judged against the demands of the specific job, and its SLE page tells schools they can customize score profiles for their programs. In practice:
- Employers see a job-fit result, not a pass or fail you can look up. A role that needs fast reading and arithmetic is set higher than one that does not. If your recruiter tells you a number, that number is the one that counts.
- Schools set a minimum per program. Fortis College Scranton's 2026-2027 catalog, for example, asks 11 on the SLE for its dental assisting, HVAC/R and medical assisting diplomas, 19 for practical nursing and 22 for dental hygiene. Other schools set different numbers, so ask your admissions office.
Scores quoted for particular jobs
Two kinds of figures circulate, and neither is a cut-off:
- Occupation averages from old test manuals, such as 29 for accountants and 21 for cashiers. We list them, with their source and their caveats, in what score is good for which job.
- Football. The NFL gave the Wonderlic to draft prospects for decades. ESPN reported that an average football player scores around 20 (Merron, 2007), and the Chicago Tribune that most teams want at least 21 for a quarterback (Pompei, 2010), both as cited in the Wikipedia article.
We do not repeat score tables for other jobs: we have found no public source that states them.
How to find your own number before the real test
Since employers rarely show candidates a score, the only way to know where you stand is a timed practice test in the same format. Our free Wonderlic-format test is 50 questions on a 12-minute clock. When the clock stops you see your raw score, the estimate from the chart above, how far you got, and which question types cost you points. Our questions are written by us, so a practice score is a guide to your level, not a prediction of the publisher's score.
Free Wonderlic practice test. 50 questions on a 12-minute clock, no sign-up. Score, estimated standing and where your time went.
Start the free testApplying to a school that uses the SLE? Start from the Wonderlic SLE practice test page: the same free test, with the school details.