Wonderlic SLE: the Scholastic Level Exam

The Wonderlic SLE (Scholastic Level Exam) is a 50-question, 12-minute test of reasoning that nursing, allied-health and career colleges use to admit students; the remote SLE-Q is 30 questions in 8 minutes. There is no national pass mark. Each programme sets its own, and the nursing minimums we found in college catalogs run from 18 to 22. The SLE has the same clock and question types as the Wonderlic employment test, so a timed Wonderlic-style test is the closest rehearsal there is.

50
questions on the SLE: 12 min
time limit: 14.4 s
per question, evenly paced: 18 to 22
nursing minimums we found

Last checked 20 October 2026 · Format from Wonderlic; minimums from each college's own catalog

Rehearse the SLE clock: free Wonderlic-style test

50 questions
12 minutes
Score in seconds

Same 50 questions in 12 minutes, original items. Your score and the question types that cost you time, the moment you finish.

Start the free Wonderlic-style test

By the LifeScore Editorial Team · Updated 20 October 2026 · How we check facts · How this is scored

What is the Wonderlic SLE?

The Scholastic Level Exam is Wonderlic's admissions version of its 12-minute reasoning test: 50 questions on verbal, math and logic problems, used by colleges since 1983 to judge how quickly an applicant learns.

Wonderlic describes the SLE as a measure of cognitive ability, which it calls learning potential, not of what you studied at school. That matters for how you prepare. You cannot cram nursing content for it, but you can make the question types and the clock familiar, and that is where most lost points come from.

Two versions exist. The SLE is given under a proctor, at the school or online. The SLE-Q is a 30-question, 8-minute version for remote applicants. Your admissions office will tell you which one it uses; the table shows both.

The SLE at a glance, with where each fact comes from
SLE	50 questions in 12 minutes, given under a proctor, online or on paperPublished by the ownerWonderlic, "Scholastic Level Exam (SLE and SLE-Q)"
SLE-Q	30 questions in 8 minutes, a shorter version for remote and distance applicantsPublished by the ownerWonderlic, "Scholastic Level Exam (SLE and SLE-Q)"
Seconds per question	14.4 on the SLE, 16 on the SLE-Q, if you spread the clock evenlyLifeScore
What it measures	Cognitive ability (learning potential), not nursing or school knowledgePublished by the ownerWonderlic, "Scholastic Level Exam (SLE and SLE-Q)"
Question content	Verbal, math and logic items of the same kinds as the Wonderlic Personnel TestReportedPsychometric Success, "Wonderlic Scholastic Level Exam (SLE)"
Score	Number of correct answers out of 50 (SLE-Q results are reported on the same 50-point range); schools set the minimumReportedOpen Exam Prep, "Wonderlic SLE vs SLE-Q: format, administration, scoring and program cut scores"
Used by colleges since	1983, by Wonderlic's own accountPublished by the ownerWonderlic, "Score correlations between the SLE, SAT and ACT" (white paper, PDF)
Calculator	Not stated on the SLE page; the sister employment test bans one, so plan on noneReported
Retakes	Set by each school: for example three attempts, or a six-month wait after a missSourcedConcorde Career College (Memphis, Portland, Southaven), "Entrance assessment requirements"
Pass mark	None from Wonderlic: every programme publishes its own minimumSourcedConcorde Career College (Kansas City), "Entrance assessment requirements"

How is the SLE different from the Wonderlic Personnel Test?

Same shape, different job: both are 50 questions in 12 minutes with the same families of questions, but the SLE is an admissions test scored against your programme's minimum, while the employment test is read against a job.

SLE and the Wonderlic employment test (now the Cognitive Ability Test), side by side
	Scholastic Level Exam	Wonderlic employment test
Who sends it	A college, nursing or allied-health programme	An employer
Format	50 questions, 12 minutes (SLE-Q: 30 in 8)	50 questions, 12 minutes (Quick-Test: 30 in 8)
Question types	Verbal, math, logic, the same families	Verbal, math, logic, spatial and patterns
What it is for	Admission to a course	Hiring for a job
Who sets the bar	The programme, often by course	The employer, by role
Where you sit it	Usually at the school, under a proctor	Often online, sometimes proctored later

What transfers from Wonderlic practice, and what does not

Transfers in full: the clock (14.4 seconds a question), the mix of vocabulary, arithmetic, number series and short logic, the rule that you are not expected to finish, and the habit of skipping a slow question. Our free Wonderlic-style practice test copies all of that.

Does not transfer: the norms. Our practice score is compared with people taking a hiring-style test, not with nursing applicants, so treat its percentile as a rough guide and use your raw number out of 50 against your school's published minimum. The SLE-Q clock is also gentler, at 16 seconds a question.

What SLE score do nursing schools ask for?

Each programme sets its own minimum, and the college catalogs we read ask for 18 to 22 for nursing and as little as 8 for some short health courses, often with a limit on attempts.

Minimums published by the colleges themselves. Catalogs change each year, so confirm with admissions before you sit.

Concorde Career College, Memphis and Southaven
22
Nursing Practice
The lowest programme minimum on the same page is 8 (Medical Office Professional). Miss it and you wait six months to retest.
SourcedConcorde Career College (Memphis, Portland, Southaven), "Entrance assessment requirements"
Dated: Current catalog, read 20 Oct 2026
Concorde Career College, Kansas City
20
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Radiologic Technology needs 19, Dental and Medical Assistant 8. A HESI A2 waiver does not remove the SLE.
SourcedConcorde Career College (Kansas City), "Entrance assessment requirements"
Dated: Current catalog, read 20 Oct 2026
Concorde Career College, Dallas
21
Cardiovascular and Diagnostic Medical Sonography
Three attempts in total, no more than two on the same day. Dental Assistant needs 8.
SourcedConcorde Career College (Dallas), "Entrance assessment requirements" (PDF)
Dated: Current catalog, read 20 Oct 2026
California Career Institute
18 (SLE-Q)
Licensed Vocational Nurse
The 2026 catalog awards more admission points for 19 than for 18, and allows up to four attempts a year.
SourcedCalifornia Career Institute, "Licensed vocational nurse program"
Dated: Catalog updated 16 Jul 2026

Prep sites quote "typical" ranges, for example 14 to 18 for practical nursing and 20 or more for competitive programmes. None of them cites a school, so use the catalog for your own programme instead. Several schools also accept an SAT, ACT or a degree in place of the SLE, so ask whether you need to sit it at all.

Applying to a programme that uses the ATI TEAS instead? The TEAS test guide covers it, and what is a good TEAS score has the programme cut-offs.

What do Wonderlic SLE questions look like?

Short, mixed and fast: a word to define or oppose, a one-step word problem, a number series and a two-line logic puzzle are typical, each meant to take well under half a minute.

Wonderlic does not publish SLE items, so these four are ours, written in the same style. The first two are worked open; try the others before you look.

Wonderlic-style question 1 · Opposites · about 14 seconds on the real clock
Which word is most nearly the OPPOSITE of SCARCE?
1. Arare
2. Bplentiful
3. Ccostly
4. Dhidden
5. Esmall
Worked answer
B: plentiful. Scarce means in short supply, so the opposite is plentiful.
1. Say the meaning in three words: "not enough of".
2. Rare, costly and hidden all lean the same way as scarce, so they cannot be opposites.
3. Small is about size, not supply. Plentiful is the clean reverse.
The trap: Picking rare because it is the first word you associate with scarce. The question asks for the opposite; read the capital word, then the instruction, every time.
Wonderlic-style question 2 · Word problem · about 14 seconds on the real clock
A student studies for 45 minutes a day for 12 days. How many hours is that in total?
1. A6
2. B8
3. C9
4. D10.5
5. E12
Worked answer
C: 9. 45 minutes is three quarters of an hour, and three quarters of 12 is 9.
1. Turn the awkward unit into a fraction: 45 minutes = 3/4 hour.
2. Multiply: 12 x 3/4 = 9.
3. No need to work out 540 minutes first.
The trap: Writing 45 minutes as 0.45 hours, which gives 5.4 and sends you hunting for an option that is not there.
Wonderlic-style question 3 · Number series · about 14 seconds on the real clock
What number comes next? 3, 6, 11, 18, 27, ...
1. A34
2. B36
3. C38
4. D39
5. E42
Show the worked answer
C: 38. The gaps are 3, 5, 7, 9, so the next gap is 11 and 27 + 11 = 38.
1. Write the gaps under the series: 3, 5, 7, 9.
2. The gaps rise by 2, so the next is 11.
3. 27 + 11 = 38.
The trap: Stopping after two gaps and assuming the series doubles. Always check three gaps before you commit.
Wonderlic-style question 4 · Deduction · about 14 seconds on the real clock
Some clinic staff are volunteers. All volunteers are trained in first aid. Which statement must be true?
1. AAll clinic staff are trained in first aid
2. BSome clinic staff are trained in first aid
3. CNo volunteers are clinic staff
4. DEveryone trained in first aid is a volunteer
5. ENone of these must be true
Show the worked answer
B: Some clinic staff are trained in first aid. The staff who are volunteers are trained, so at least some clinic staff are trained.
1. Follow the overlap: some staff are volunteers.
2. Every volunteer is trained, so those staff are trained.
3. Nothing is said about staff who are not volunteers, so "all staff" goes too far.
The trap: Reversing the second sentence. "All volunteers are trained" does not mean everyone trained is a volunteer.

More worked examples, one for each of ten question types, are on Wonderlic sample questions.

Practise the SLE clock until it feels slow

The SLE has the same 50 questions in 12 minutes. 8 full mocks on that clock show whether you clear your programme's number every time, not just once.

The Wonderlic Pass Pack gives you 8 full mocks on the real clock, 16 drills of 12 questions for the sections that cost you points, and a predictor that turns your mocks into the odds of reaching your target. One payment, no subscription, and your free score stays free.

Prep courses for these tests usually cost $19 to $129. The Wonderlic Pass Pack is US$39 (£29), once.

See the Wonderlic Pass Pack How our questions are built and checked

8
timed mocks: 16
topic drills: 1
score predictor

How do you pace 50 questions in 12 minutes?

At an even pace you spend 14.4 seconds a question, so you should pass question 12 at three minutes and question 25 at six; on the 30-question SLE-Q the same marks are questions 11 and 22 at three and six minutes.

Even-pace checkpoints: our arithmetic from the published limits
Time used	SLE (50 in 12)	SLE-Q (30 in 8)
3 min	Question 12	Question 11
6 min	Question 25	Question 22
9 min	Question 37	Question 30 (at 8 min)

Two rules make the clock workable. First, every question is worth the same point, so a hard series is not worth more than an easy synonym: give anything that has not cracked in about 20 seconds a best guess and move on. Second, Wonderlic says its employment test gets harder as you go, and the SLE shares its design, so banking the early questions fast buys time for the later ones.

Most people do not reach question 50, and they do not need to. A programme minimum of 20 means 20 correct answers, which you can reach with a dozen questions left unread. How to pass the Wonderlic has the full pacing method.

How should I prepare for the Wonderlic SLE?

Find your programme's minimum, take one timed Wonderlic-style test to see your gap, drill the question types you missed, and finish with two more timed runs; a week of 20-minute sessions is enough for most applicants.

Do you know your programme's minimum and how many attempts you get?
Yes
Write it down and add three points: that is your practice target.
No
Ask admissions, or check the catalog's entrance assessment page, before anything else.
Have you taken a timed 12-minute test yet?
Yes
Compare your score with your target. The gap tells you how much work there is.
No
Take the free Wonderlic-style practice test today. One honest baseline beats a week of guessing.
Did you run out of time before question 30?
Yes
Your problem is pace, not knowledge. Practise the 20-second skip rule on your next run.
No
Go to question 4.
Did most misses come from one type (series, word problems, vocabulary)?
Yes
Drill that type for 15 minutes a day for three days, then retest on the full clock. See what is a good Wonderlic score for how scores spread.
No
Check with the person or company that sent you the link.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Wonderlic SLE the same as the Wonderlic test employers use?

Not the same product, but the same shape: 50 questions in 12 minutes, with the same families of verbal, math and logic items. The SLE is normed and scored for school admissions, and your programme, not an employer, sets the minimum. Everything you practise for pace and question types transfers directly.

What is a good score on the Wonderlic SLE?

A good score is one that clears your programme's minimum with room to spare. The catalogs we read ask for 18 to 22 for nursing and 8 to 21 for other health courses. Because a real sitting can move a point or two with nerves, aim three points above the published number.

How many times can I take the SLE?

Your school decides. One Concorde campus allows three attempts with no more than two on the same day; another makes you wait six months after a miss; California Career Institute allows up to four attempts a year. Ask the admissions office before your first attempt so you know what a miss costs.

Can I use a calculator on the SLE?

Plan on no. Wonderlic's SLE page does not say, and its employment test bans calculators, dictionaries and other aids. Every math item is built to be done in your head or on scrap paper in a few seconds.

What is the difference between the SLE and the SLE-Q?

The SLE is 50 questions in 12 minutes and is given under a proctor. The SLE-Q is a 30-question, 8-minute version for remote applicants, which leaves 16 seconds a question instead of 14.4. Some schools accept either; the California Career Institute catalog names the SLE-Q for its LVN course.

Is the free Wonderlic-style practice test the real SLE?

No. It is 50 original questions on the same 12-minute clock, written by us. It shows you where you stand and which question type slows you down. Your real SLE score comes only from a sitting your school arranges.

Walk into the SLE knowing your number

8 timed mocks, 16 drills and a predictor that turns your practice into the odds of clearing your school's minimum.