Used by a variety of employers, the Wonderlic Personnel Test (WPT) is a general test of problem solving ability that many consider to be the best measure of intelligence. The WPT provides indicators of an individual's ability to cope with the complexities of any particular occupation. The general consensus among psychologists is that cognitive ability--as tested on the Wonderlic--is the most reliable predictor of an individual's professional performance.
Teams in the NFL have been using the Wonderlic as a tool to assess players for about 30 years, and it is a prominent and controversial test featured every year during the combine before the NFL draft.
The test itself consists of 50 questions that the participant is allowed 12 minutes to answer. The resulting number of correct answers corresponds to an intelligence quotient. Specifically, 21, considered an average score, is equivalent to the average IQ of 100. Higher scoring applicants are supposed to learn more rapidly, master more complex material, and exercise better judgment while lower scoring applicants tend to require more time, detailed task instruction, and less challenging job routines. 25 is the average score for quarterbacks and offensive linemen. Other positions average about a 20.
A breakdown of the scoring looks like this:
50= highest possible score, superior intelligence |
21= average intelligence |
14= equivalent to unskilled worker |
Below 14= moron |
Click Here to See How You Might Score on the Wonderlic.
Then, see how you might rank against some of the NFL's most prominent past and present
players below.
Use the scale provided at the
bottom of this page to translate
your performance for comparison with theirs.
John Elway: 30 |
Ian Gold: 17 |
Deltha O'Neal: 15 |
Brian Griese: 39 |
Mike Anderson: 18 |
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Dan Marino: 16 |
Drew Bledsoe: 37 |
Steve Young: 33 |
Brett Favre: 22 |
Troy Aikman: 29 |
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Ben Roethlisberger: 25 |
Drew Brees: 28 |
Eli Manning: 39 |
Tim Tebow: 22 |
Donovan McNabb: 14 |
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Aaron Rodgers: 35 |
Peyton Manning: 28 |
Philip Rivers: 30 |
Jay Cutler: 26 |
Tom Brady: 33 |
Sample WPT Scale:
Based on the number you answered correctly within the time limit on the sample WPT, you could project your score on the 50-item test like this:
9 correct= 50 | 4 correct= 22 |
8 correct= 44 | 3 correct= 17 |
7 correct= 39 | 2 correct= 11 |
6 correct= 33 | 1 correct= 6 |
5 correct= 28 | 0 correct= 0 |
Mac Mirabile's NFL Quarterback Wonderlic Scores through 2006