Aptitude Test Contest

The task in this contest is to create a set of three Quizzes that can be used to test a person's knowledge of the English Language, their Mathematical Ability and their capacity for Spatial & Logical Thinking.

The contest is open to everyone (prior participation in the 2020 Educational Test Contest is not required). We expect that everybody who spends time and effort to create good submissions will receive a reward from the ~€250,000 prize pool reserved for Telegram's Quiz Contests – so long as they follow all of the rules.

Don't miss the Frequently Asked Questions at the bottom of this page.

To ensure an overall high quality in submissions, we have designed an evaluation task of our own – those who score relatively well in this task will be able to participate in the contest.

Our sample tests are inspired by assessments which Telegram staff are required to score highly on and will give you a better idea of the kind of submissions we are interested in receiving. We expect submissions for this contest to exceed the quality of work demonstrated in the sample Quizzes.

Assessment Day

To ensure a level playing field for everyone, the evaluation task for all participants will be held at the same time, on the 9th of January 2021, at 4 pm UTC. You can see what time this is for you locally here. More information on how to participate will be posted in @contest, but please set aside 2 hours of your time.

Register now to participate: open this link, start the bot and follow the prompts. Do not block the bot, it will send you the task on the 9th of January 2021, at 4 pm UTC – and other notifications related to this contest.

Formal Start of the Contest

Once you've completed the evaluation task, and we've calculated the results, we will publish the final version of the contest guidelines and the bot will notify you about the formal start of the contest. From that moment, you will have 3 weeks to complete the contest task.

We expect the contest to formally start in mid-January.

The Task

To help you decide if you are interested in participating, here is some more preliminary information. We encourage you to start research and design if you're confident you have what it takes to pass the evaluation task.

1. Set of Quizzes. Create 3 Quizzes (30 questions each), one Quiz for each aptitude group below:

Your 3 Quizzes should be designed to work together as a set and are expected to follow a common style and design language – especially for any media you include.

2. Cover Letter. We will also ask you to submit a letter along with your Quizzes explaining your thought process while designing them and highlighting any special features which make your Quiz Set stand out.

3. Peer Review. 3 weeks after the formal start of the contest, after all participants have finished their submissions, we will assign 3 submissions from other contestants for you to review and make comments on. Once this phase is over, you will be asked to submit one rebuttal which fully addresses all comments made by others on your Quizzes.

We will then check everything one final time and publish the results.

General Guidelines

  • All Quizzes must be created in high quality English. Additionally, American English spelling should be used.
  • Quizzes must be 100% original. You are expected to critically assess your own work, and modify questions which may give the impression of being copied from elsewhere, even if they aren't.
  • People taking your Quizzes must not be able to get an advantage by using search engines. I.e., answers to your questions should not be obtainable from Google, etc.
  • You should aim to target mid-to-high-intellect adults (no Quizzes designed for kids, but also none designed exclusively for geniuses).
  • Everyone should be able to understand and answer all of your questions, without local knowledge about a certain part of the world.
  • None of your questions should be based on, or act as a continuation of, a question from other Quizzes in your set.
  • Try to think about new and varied ways of testing each of the aptitudes instead of fully relying on lots of “number sequence” or “which shape is out of place here” mechanics. There is some place for those types of questions, but don't rely on any one type of question too heavily, and try to think of new ways of testing these things.
  • Question types and topics should be varied within Quizzes to avoid testing only a few specific skills for each aptitude group.
  • No riddles or trick questions.
  • Each answer option should be plausible and you must ensure that the correct answer cannot be guessed by analyzing which answers options are listed.

“English Language” Quiz

  • 30 questions, with explanations.
  • Should test English Language concepts and rules which are useful for day-to-day communication. Do not test extremely abstract rules which even native speakers could get wrong.
  • Should not be a vocabulary test or a test of spelling.

“Mathematical Ability” Quiz

  • 30 questions, with explanations.
  • Check for day-to-day Mathematical Ability - basic arithmetic, reading graphs, ratios, percentages and so on…
  • Assess the basics of other things like algebra, but only to a level where somebody who hasn't used these skills for a while is still able to have a fair chance.

“Spatial & Logical Thinking” Quiz

  • 15 questions for Spatial Thinking and 15 questions for Logical Thinking, each with explanations.

  • Spatial: Testing 2D and 3D thinking, specifically where it concerns shapes, rotation, reflection and translations.

  • Logical: Focus on testing problem-solving skills.

  • Logical: Questions may involve some math, but only as a small part of a larger problem solving element in the question - no questions should be purely mathematical.

Media

Any media you use in your Quizzes must be:

  • Original, public domain, or free license.
  • Follow a common style and design language across the Quizzes.

Also remember that creative, impressive and useful media will increase chances of success.

If you are using non-original public domain or free license media (even if just as a small part of a larger image) make sure to follow the extra steps in Q: How do I show that non-original media in my Quizzes is allowed to be used?

💡 Subscribe to @AptitudeTestContest to make sure you don’t miss any new clarifications.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a question which is not already answered here, ask it as a comment on this post with the tag #AptitudeContestQuestion and we'll continually update this page with “🆕” questions to answer as many of your comments as possible.

Last Updated: 2021-02-03

Q: Are explanations required?

Yes. Every question must have an explanation which clearly explains why the correct answer is right, or why the incorrect answers are wrong.

Q: Can I just copy a test, or some questions, that I saw online?

No. While you can do research to get ideas, Quizzes must be 100% original. You are expected to critically assess your own work and modify questions which may give the impression of being copied from elsewhere, even if they aren't.

See also: Q: Is it encouraged to be inventive with my questions?.

Q: Should the Quizzes be “Google-proof”?

Yes. Specifically, people taking your Quizzes must not be able to get an advantage by using search engines. Answers to your questions should not be obtainable from Google or other search engines.

Q: Can I make aptitude Quizzes for kids, or my genius friends?

No. You should aim to target mid-to-high-intellect adults. So no Quizzes designed for kids, but also none designed exclusively for geniuses.

Q: I want to add questions that require local knowledge about my country. Is that okay?

No. Everyone should be able to understand and answer all of your questions, without local knowledge about a certain part of the world.

If you need to use a currency, use $. For measurements you should prefer the metric system.

Q: Can one of my questions link to, or expand on, a question from another Quiz in my Set?

No. None of your questions should be based on, or act as a continuation of, a question from other Quizzes in your Set.

Note: It's okay for questions within the same Quiz to be harder versions of previous questions. BUT, questions should not rely on the quiz-taker remembering some detail about (or the answer to) a previous question.

Also, make sure not to rely too heavily on one type of question, see also: Q: Is it encouraged to be inventive with my questions?.

Q: Is it encouraged to be inventive with my questions?

Yes. Quizzes which demonstrate an innovative and inventive approach to questions will normally have an advantage.

So try to think about new and varied ways of testing each of the aptitudes instead of fully relying on lots of “number sequence” or “which shape is out of place here” mechanics. There is some place for those types of questions, but don't rely on any one style of question too heavily. Ideally there will be a mix of “standard” questions alongside some new approaches.

BUT, be careful. Don't use some flashy or abstract way of testing just so you can be “inventive”. You will need to be able to justify and explain any new or uncommon styles of question in your Cover Letter. So make sure that there is some demonstrable value to such questions.

Q: Is it okay to assume knowledge of certain formulas?

No. If your question requires someone to apply Pythagoras' Theorem or something similar, then you must find some way to include it in your question - perhaps as part of a pre-poll message or media.

Q: Is it okay to assume knowledge of basic concepts or rules?

Yes. For basic concepts and rules such as beginner algebra and the order of operations, you can assume that they are known.

BUT, don't be too optimistic about knowledge of complex or rare concepts and rules, or your Quiz may become less useful.

Q: Can I use riddles or trick questions?

No. Riddles and trick questions are designed to confuse and mislead for entertainment, they are therefore forbidden.

Example riddles:

“What can run, but never walks. Has a mouth, but never talks. Has a head, but never weeps. Has a bed, but never sleeps?” (a river)

“What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at mid-day and three in the evening?” (A person, apparently)

Example trick questions:

“What word is spelled incorrectly in every single dictionary?” (The word “incorrectly”)

“How many times can you subtract 10 from 100?” (once, because after the first time you are subtracting from “90”, and so on…)

Hopefully it is clear why “questions” like this are not allowed.

Q: Can I submit multiple Quiz Sets to the contest?

No. Only one Quiz Set (a group of 3 Quizzes covering each aptitude) is allowed per person.

This way, you can focus all of your effort and time on producing one excellent Quiz Set instead of multiple lower-quality ones.

Compared to the alternative approach, this is likely to improve your results at the end of the contest too.

🆕 Q: How can I share my Quizzes with others?

  1. Send /quizzes to @QuizBot and find the Quiz you want to share.

  2. Under the details of the Quiz, find the blue command text, e.g. /view_4c6Zy1T6.

  3. Copy that command text and replace /view_ with https://quiz.directory/quiz/.

    So, for example, /view_4c6Zy1T6 becomes https://quiz.directory/quiz/4c6Zy1T6.

  4. You can repeat this for all of your contest Quizzes. Share the quiz.directory links with others so they can test your Quizzes.

🆕 Q: Will the quality of the media in my Quizzes affect my chances of success?

Yes. Having creative, impressive and useful media as part of your Quizzes will increase your chances of success.

You should ensure that the media across your Quizzes follows a common style and design language.

See also: Media.

🆕 Q: Can I use animations and audio in my Quiz, how about other supported media?

Yes. It is allowed to use any supported media in your Quiz.

HOWEVER, make sure to carefully consider how using harder-to-understand media (such as animations and audio) affects your Quiz.

For example, if it increases the time needed to understand questions - animations and audio will likely have to be watched/listened to a few times to be properly understood.

All of this eats into the amount of time that quiz-takers have to answer questions.

See also: Media.

🆕 Q: How do I show that non-original media in my Quizzes is allowed to be used?

For every Quiz where you have used non-original media (even if just as a small part of a larger image), you should:
1. Open the Quiz in quiz.directory,
2. Post a comment that lists which questions use public domain or free license media, and where it is from.

Use this template for each comment:

This Quiz uses the following public domain or free license media:

#q1:
 - https://unsplash.com/photos/S_OUC5RXXAU
 - https://unsplash.com/photos/a4OoP7G1L9g

#q2:
 - https://pixabay.com/photos/wheel-rim-rim-of-wheel-wheel-tire-254714/

#q5:
 - https://unsplash.com/photos/urHVMETO4fw

… and so on, covering every question which uses such media.

🆕 Q: How long should quiz-takers get to answer each question?

The correct setting for the timer may be different for each of your three Quizzes. Therefore, we are not dictating that your Quizzes must have any specific value for the timer.

However, we would expect that for the majority of Quizzes this figure is 1 min or 2 min.

We would recommend that you keep an eye on how many (and which) questions are “missed” due to time running out during your testing phase, and adjust as you feel necessary.

🆕 Q: Should I create a “Reference Page” for my Quiz?

We strongly recommend using zero external dependancies, such as pages people need to read before they can take your Quiz.

Our Language Evaluation Quiz used a Reference Page to test a very specific reading comprehension skill in depth. A similar effect could be achieved using pre-poll text.

Note: This also applies to any external content which is essential to open before the Quiz can be taken, or before specific questions can be answered. Your main focus should be designing questions based on features supported directly by the Quiz platform.

🆕 Q: What is considered as “testing vocabulary” or “testing spelling”?

You must avoid questions which are vocabulary tests or a test of spelling. For example:

Testing vocabulary (not allowed):

  • Questions which ask for the identification of the correct definition of a word, or the matching of a definition to the correct word.

  • Questions which directly test the correct identification of antonyms, synonyms, etc. should also be avoided.

NOT testing vocabulary (allowed):

  • Questions which test for the correct usage of a word in different contexts or across multiple sentences.

Testing spelling (not allowed):

  • Questions which have a singular focus on identifying the correct spelling of a word, or words.

NOT testing spelling (allowed):

  • Questions which involve identifying correctly or incorrectly spelled words as part of a wider question or to eliminate certain answer options.

Hopefully, you will have noticed that most of the questions which are “not allowed” here, are also likely to fail the Q: Should the Quizzes be “Google-proof”? criteria.

Q: What's the Cover Letter?

The Cover Letter is a short letter consisting of ~300 words which you will be required to submit alongside your Quizzes.

You can see the Cover Letter Template, more info and instructions here.