Take the 1917 Army Alpha test
In World War I the U.S. Army gave this written test to more than 1.7 million recruits. Try 166 of its original questions, with the original time limits and the 1918 answer key.
Take the Army Alpha test
166 original items in seven parts, in the order recruits took them. As on the real test, each part is one page and has its own short time limit. When a part's time runs out, the next part starts automatically.
| Part | Items | Original time |
|---|---|---|
| Test 2: Arithmetical problems | 19 | 5 minutes |
| Test 3: Practical judgment | 16 | 1½ minutes |
| Test 4: Same or opposite | 40 | 1½ minutes |
| Test 5: Disarranged sentences | 23 | 2 minutes |
| Test 6: Number series completion | 19 | 3 minutes |
| Test 7: Analogies | 39 | 3 minutes |
| Test 8: General information | 10 | 1 minute |
What was the Army Alpha?
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, psychologist Robert Yerkes and a small team built the Army Alpha to sort large numbers of recruits quickly. It was a group test: an examiner read the instructions aloud, and a room of men answered on paper against a stopwatch. Men who could not read English took the Army Beta, a picture-based version.
By the Armistice in November 1918, the Army’s intelligence examination had been given to about 1.73 million men. It was the first mass-produced mental test, and its formats still appear in aptitude tests today.
The eight parts
The Alpha had eight short timed parts: spoken directions, arithmetic problems, practical judgment, same or opposite, disarranged sentences, number series, analogies, and general information. This page includes Tests 2 to 7 from Alpha Form 8, plus general information items from other forms. Test 1 (spoken directions) needs a live examiner. Arithmetic item 12, number series item 6, analogy item 31, and sentence item 22 are left out because the scanned text is unreadable, ambiguous, or relies on 1918 racial categories.
How recruits were graded
The full test was worth 212 points. Scores were turned into letter grades, which officers used when assigning men to training and duties.
| Grade | Alpha score | 1918 description |
|---|---|---|
| A | 135–212 | Very superior |
| B | 105–134 | Superior |
| C+ | 75–104 | High average |
| C | 45–74 | Average |
| C− | 25–44 | Low average |
| D | 15–24 | Inferior |
| D− / E | 0–14 | Very inferior |
Your result here is not converted to a grade. This version is shorter, is scored without the original guessing penalties, and is compared with no modern group.
Why the test is controversial
Some items measure reasoning, but many measure what a young American man in 1918 was expected to know: tobacco and soap brands, chicken breeds, car engines, and the “right” answers to questions about money, marriage, and government. Recruits who were recent immigrants, who had little schooling, or who grew up outside that culture were at a clear disadvantage.
In the 1920s, Army results were used to argue that some national and racial groups were less intelligent, and those claims fed debates over immigration restriction. Psychologist Carl Brigham, whose book had promoted that reading of the data, publicly withdrew his conclusions in 1930. Later research has shown that schooling, language, and culture strongly affect scores on tests like this.
Why take it today?
The Alpha is a window into the history of testing. You can see which question types have lasted, such as number series and analogies, and which ones have aged badly. Notes in the answer key point out items where the 1918 answer would be debated today.
For modern practice, try our five 48-question reasoning tests, or learn what an IQ score really means.
Sources
Carl C. Brigham, A Study of American Intelligence: plates of Alpha Form 8 (Internet Archive)
Yoakum and Yerkes, Army Mental Tests, 1920 (Internet Archive)
History Matters, George Mason University: Army intelligence test questions
Wikipedia: Army Alpha