Fluid Intelligence

As of 2027 the Fluid Intelligence assessment replaces the Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices.

Help your organization uncover raw potential, solve complex problems, and think beyond experience.

In today’s fast-changing workplace, the ability to learn quickly and solve new problems matters more than ever. Roles evolve, technologies shift, and employees are constantly asked to adapt. Fluid intelligence—the ability to think abstractly, recognize patterns, and solve problems without prior knowledge—is a powerful predictor of success across industries.

Fluid Intelligence, based on the Raven’s Adaptive, helps you identify individuals who can think flexibly, learn rapidly, and tackle unfamiliar challenges with confidence. Using advanced adaptive testing, it delivers a precise, efficient measure of general cognitive ability— so you can build teams ready for what’s next.

Primary Use: Selection and Development
Assessment Type: Cognitive: General Mental Ability (GMA) through the assessment of complex problem solving, flexible thinking, and learn rapidly.
Job Level: All
Job Type: Any
Number of Items: 15-20
Administration Format: Unproctored
Norms: General population norms, Role-level norms (graduate through executive roles

Available Languages

• Available in 18 languages, including:
• English (US & UK)
• French
• Spanish (Global & Latin American)
• Chinese (Simplified & Traditional)
• German
• Japanese
• Korean
• Portuguese (Brazilian & European)
• And more

What does the Fluid Intelligence measure?

1. Abstract Reasoning – Identifying patterns, relationships, and structures in visual information without relying on language
2. Lateral Thinking Approaching – problems from new angles to generate innovative solutions
3. Learning Agility – Quickly grasping new concepts and applying them in unfamiliar situations
4. Problem Solving Without Prior Knowledge – Tackling novel and complex challenges using logic and reasoning alone
5. Cognitive Flexibility – Adapting thinking strategies as tasks evolve or increase in difficulty
6. Decision Making Under Uncertainty – Drawing logical conclusions when information is incomplete or new

Benefits

• Two options available – 15 question version for a short yet reliable process; 20 question version for higher-stakes decisions like management hiring and leadership development.
• Measures general cognitive ability through non-verbal abstract reasoning.
• Highly reliable, predictive scores trusted as a gold-standard assessment.
• Adaptive testing technology adjusts difficulty in real time for greater precision.
• Reduced linguistic bias with non-verbal content for fairer assessment.
• Enables confident hiring and development decisions across diverse roles.

What It’s Best Used For

• Vetting management and executive tiers: Deploying the specialized 20-question version to make high-stakes corporate promotion, hiring, and leadership development choices.
• Streamlining rapid talent screening: Utilizing the streamlined 15-question option to quickly filter large candidate pools while maintaining predictive score reliability.
• Fair international and multilingual hiring: Lowering linguistic bias by using completely non-verbal, shape-based visual logic supported across 18 distinct language configurations.
• Predicting employee training readiness: Evaluating an individual’s underlying learning agility to ensure they can quickly absorb and apply complex new tools or evolving automated systems.
• Measuring cognitive flexibility under stress: Assessing a professional’s capacity to adjust their strategic thinking and make logical choices when confronted with incomplete data or changing tasks.

© Pearson Canada Assessment, Inc.