Eldon F. Wonderlic was an industrial psychologist who created the Wonderlic test to help employers, including the U.S. military, determine the cognitive, verbal and quantitative abilities of the test taker.
The Wonderlic test allows a prospective employee to demonstrate his mental abilities, which can help the employer determine if the potential employee is capable of handling the job he is being hired for. If the employee can be placed in one of multiple positions, the test could help determine which position the employee will do best in.
In the NFL, the Wonderlic test has long been used to test a player's adaptability and playbook reading and memorization. It has been used so widely in the NFL that different positions on the field are correlated with higher or lower Wonderlic scores, and this can aid in determining what position is best for a prospective player.
There are two versions of the Wonderlic test. The first version, the Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT) is used to gauge a potential employee's cognitive abilities in regards to job tasks and problem solving.
The second version is the Wonderlic Basic Skills Test (WBST), which is broken into two parts. These two parts are the verbal and the quantitative parts. The verbal part tests a person's verbal ability, reading ability and comprehension. The quantitative part tests a person's mathematical ability. Many of the questions in this area are common math problems often found in day-to-day situations or widely used math formulas.
The test is available in both a pencil-and-paper format and a computer-based format.
Many unfair and discriminatory hiring practices were used prior to the 1960s and 1970s. Discrimination based on race, religion and gender was sometimes a determinant in whether a person would be hired. The Wonderlic test proved to be a great asset to testing an employee's abilities without consideration of race, ethnicity, gender, disabilities or religion. The test was found to be non-biased in terms of the questions and format, indicating that the test was not biased against any race or ethnic group.
The Wonderlic test has been studied and evaluated many times since its creation in the 1930s. The test is one of the most widespread abilities tests used today by many employers in a wide range of industries.
Many job positions historically have a certain range of Wonderlic scores attached to them because of extensive collection and review of test scores over the decades. This makes it a good test to see how good of a fit the person will be in a certain job position.
While the Wonderlic Test is considered an accepted and standard test for many prospective employees, it is important to note that the test is not the only or key determinant in hiring an employee. It is a supplement to the employee's resume and other experience, and the use of the test is up to the specific employer.