Thomas GIA Test 2026: Subtests, Scoring, PPA and Practice

The Thomas GIA test (General Intelligence Assessment) is the aptitude test from Thomas International, a UK psychometrics vendor. It is a speed test: five short tasks (reasoning, perceptual speed, number speed and accuracy, word meaning and spatial visualisation), each lasting 2 to 5 minutes, with eight practice items before each one. Including instructions it takes 30 to 45 minutes. Employers often send it together with the PPA, a short behavioural questionnaire, and sometimes the HPTI personality questionnaire or an emotional intelligence questionnaire. This guide explains each Thomas International assessment, how GIA results are scored, and gives you original practice items for every GIA task.

Key facts

Thomas International assessments at a glance

Thomas's candidate page groups its tools into four assessments. Only one of them, the GIA, has right and wrong answers.

• Aptitude (GIA). Timed, five sub-tests. Thomas describes it as measuring how quickly you pick up new information, and its 2018 sample report says the overall percentile has an "accent" on "response to training, mental processing speed, concentration and fast track potential". That is why the GIA is often discussed as a "trainability" test.
• Behaviour (PPA, Personal Profile Analysis). Based on the DISC model: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance. You get sets of four words or phrases and pick the one most like you and the one least like you at work. There is no pass or fail.
• Personality (HPTI, High Potential Trait Indicator). Developed by Ian MacRae and Adrian Furnham. Thomas's science paper lists six traits: Conscientiousness, Adjustment, Curiosity, Risk Approach, Ambiguity Acceptance and Competitiveness.
• Emotional intelligence (TEIQue-based). Untimed statements rated from 1 (completely disagree) to 7 (completely agree). Thomas does not state the number of statements on its candidate page.

The employer chooses which of these you get; GIA plus PPA is a common pairing. Candidate feedback reports exist for all four, but only if the employer switches them on.

What the Thomas GIA test looks like

This section draws on Thomas's GIA example booklet (2025) and candidate page.

Setup. You may be asked to indicate your screen size. Each task opens with a short explanation, a demonstration of how to answer and eight practice items, then the timed task starts. Thomas recommends doing all five tasks in one sitting and in a quiet room, and states that "both speed and accuracy are equally important". You answer by pointing and clicking; no keyboard is needed, and Thomas suggests plugging a mouse into a laptop if you are not used to a trackpad.

Pace. These are short, high-volume tasks. A 2018 Thomas sample report shows one candidate attempting between 14 and 54 items per task, so some tasks contain many quick items and others fewer, slower ones. Prep sites give total item counts that disagree: JobTestPrep says "around 200 questions in less than 20 minutes", WikiJob "between 130 and 160" in 20 minutes. Treat both as estimates.

Timing per task. Thomas says each task lasts between 2 and 5 minutes. JobTestPrep says 2 to 3 minutes each. The official range is the one to plan for; Thomas does not publish the exact limit for each task.

Technical rules. Use a current Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari, allow pop-ups and JavaScript, and avoid work networks that may block the test. Content loads beforehand, so a short connection drop should not interrupt you. If anything could affect your performance, tell the person who invited you before you start.

How the Thomas GIA test is scored

Percentiles and bands. The Thomas 2018 sample report shows a percentile for each task and an overall percentile, compared with a named norm group (in the sample, "United Kingdom Norms: 2017"). Each task is placed in a band:

The same report shows a "GTI" figure on a T-score chart. Thomas describes the overall percentile as "a weighted combination" of the five tasks and as an estimate of general intelligence, "reflecting both fluid and crystallised intelligence". Thomas's current GIA page adds that employers compare results with their own role benchmarks.

Wrong answers cost points. For each task the sample report lists items done, right, wrong and an "adjusted score". The numbers in that report are consistent with the deductions JobTestPrep publishes: 1 point per wrong answer in Reasoning, 0.25 in Perceptual Speed and 0.5 in Number Speed & Accuracy, Word Meaning and Spatial Visualisation. For example, 42 right and 12 wrong in Perceptual Speed gives 42 − 12 × 0.25 = 39. Thomas does not state these deductions on its candidate pages, so treat them as reported rather than confirmed for the current version.

What that means for guessing. Each deduction equals 1 ÷ (number of options − 1): two options in Reasoning (penalty 1), five in Perceptual Speed (0.25), three in the other tasks (0.5). That is the classic correction for guessing: a blind guess has an expected value of exactly zero. You gain nothing by clicking randomly, while an educated guess that is better than chance still gains on average. The practical rule is to work fast but never to click without looking.

What score do employers want? There is no published pass mark; employers set their own benchmark. Thomas's interviewer notes in the sample report warn against treating one low task as a failure. Aim for the average band or above on every task.

Question types with original examples

Every item below is original and follows the format described in the official booklet.

1. Reasoning

You see one sentence comparing two people, for example who is taller, faster or more careful. You study it for as long as you like and click to continue. The sentence then disappears and a question appears with two name boxes. The difficulty comes from negatives, passives and the question asking for the opposite quality.

Practice 1. Statement: "Maya is not as tall as Leon." Question: "Who is shorter?" [Maya] [Leon]

Answer: Maya. "Not as tall as" puts Leon above Maya on height, so Maya is the shorter one.

Practice 2. Statement: "Omar is outrun by Ines." Question: "Who is slower?" [Ines] [Omar]

Answer: Omar. In the passive, the person after "by" does the action: Ines outruns Omar, so Ines is faster and Omar slower. Note that the boxes appear in a different order from the names in the statement.

Practice 3. Statement: "Adrian is not as light as Erik." Question: "Who is heavier?" [Erik] [Adrian]

Answer: Adrian. "Not as light as" puts Erik below Adrian on weight, so Adrian is the heavier. Turn negatives into a ranking ("Adrian > Erik") before you click.

2. Perceptual speed

Four letters sit on top, four below, forming four vertical pairs. Count how many pairs show the same letter, with upper and lower case counting as the same. Click 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4.

Practice 4.

B   r   M   t
b   R   n   T

Answer: 3. B/b, r/R and t/T match; M/n does not.

Practice 5.

g   Q   a   e
G   o   A   c

Answer: 2. g/G and a/A match. Q/o and e/c are shape look-alikes, not the same letter.

Practice 6.

d   j   U   s
b   i   V   z

Answer: 0. Every pair is a look-alike (d/b mirror, j/i, U/V, s/z) but none is the same letter. Do not be afraid to answer 0 or 4.

3. Number speed and accuracy

Three numbers appear. Find the highest and the lowest, then decide which of the two is further from the remaining number, and click it.

Practice 7. [9] [15] [4]

Answer: 15. Lowest 4, highest 15, remaining 9. 15 − 9 = 6 and 9 − 4 = 5, so 15 is further away.

Practice 8. [23] [31] [26]

Answer: 31. 31 − 26 = 5 and 26 − 23 = 3.

Practice 9. [47] [52] [40]

Answer: 40. 52 − 47 = 5 and 47 − 40 = 7, so the lowest number is further away this time.

Shortcut. Picture the midpoint of the highest and lowest. If the remaining number sits below that midpoint, the highest is further away; if it sits above, the lowest is. In Practice 9 the midpoint is 46 and the remaining number 47 sits above it, so the answer is the lowest, 40.

4. Word meaning

Three words appear. Two are related, usually as synonyms or opposites, and you click the odd one out.

Practice 10. [rapid] [timid] [swift]

Answer: timid. Rapid and swift are synonyms.

Practice 11. [generous] [pencil] [mean]

Answer: pencil. Generous and mean are opposites here (mean as in stingy). Opposites count as "related", which is the most common trap: do not pick one half of an antonym pair.

Practice 12. [conceal] [hide] [harvest]

Answer: harvest. Conceal and hide are synonyms.

5. Spatial visualisation

Each item shows two boxes, each with a pair of symbols, one above the other. The booklet uses a capital R that has been turned at various angles. In each box the bottom symbol is either the top symbol rotated, or its mirror image rotated. You click 0, 1 or 2 for the number of boxes where the two symbols are the same.

To keep the practice original and readable in text, these items use the letter L instead of R and four shapes:

• L (stem up, foot to the right at the bottom)
• ⅃ (mirror L: foot to the left)
• 7-shape (bar on top pointing left, stem hanging from its right end)
• Γ-shape (bar on top pointing right, stem hanging from its left end)

Practice 13. Box 1: top L, bottom 7-shape. Box 2: top L, bottom Γ-shape. How many boxes match?

Answer: 1. Turning L through 180° gives the 7-shape, so box 1 matches. The Γ-shape is L flipped top to bottom, a mirror image, so box 2 does not.

Practice 14. Box 1: top ⅃, bottom Γ-shape. Box 2: top 7-shape, bottom L.

Answer: 2. ⅃ turned through 180° is the Γ-shape, and the 7-shape turned through 180° is L.

Practice 15. Box 1: top Γ-shape, bottom 7-shape. Box 2: top ⅃, bottom L.

Answer: 0. Both boxes are mirror pairs.

A rule that beats mental rotation. Trace the shape from the free end of the long stroke towards the corner, then note whether the short stroke turns off to your left or your right. Rotation never changes that direction; a mirror always does. L and the 7-shape both turn left; ⅃ and the Γ-shape both turn right. For R, the equivalent check is which side the bowl sits on when you trace the straight back from bottom to top.

PPA-style block (no right answer)

Practice 16. Choose the word most like you at work and the word least like you: [Decisive] [Sociable] [Patient] [Precise]

Worked explanation: There is no correct answer. In DISC terms the four words lean towards Dominance (decisive), Influence (sociable), Steadiness (patient) and Compliance (precise), and the PPA builds its profile from your most and least choices across all 24 questions. Thomas asks you to answer for your current or most recent job, or for home if you have no work experience. The only useful preparation is to answer quickly and honestly; trying to match an "ideal" profile across 24 forced choices tends to produce an inconsistent picture that the interviewer will ask about.

Traps and how to avoid them

• The disappearing statement. In Reasoning you cannot look back. Fix the ranking in your head ("Leon taller") before you click, then read the question word carefully: it often asks for the opposite quality.
• Look-alike letters. b/d, p/q, l/I, u/v and c/e are designed to slow you down or trick you. Upper and lower case of the same letter always count as the same.
• Antonyms are a pair. In Word Meaning, two opposites are related. The odd word is the one unconnected to the others.
• Getting the direction wrong in Number Speed. You compare the highest and lowest with the middle number, not with each other. Say "middle" to yourself first.
• Random clicking. With the reported deductions, blind guesses average zero. Let speed come from practice.
• Trackpads. A click-heavy speed test punishes a trackpad; use a mouse.

How to prepare for the Thomas International assessment

Three to five days out (about 2–3 hours in total).

1. Read the official GIA example booklet once and make sure you understand all five rules. Thomas recommends it as the main preparation.
2. Drill each task in two-minute bursts. Write 30 three-number sets, 30 four-letter pair grids and 30 word triads on paper or in a spreadsheet and time yourself. Short drills match the 2–5 minute tasks better than long sessions.
3. Spatial visualisation. Practise the turn-direction rule on rotated letters such as R, F, G, J and L until you can classify a pair in two seconds without mentally spinning it.
4. Reasoning. Practise converting "not as … as", "is outdone by" and "not …-er than" into a one-word ranking.
5. Vocabulary. Revise common synonym and antonym pairs (scarce/plentiful, reveal/conceal, frequent/rare); the Word Meaning task rewards breadth.
6. PPA and HPTI. Read the instructions, then answer honestly about your work self.

Time targets. Most GIA items need one to three seconds once the rule is automatic. If an item stalls you for more than five seconds, make your best judgement and move on; do not click blindly.

On the day. Laptop with a mouse, notifications off, all five tasks in one sitting.

Sources

• Thomas International, GIA Example Booklet 2025 (five tasks, 8 practice items, 2–5 minutes per task, 30–45 minutes, speed and accuracy equally important, answer formats): https://thomas.co/sites/default/files/2025-03/GIA%20Example%20Booklet_2025.pdf
• Thomas International, GIA Sample Report 2018 (percentile bands, norm group, done/right/wrong/adjusted scores, GTI, interviewer notes): https://www.thomas.co/sites/default/files/2019-09/GIA-Sample-Report-2018.pdf
• Thomas International, General Intelligence Assessment page (five areas, 45 minutes, role benchmarks)
• Thomas International, candidate assessment guides (GIA device and browser rules, PPA most/least format and 8 minutes, HPTI 78 statements and 8–10 minutes, emotional intelligence scale): https://thomas.co/candidates
• Thomas International, PPA page (24 questions, 8 minutes)
• Thomas International, DISC page (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Compliance)
• Thomas International, PPA Profile Sample Report 2018 (work mask, behaviour under pressure, self-image)
• Thomas International, "The science behind the Thomas Personality assessment" (Jan 2024; HPTI six traits, 78 items, 1–7 scale, devices): https://www.thomas.co/sites/default/files/thomas-files/2024-01/Science-behind-Thomas-Personality-assessment-Jan-2024.pdf
• Thomas International, HPTI page (lists five Big Five traits, under 10 minutes)
• Thomas International, candidate feedback reports
• JobTestPrep, Thomas GIA guide (2–3 minutes per section, about 200 questions, per-task deductions; third-party)
• WikiJob, Thomas GIA test (130–160 questions, 20 minutes; third-party)

Escrito por

Adrian, especialista

MSc em Psicologia, 7 anos a fazer testes.

Última atualização: Oct 1, 2026