Critical Thinking Test: 20 Practice Questions With Answers
This critical thinking test has 20 practice questions you can take right now in about 25 minutes, and each answer comes with a short explanation. The questions cover five skills: spotting assumptions, drawing inferences, checking deductions, judging arguments and avoiding reasoning traps.
It's a practice set, not a scored assessment. There are no percentiles here and no claim that a number tells you how smart you are. What you get is a quick read on which kind of reasoning trips you up, plus specific exercises to fix it.
How to Take This Critical Thinking Test
- Set a timer for 25 minutes. That works out to a little over a minute per question, which is enough time if you read carefully and not enough if you second-guess everything.
- Cover the answers. Each answer sits on its own line right after its question. Scroll with a sheet of paper or a second window over the screen, or write your answers down before you check.
- Answer from the text only. Treat every passage as true, even when it sounds odd, and don't bring in outside knowledge unless the question asks for it. Real critical thinking tests work the same way.
- Score one point per question. Where a question has several parts, you need every part right to earn the point.
- Note your section scores. The total matters less than which of the five sections cost you the most points.
Part 1: Recognizing Assumptions
An assumption is something an argument needs to be true but never says out loud. For each question, find the assumption the argument depends on. The questioning assumptions guide covers this skill in depth.
1. "Our cafe should open at 6 a.m. instead of 7 a.m., because hundreds of commuters walk past the door between 6 and 7." Which assumption does this argument depend on?
- A) Commuters like coffee more than tea.
- B) Some of those commuters would buy something if the cafe were open.
- C) Opening an hour earlier costs nothing.
- D) The cafe's competitors open at 7 a.m.
Answer: B. The whole case rests on foot traffic turning into sales. If none of the commuters would stop, the argument collapses. C is too strong: the argument can survive some extra cost, as long as the sales are worth it. A and D aren't needed at all.
2. "Umbrella sales rose 40% the week we launched the new window display, so the display works." Which assumption does this argument depend on?
- A) Window displays always increase sales.
- B) Nothing else that week, such as a rainstorm, pushed umbrella sales up.
- C) The store sells products other than umbrellas.
- D) A 40% rise is unusually large.
Answer: B. The argument treats the display as the only cause. One wet week would explain the jump just as well. A is far broader than the argument needs, and C and D are irrelevant to whether the display caused the rise.
3. "We need to hire two more support agents, because our average response time has doubled since March." Is each of the following an assumption the argument makes? Answer "made" or "not made" for each.
- a) Response times got longer mainly because there are too few agents for the volume of requests.
- b) Response times will keep doubling every few months.
- c) New agents will be able to answer tickets quickly enough to bring response times down.
Answer: a) made, b) not made, c) made. Hiring only fixes the problem if staffing is the cause (a) and if the new hires actually help (c). The argument says nothing about the trend continuing, so (b) isn't required. If response times doubled because of a broken ticketing tool, hiring would be the wrong fix.
4. "The new budgeting app has a 4.8-star rating and the old one has 4.2, so the new app is better." Is each of the following an assumption the argument makes?
- a) Star ratings reflect how good an app is.
- b) The two apps were rated by comparable groups of users.
- c) The new app has more reviews than the old one.
Answer: a) made, b) made, c) not made. Comparing two ratings only works if ratings measure quality and the raters are similar. A new app rated by a few dozen enthusiasts isn't comparable to an old one rated by years of frustrated users. The number of reviews matters for how much you trust the comparison, but the argument doesn't depend on the new app having more.
Part 2: Drawing Inferences
Read the passage, then mark each statement True (it follows from the passage), False (the passage contradicts it) or Can't tell (the passage doesn't give enough information).
A town library extended its weekday closing time from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. starting in January. In February, an average of 85 people visited after 6 p.m. each weekday evening. Total visits in February were 12% higher than in February of the previous year.
5. Some people visited the library after 6 p.m. in February.
Answer: True. The passage states it directly: an average of 85 people per weekday evening.
6. The library was busier in February than in January.
Answer: Can't tell. The passage compares February with the previous February, not with January. People often fill this gap with an assumption, which is exactly the habit this section tests.
7. In February, the library closed at 6 p.m. on weekdays.
Answer: False. From January onward the library closed at 9 p.m., and people visited after 6 p.m. in February.
8. Every evening visitor in February would otherwise have skipped the library that day.
Answer: Can't tell. Some evening visitors may simply have shifted from a daytime visit. The 12% rise suggests the longer hours added some visits, but the passage can't tell you how many of the 85 are new.
Part 3: Deduction
For each question, decide whether the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises or does not follow. Accept the premises as true even if they seem unlikely. If formal logic is rusty, the deductive reasoning guide walks through the patterns used here.
9. Every member of the chess club also plays in the Tuesday league. Maya does not play in the Tuesday league. Conclusion: Maya is not a member of the chess club.
Answer: Follows. If Maya were in the club, she would have to be in the league. She isn't, so she can't be in the club.
10. All the managers attended the safety training. Sam attended the safety training. Conclusion: Sam is a manager.
Answer: Does not follow. The premises say managers attended. They don't say only managers attended. Sam could be anyone else in the building. This error, reasoning backward from "all A are B" to "this B is an A", is one of the most common mistakes on real tests.
11. Some engineers are runners. All runners own a stopwatch. Conclusion: Some engineers own a stopwatch.
Answer: Follows. The engineers who are runners must own a stopwatch, because every runner does.
12. No reptiles have fur. Some pets have fur. Conclusion: Some reptiles are not pets.
Answer: Does not follow. The premises do let you conclude that some pets are not reptiles (the furry ones). But they say nothing about whether every reptile is someone's pet. Flipping a valid conclusion around is a classic trap.
Part 4: Evaluating Arguments
The question is: "Should the city make all downtown buses free to ride?" Rate each argument Strong (important and directly related to the question) or Weak (unimportant, unrelated, or based on a sweeping claim). You're judging the argument, not whether you agree with it.
13. "Yes. When the city ran free fares on one downtown route last year, ridership on that route rose and the city recorded fewer parking violations downtown."
Answer: Strong. It's directly relevant and gives specific local evidence. You could still question it (one route, one year), but it bears on the decision.
14. "No. People never value anything they get for free."
Answer: Weak. "Never" is a sweeping claim that isn't true as stated, and it doesn't address whether free buses would serve the city's goals.
15. "Yes. Everyone likes free stuff."
Answer: Weak. Popularity doesn't settle whether a policy is a good use of public money. The argument skips every cost and trade-off.
16. "No. Fares currently pay for a large share of bus maintenance, and the proposal names no replacement funding."
Answer: Strong. It identifies a concrete cost the proposal leaves unanswered. A good decision has to deal with it either way.
Arguments built on comparisons deserve the same scrutiny. "Free buses worked in another city, so they'll work here" is only as strong as the similarity between the two cities, which is the problem the false analogy guide unpacks.
Part 5: Reasoning Traps and Consequences
These questions are built so the first answer that comes to mind is wrong. Slow down.
17. A notebook and a pen cost $2.20 together. The notebook costs $2.00 more than the pen. How much does the pen cost?
Answer: 10 cents. The quick answer is 20 cents, but then the notebook would cost $2.20 and the pair $2.40. If the pen costs 10 cents, the notebook costs $2.10, and together they cost $2.20. This is a version of the well-known bat-and-ball problem, and it tests whether you check a gut answer before you commit to it.
18. Across a year of data, weeks with higher ice cream sales also have more drownings. What is the best explanation?
- A) Eating ice cream makes swimming more dangerous.
- B) Hot weather increases both ice cream sales and swimming.
- C) Drownings make people buy more ice cream.
- D) The pattern must be a coincidence.
Answer: B. A third factor, warm weather, drives both numbers. Two things moving together isn't proof that one causes the other. D is tempting but too quick: the pattern is real, it just has a different cause.
19. A school bans phones at lunch so students will talk to each other more. Which effect is the one most worth planning for that the school probably didn't intend?
- A) Students talk to each other more at lunch.
- B) Phone use bunches up in the minutes just before and after lunch, and between classes.
- C) Fewer phones are sold in the town.
- D) The lunch period gets shorter.
Answer: B. A is the intended first-order effect. B is a second-order effect: people respond to the rule by moving the behavior somewhere else. C and D don't follow from the ban. Thinking one step past the obvious result is the core of second-order thinking.
20. A survey posted on a fitness app's website finds that 80% of respondents exercise every day. A blogger concludes that 80% of adults exercise daily. What is the main problem with that conclusion?
- A) The sample size was too small.
- B) The respondents chose themselves and came from a fitness app's audience.
- C) 80% is too high a number to be believable.
- D) Online surveys can never be trusted.
Answer: B. People who use a fitness app and choose to answer a fitness survey aren't a fair picture of all adults. A might be true, but the question gives no sample size. C judges the number instead of the method, and D is a sweeping claim.
How to Score Your Results
Count one point per question for a total out of 20, then look at your score in each section of four:
- Lost points in Part 1 (assumptions): you tend to accept an argument's frame. Practice listing what must be true before you judge a claim.
- Lost points in Part 2 (inference): you're filling gaps with plausible guesses. Practice saying "can't tell" out loud when a passage doesn't say.
- Lost points in Part 3 (deduction): you're reading conclusions backward. Diagram the premises as circles or arrows before you answer.
- Lost points in Part 4 (arguments): you're rating arguments by whether you agree with them. Judge relevance and evidence first, opinion last.
- Lost points in Part 5 (traps and consequences): you're answering on the first impulse. Make a habit of checking a fast answer before you give it, and of asking "and then what?"
A perfect score on 20 practice questions doesn't make anyone a flawless thinker, and a low one doesn't mean much on its own either. The useful result is the section that cost you the most, because that's the skill to train first.
What Formal Critical Thinking Tests Measure
Employers and schools use formal critical thinking tests, such as the Watson-Glaser, to assess candidates. They're usually timed and multiple-choice, and they're built from the same kinds of items as this practice set: judging inferences, recognizing assumptions, checking deductions, interpreting evidence and weighing arguments. Formats differ between publishers and versions, so check the official practice materials for the exact test you're taking.
Two things carry over from any practice set to the real thing. First, read only what's on the page. Most wrong answers come from bringing in outside knowledge or filling a gap the passage leaves open. Second, watch the clock without rushing. The trap questions are designed to reward people who pause for a few seconds before answering.
Critical Thinking Test Questions to Practice Next
Taking more tests helps up to a point. After that, the skills improve faster when you practice them one at a time. Here's how to use your results:
- Retake this test in a week without looking at the answers first. Questions you miss twice show a habit rather than a slip.
- Write your own items. Take a headline or a work email and write one assumption question and one inference question about it. Writing test items is harder than answering them, and it trains the same muscles. The critical thinking questions list gives you 104 prompts to start from.
- Drill your weakest section for 10 minutes a day. The critical thinking exercises guide has a time-boxed drill for each skill tested here, and how to improve critical thinking skills lays out a 12-exercise plan.
- Train consequences under time pressure. Part 5 is the hardest to improve by reading, because it depends on habit. The Second Order Consequences drill gives you a short scenario and asks for three ripple effects aimed at a specific stakeholder, against a timer you choose. Each round builds the "and then what?" reflex that question 19 tests.
For real situations where these skills changed a decision, see the critical thinking examples collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a critical thinking test? A critical thinking test measures how well you reason from information you're given. Typical questions ask you to spot hidden assumptions, decide whether an inference is supported, check whether a conclusion follows logically and judge how strong an argument is. Most are timed and multiple-choice.
What kind of questions are on a critical thinking test? Most use five question types: recognizing assumptions, drawing inferences, deduction, interpreting evidence and evaluating arguments. Some add reasoning traps such as questions with a tempting wrong answer. The 20 questions on this page cover each type with answers explained.
How do I pass a critical thinking test? Read each passage as if it were completely true, answer only from what it says, and don't fill gaps with outside knowledge. Practice the question types beforehand so the formats feel familiar, and spend most of your preparation on the type you miss most often.
Is there a free critical thinking test? Yes. The 20 questions above are free and take about 25 minutes. Because this is a practice set rather than a standardized assessment, use it to find your weakest skill, not to compare yourself against a population.
What is the Watson-Glaser test? The Watson-Glaser is a widely used critical thinking assessment that employers give job candidates. It's a timed, multiple-choice test covering skills like recognizing assumptions, judging inferences, deduction, interpretation and evaluating arguments. Use the publisher's official practice materials to check the current format.
Can you improve your critical thinking test score? Yes, with targeted practice. Familiarity with the question formats removes avoidable mistakes, and short daily drills on your weakest skill, such as listing assumptions or tracing second-order consequences, build the habits the test rewards.
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