I said 30 minutes. It's actually a 12 minute test.
Here is an old article with comments (pro and con) from NFL players and coaches:
Wonderlic reaches well beyond NFL Posted 4/16/2006 10:38 PM ET
By Carl Kotala, Florida Today
Want to match wits with Vince Young — or any future NFL Draft pick?
Well, if you've got 12 minutes to spare, Wonderlic.com has the answers — and questions — similar to those taken by the nation's best college football players.
Michael Callans, president of Wonderlic Consulting, said the company hopes to have a sample on its website — wonderlic.com — before the NFL Draft begins April 29.
"Obviously, it won't be the same form that the NFL is using, but it will give you an equivalent score," Callans said.
TEST YOURSELF: Try some Wonderlic questions
While sports fans relate the Wonderlic to what takes place at the combine in Indianapolis — where players are tested, measured and interviewed — the NFL represents a fraction of the company's business. Founded in 1937, Wonderlic Consulting has roughly 10,000 clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to dental offices with 2-3 employees.
The test NFL prospects began taking in the 1970s, known as the Wonderlic Personnel Test, has been administered more than 130 million times. It consists of 50 questions with a 12-minute time limit and a possible high score of 50.
Some questions are easy, requiring only the most basic knowledge to answer. Some require more logic, academic skill and reasoning.
"In reality, we probably sell about 3,000 tests to the NFL a year for this purpose, and that's really on the high side," Callans said. "The combine purchases about 400 a year and then individual teams maybe buy some for their own purposes. But this test itself, we sell three million of them a year."
Vince Young could have used a tutor before the Texas quarterback took the Wonderlic two months ago.
Results are not released publicly, but they are given to the 32 NFL teams, which leaves more room for potential leaks than the little Dutch boy had fingers.
Initial reports had Young scoring a 6 on his first attempt, 16 on his second. That's still below the quarterback average of 24. The consensus among coaches at last month's NFL owners meetings was that Young's performance in Texas' Rose Bowl victory against Southern California will outweigh his Wonderlic score come draft day.
After all, Miami Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino reportedly scored a 16 on his test. Michael Vick supposedly scored a 20, Brett Favre a 22 and Donovan McNabb a 12.
Of course, nobody is perfect — except for former Cincinnati Bengals punter Pat McInally, believed to be the only player to score a 50 (he was a Harvard graduate). Defensive end Mike Mamula, a star at Boston College but a bust in the NFL, supposedly had a 49.
However, the test does carry some weight. How much depends on the team or the coach.
"It raises a flag if you see a low score," Jacksonville's Jack Del Rio said. "But I think you continue to work and investigate and evaluate whether or not that person is meeting the criteria you've set for that particular position."
Del Rio, who played linebacker at USC, recalled scoring a 31 when he took the test.
Denver coach Mike Shanahan's theory as to why Young scored so low was that he probably didn't take a practice test beforehand as many players do.
Shanahan is quite familiar with the Wonderlic. He and his wife used to take it together and compete to see who had the better score.
Four of the 12 NFL experts Florida Today talked to about the Wonderlic referred to it specifically as a reading comprehension test. That is one of several misconceptions.
"It's an intelligence test, is what it is," Callans said. "I keep reading papers, and some people think it's a personality assessment. Some people think it's asking odd, bizarre questions about preferences for meat or vegetables. I don't know where some of these questions come from.
"But it really is a measure of intelligence, cognitive ability — how bright you are, how you're able to solve problems, think on your feet. That's all it is. Yeah, it does require some level of reading, but it's a sixth-grade level of reading. Any college player that's going into the NFL is expected to have that level of reading."
Callans believes the Wonderlic is simply one piece of the evaluation puzzle. It gives NFL teams a chance to measure the mental aspect of players' skills to combine with their 40-yard dash time and bench-press numbers.
The day the news broke two months ago of Young's scores, Callans said the company Internet site became overloaded after receiving 50,000 hits. Typically, it gets 10,000 in a day.
Although the Liberty, Ill.-based company creates and sells the tests, it does not administer them to prospective NFL players. That is done by the NFL group that runs the event.
The message Callans hopes will get out to kids and college athletes is that it's important to develop academically as well as athletically. NFL teams, and businesses, are looking for the total package.
Just look at the Wonderlic itself. It's known worldwide for its association with the NFL, but it's much more than that.
"We enjoy the publicity," Callans said. "We actually haven't figured out if it helps us or hurts us from a real business point of view, but it's fun."
Coaches give mixed reviews to test
When it comes to the Wonderlic test and the weight it carries in evaluating a perspective player, NFL coaches are a mixed bag.
Arizona's Dennis Green claims to have never seen one, much less put any stock in its results.
Tampa Bay's Jon Gruden had all of his coaches take it, but wouldn't reveal his own score only to say ... it wasn't good. Other coaches would call that a red flag.
Then there's Miami head coach Nick Saban, who as an assistant with the Houston Oilers in the late 1980s pulled a truly dastardly deed. He helped a kid gain a competitive advantage, so to speak.
"I'm not going to give his name, but he had a low Wonderlic," Saban said, grinning slightly. "They sent me up there with the test to retest him.
"I really liked this guy. He played safety. I got the test out, and even though I didn't take it, I studied it. Then I tutored the guy for about an hour before he took it, then I gave him twice as long to take it than he was supposed to.
"He doubled his score. We got him to where we could draft him. Now nobody knows about that, but I don't think (Oilers owner) Bud Adams can fire me now, so I'm OK with it."
Kansas City coach Herm Edwards, a former NFL cornerback, described the Wonderlic as something he was lucky enough to have avoided.
"They didn't have it when I was playing," he deadpanned. "I went to Cal-Berkeley, so I probably wouldn't have passed."
First-year New York Jets coach Eric Mangini, a former assistant under Bill Belichick in New England, believes the test results can be deceiving.
"I've been around players that have had low Wonderlic scores that have been some of the smartest players I ever coached," Mangini said. "And that's always the difficulty of looking at that score and trying to define a player by that score. I can think of 4-5 guys who had what would be considered extremely low scores.
"If you get to know them, you're thinking: How could he possibly grade out at this? He's so much smarter than his score indicates. Then you have dumb smart guys. They've got great scores but they can't figure it out. They would do great if they had to write a paper before each game. But to go execute the information, they just can't get it. As smart as they are and as good as they are in the classroom, they can't put it into action."
Buffalo coach Dick Jauron agreed.
"I've seen terrific players that had low scores," he said. "I've seen players that can't tie their cleats that have high scores. They can't play."
Dolphins defensive end Kevin Carter conceded there could be some correlation between the test and how it translates to the field.
However, the 12-year veteran wasn't willing to be judge and jury for a college prospect with a low score. Not everyone learns the same way, or comes from the same environment.
"It basically tests how you think, how you make adjustments and your adaptability to your surroundings," Carter said. "Maybe, it can translate. But maybe, you can take a guy who grew up in a foster home. Maybe he doesn't score real high on the Wonderlic. But you know what, he's learned how to survive and he got here.
"And he's a hell of a player because of it. I think those things are best left where they are, and let the people who have to worry about scores and their evaluations worry about that."
As for that safety Saban helped, he went on to have a long NFL career — with somebody else.
"He got picked before we could get him," Saban said. "Somebody else obviously tutored him up."
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/draft/2006-04-16-wonderlic-feature_x.htm
