Sova Assessment: Format, Timing and Practice Questions

A Sova assessment is an online test that an employer builds from Sova’s library of ability tests, questionnaires and interviews, so two candidates invited through Sova can see quite different screens. The employer picks the sections and the settings, so where a detail varies we say so and point you to the instruction screen. What stays stable is the style of the reasoning questions: numerical items hang off a table or chart, logical items ask for the rule behind a pattern, and verbal items ask whether a statement follows from a passage. Below are the format, how scoring is reported to work, and three worked questions. We are an independent practice site and are not affiliated with Sova.

TL;DR

• Sova is a platform, not one fixed test. Each employer chooses the sections and settings, so read your invitation and every instruction screen.
• The reasoning sections most candidates meet are numerical (tables and charts), logical (patterns and sequences) and verbal (true, false or cannot say).
• Sova does not publish one time limit. Prep sites report that reasoning answers are scored on speed as well as accuracy.
• Each part opens with a practice question that does not count towards your score, according to Sova’s candidate hub.
• Sova says its assessments work on a phone, tablet or laptop, but it advises against a smartphone for virtual assessment centres.
• If you need an adjustment such as extra time, Sova tells you to contact the employer, not Sova.

What can a Sova assessment include?

Sova describes its approach as a blended assessment: the employer picks components from Sova’s assessment database and combines them into one sitting. Its assessments page says some off-the-shelf assessments take about 5 minutes and others around 25, and that numerical and verbal reasoning each come as a foundation or an advanced version for different roles.

Section	What you see	How you answer	Set by the employer?
Numerical reasoning	Tables, charts and graphs of data	Pick one answer from several options	Yes, foundation or advanced
Logical reasoning	A sequence of shapes with one part missing	Pick the figure that completes it	Yes
Verbal reasoning	A short passage, then a statement	True, false or cannot say	Yes, foundation or advanced
Situational judgement	A work scenario with three or four responses	Most and least effective response	Yes, written for the role
Personality questionnaire	Statements about how you work	Rate or rank the statements	Yes
Video interview	Recorded questions	Recorded answers	Yes

Sova’s candidate hub also lists motivation and competency questionnaires, checking and accuracy tests, learnability tests, skills tests and virtual assessment centres. Most invitations name only a few components. If the email says “numerical, logical and a questionnaire”, that is the whole sitting, and that is all you need to practise.

If you want to feel the pace before the real thing, try five free timed questions in the same numerical and logical style.

Is a Sova test timed?

Sova does not give one answer, because the employer configures it. Its candidate hub tells you to allow plenty of time, including time to read the instructions and complete the practice questions, and it says time is not recorded on video interview sections. Practice Aptitude Tests says question counts and timings vary by role level and by the version an employer licenses, and tells candidates to check the on-screen instructions before starting.

Speed still matters. Practice Aptitude Tests and GraduatesFirst both report that reasoning scores take account of how quickly you answer as well as whether you are right, and AssessmentDay says the same of the logical section. Sova’s own candidate pages do not state this, so treat it as a consistent report rather than a confirmed rule. The practical advice is the same either way: work at a steady pace and do not park on one question.

Is it adaptive? Sova’s candidate pages do not say its reasoning tests adapt to your answers. GraduatesFirst says difficulty adjusts in Sova’s gamified assessments. We could not confirm that for the standard numerical, verbal and logical tests, so do not plan around it.

Worked question 1: numerical reasoning from a table

Numerical items give you a small data set and one question. The usual trap is the right number for the wrong measure.

Monthly orders by channel

Channel	March orders	April orders
Online	1,250	1,500
Phone	800	720
In store	2,000	2,300

Question. Which channel grew fastest in percentage terms from March to April?

A) In store
B) Online
C) Phone
D) Online and in store grew by the same percentage

Worked solution.

Step 1. Percentage change is the change divided by the starting value, never by the end value.

Step 2. Online: 1,500 minus 1,250 is 250. Then 250 divided by 1,250 is 0.20, a 20% rise.

Step 3. In store: 2,300 minus 2,000 is 300. Then 300 divided by 2,000 is 0.15, a 15% rise.

Step 4. Phone: 720 minus 800 is minus 80. Then 80 divided by 800 is 0.10, a 10% fall.

Step 5. Online has the largest percentage rise. The answer is B.

Why the others fail. A is the trap: in store has the largest rise in orders (300), but it started from a bigger base. C fell. D would need both channels to rise by the same share, and they rose by 20% and 15%.

Same move, fresh numbers. Pull the two values off the chart, then divide by the start.

Worked question 2: logical reasoning with two moving rules

Logical items show a sequence with one part missing. Two features often change at once, each with its own rule.

Question. What does tile 5 contain?

A) 15 dots, arrow north
B) 14 dots, arrow north
C) 15 dots, arrow west
D) 13 dots, arrow south

Worked solution.

Step 1. Split the features. Count the dots on one pass and track the arrow on another.

Step 2. Dots. The differences are 2, 3 and 4, so the next difference is 5. Tile 5 has 10 plus 5, which is 15 dots.

Step 3. Arrow. North, west, south, east is a quarter turn anticlockwise each step. A quarter turn anticlockwise from east is north.

Step 4. Combine: 15 dots, arrow north. The answer is A.

Why the others fail. B repeats the last difference of 4. C gets the count right but turns the arrow twice. D reads the arrow clockwise and adds only 3 dots. Each wrong option solves one feature and fumbles the other, which is how these distractors are built.

Worked question 3: verbal reasoning, true, false or cannot say

Verbal items give you a passage and a statement. You judge the statement using the passage alone.

Passage. A city council began a food waste collection scheme in three of its districts in 2022. By the end of the first year, the household waste sent to landfill from those three districts had fallen, while the figure for the council’s other districts was unchanged. The council has since added two more districts to the scheme and says it will review the costs before extending it further.

Statement. The scheme caused the fall in landfill waste in the first three districts.

A) True
B) False
C) Cannot say

Worked solution.

Step 1. Find the sentence the statement depends on: waste fell in the three districts while the other districts stayed the same.

Step 2. Check what that sentence claims. It reports a timing and a comparison. It never says the scheme caused the fall. Something else in those districts could explain it.

Step 3. The passage neither confirms nor contradicts the cause. The answer is C, cannot say.

Quick check on a second statement. “The scheme now runs in five districts.” That is true: three at the start plus two added since.

The rule to keep. True means the passage states it or it follows directly. False means the passage contradicts it. Everything else is cannot say, however likely it sounds. Outside knowledge does not count.

How is a Sova assessment scored?

There is no published pass mark for Sova as a whole. The employer sets the bar for the role. GraduatesFirst reports that ability scores are compared with a group to give a percentile. Practice Aptitude Tests says personality and situational judgement results are read against the role’s requirements rather than a universal pass mark.

Feedback depends on the employer too. Sova’s candidate hub says that, if the employer chooses, you automatically receive a feedback report when you finish, and its candidate experience page describes detailed, constructive feedback sent to each candidate. Keep the report if you get one: it tells you which sections to strengthen before your next application.

How should you prepare for a Sova test?

1. Name the sections. Read the invitation and list each component. Practise only those.
2. Use the practice question. Sova says each part opens with one that does not count. Use it to learn the controls, not to rush.
3. Numerical. Practise reading tables and charts, and keep a calculator nearby unless the instructions say otherwise. See our numerical reasoning test tips.
4. Logical. Write the rule before you look at the options. The logical reasoning guide sets out the rule-first method.
5. Situational judgement. Read the employer’s values first. Our situational judgement test guide covers the answer formats.
6. Set up. Sova lists broadband of 1 Mb per second as the minimum, with a faster connection for video-based parts, and says its assessments work on a phone, tablet or laptop. A laptop in a quiet room is the safer choice for anything long.
7. Ask for adjustments early. Sova’s hub names additional time, a scribe or a screen reader as examples, and tells you to contact the employer.

If the employer bundles Sova with other stages, our guide on how to pass online assessment tests covers planning the whole process.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a calculator in a Sova test?

Sova’s candidate hub says to have a pen, paper and calculator for ability questions. Read the instructions for each section before using them.

Can I take a Sova assessment on my phone?

Sova says its assessments work on a mobile, tablet or laptop. It advises against a smartphone for virtual assessment centres, and says its video interviews run in Chrome and Safari.

Do the practice questions count towards my score?

No. Sova’s candidate hub says the practice question at the start of each part does not count.

Will I get feedback after a Sova test?

Only if the employer switches it on. When it does, Sova sends the report automatically after you finish.

Can I get extra time in a Sova assessment?

Ask the employer, not Sova. Sova’s hub lists additional time among the adjustments an employer can arrange.

Sources

• Sova: Candidate Preparation Hub
• Sova: Assessments
• Sova: Candidate Experience
• Practice Aptitude Tests: Sova assessment guide
• AssessmentDay: Sova assessments
• GraduatesFirst: Sova assessments