Illustrative example
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Thomas International Test
The PPA behavioural profile, the GIA speed test and its five sections, and the HPTI and TEIQue questionnaires. What each one asks, how long you get, why speed counts on the GIA and honesty on the rest, and what the employer sees at the end.
- 10 practice tests in the Thomas International pack
- 275 questions, all solved
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What is a Thomas International test?
A Thomas test is a workplace psychometric test from Thomas, the UK company formerly known as Thomas International. The two best known are the PPA behavioural profile, a DISC based questionnaire of 24 forced choice question sets taking about eight minutes, and the GIA aptitude test, a speed based measure of reasoning, perception and number and word skills lasting 30 to 45 minutes overall. Personality and emotional intelligence questionnaires round out the range.
Which Thomas International test you sit depends on the employer and the role: an entry-level position will not be given the same assessment as a graduate or managerial one.
How a Thomas International test works
Four things to know before you sit one. Timings and difficulty vary with the level of the role.
- FormatOne speed test, three questionnaires
- The GIA is a timed multiple-choice test. The PPA asks you to pick the most and least descriptive of four words, 24 times over; the HPTI and TEIQue ask you to rate statements.
- PaceEight minutes or forty
- The PPA takes about eight minutes and is not timed against you. The GIA is, with five short sections in 30 to 45 minutes including instructions, and speed is part of the score.
- DifficultySpeed on the GIA, honesty on the rest
- GIA questions are simple; the difficulty is answering many of them quickly and accurately. The questionnaires have no right answers, and inconsistent answers show.
- ScoringA profile, not a mark
- The GIA becomes a percentile against a comparison group. The PPA, HPTI and TEIQue become a profile of working style that the employer reads against the role.
Thomas International: assessment names, formats and timings
Match the name in your invitation to the assessment below. Timings marked “approx.” are completion estimates; other published durations are limits for the named version.
| Assessment | What it measures | Questions | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| PPA (Personal Profile Analysis) | DISC working style, from 24 sets of four adjectives | 24 sets | Untimed; approx. 8 min |
| GIA (General Intelligence Assessment) | Perceptual speed, reasoning, number speed and accuracy, spatial visualisation, word meaning | Five timed sections | 2 to 5 min per section; allow 30 to 45 min total |
| HPTI (High Potential Trait Indicator) | Six leadership traits, from conscientiousness to competitiveness | 78 statements | Untimed; approx. 8 to 10 min |
| TEIQue (Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire) | How you handle your own and other people's emotions | Varies by version | Untimed |
Counts and timings vary by role level and by the version an employer licences. Check the instructions on the screen before you start. Facts checked 11 September 2026.
PPA, HPTI and emotional intelligence questionnaires are untimed. GIA’s total includes instructions and practice, with separate timed sub-tests.
Official sources for assessment names and timings
What Thomas International assessment formats look like
A visual guide to the skills and response formats covered on this page. Your invitation tells you which assessments to prepare for.
Illustrations by Practice Aptitude Tests · not official test screenshots
Illustrative example
Most like you / least like you
Outgoing
Careful
Patient
Decisive
Illustrative example
“I enjoy exploring new ideas.”
DisagreeAgree
A preference, not a right answer.
HPTI
Rate your agreement with statements about your personality on a seven-point scale.
View guidanceUnderstanding practice scores
These results come from our own practice test in a format covered on this page. They are not official Thomas International results, a benchmark for our entire Thomas International practice pack, or an employer pass mark.
How our test takers score
Results from our numerical reasoning test.
Average score63%
75th-percentile score90%
0%50%100%
Average75th percentile
Source: Practice Aptitude Tests
Based on 784 completed practice sittings, all time. Checked 11 September 2026.
The 75th percentile marks the boundary of the top quarter of recorded scores; tied scores can share that boundary. These are our practice results, not employer pass marks.
How we calculate these figures
We use all-time completed, scored attempts at this practice test. Repeat attempts count separately, so the sample is sittings rather than unique people.
The average is the mean score across those sittings. The 75th percentile comes from their recorded score distribution. The “checked” date is when we retrieved the figures, not the period when the tests were taken.
Sharing these figures? Please credit Practice Aptitude Tests and link to this page.
Practise the real thing
One question tells you the style. A pack gives you the pace: timed and marked, with the working shown.
Unlock 10 Thomas International practice tests
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- 10
- practice tests
- 275
- questions, all solved
Thomas International PPA test
The Personal Profile Analysis has 24 questions and typically takes about eight minutes and is untimed. Each question shows four adjectives and you choose the one most like you and the one least like you at work. Far from a test in the usual sense, it is a chance to show what makes you tick, so that an employer can judge whether you are likely to fit the role and the company.
The four traits it profiles are:
- Dominance: how assertive and direct you are, from courageous to domineering depending on context.
- Compliance: how well you take instruction, follow rules and keep to procedures.
- Influence: how you fit into a team and whether you take an active or passive role in it.
- Steadiness: how you perform under pressure, multi-task and prioritise when things change.
Answer openly and honestly. Keeping the company’s values and the role’s key competencies in mind does no harm, but an inconsistent profile is worse than an honest one.
Thomas International GIA test
The General Intelligence Assessment is timed and scored on speed as well as accuracy, so work through the questions as quickly as you can without giving up precision. Allow 30 to 45 minutes including instructions and practice. The five timed sections each take between two and five minutes:
- Perceptual speed: spotting inaccuracies in text, tables and numbers, and filtering out irrelevant information.
- Reasoning: drawing logical conclusions from short passages.
- Number, speed and accuracy: a short, fast numerical reasoning section.
- Spatial visualisation: mentally manipulating shapes and objects.
- Word meaning: picking the word that does not belong in a group.
Where most psychometric tests measure one ability, the GIA measures several at once, which is why employers use it to judge how quickly you will learn a role as well as how you will perform in it.
Thomas International HPTI test
The High Potential Trait Indicator assesses six workplace personality traits and is most often used to identify future senior leaders: conscientiousness, adjustment (coping under pressure), curiosity, approach to risk, ambiguity acceptance and competitiveness. You rate statements rather than answer questions, and there are no right answers.
Thomas International TEIQue test
The Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire is untimed and asks how strongly you agree or disagree with a series of statements about handling your own emotions and other people’s. Employers use it to judge communication style and potential to adapt and lead. As with every personality assessment, honesty and consistency matter more than any tactic.
Frequently asked questions
What candidates ask us most often
Can you fail the Thomas PPA?
No. The PPA is a profile of your working style across dominance, influence, steadiness and compliance, not a scored test. The employer reads the profile against the role, so the risk is not a low score but an inconsistent one. Answer as you actually work, not as you think the job wants.
What are the five sections of the Thomas GIA?
Perceptual speed (spotting errors in text, tables and numbers), reasoning (drawing conclusions from short passages), number speed and accuracy, spatial visualisation (mentally manipulating shapes) and word meaning (picking the word that does not belong). Each is short and timed: the numerical and spatial sections are the ones most candidates practise.
Why does speed matter so much on the GIA?
Because the GIA is scored on how many questions you answer correctly in the time, and the questions themselves are simple. Working steadily through them beats agonising over any one, and the instructions and practice before the test are the time to slow down, not the test itself.
Is Thomas International the same company as Thomas?
Yes. Thomas International rebranded as Thomas, and the assessments kept their names, so an invitation to a Thomas PPA or GIA is the same test described here.
Reviews
Rated 4.7 out of 5 across 75 reviews. A selection:
More challenging than expected
The test was more time-consuming than I expected. I'm happy I did this practice test before attempting the real one.
Great
The questions although you would believe tricky are straightforward if you think logically and do not rush.
The structure of the test
I like that it can test out the knowledge of mathematics, but around 1 min average for each question is not quite enough.
Thomas International is a trademark of its respective owner. Practice Aptitude Tests is not affiliated with Thomas International and our practice tests are not endorsed by them.
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