Excel Test – The Complete Guide
The Microsoft Excel assessment test, also known as the Excel Skill test, is a challenging pre-employment tool to evaluate your Excel proficiency and assess if you can perform tasks required in various positions.
To make sure you arrive as well-prepared as possible and ace your Excel test, we offer our accurate Excel prep pack, which includes:
- Interactive Excel practice test simulations that will accustom you to working on the excel worksheet in both training and time-limited testing modes. This allows you to practice the test in your own conditions. as well as prepares you to complete tasks you will face on the real Excel test, improving your time management and reducing pressure.
- Practice Excel test questions suited to all difficulty levels of the excel test, training you to easily complete any given task on the real assessment, from the most fundamental commands to the most advanced functions and data analyses.
- Full explanations, solving tips, and performance statistics to deepen your understanding and help you learn. The evaluation is divided into topics which allows you to focus on specific fields and improve your abilities in areas that need extra work.
Bonus - Full preparation courses for MS Office: Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more!
*The Excel Test prep pack is not compatible with Apple operating systems
What is the Excel Test
The Microsoft Excel test is a proficiency evaluation that assesses your Excel knowledge and skills, from basic Excel functions, such as wrapping text and keyboard shortcuts, to more complex data analysis functions, such as filtering data and financial calculations. The test structure and difficulty level can change according to the position you applied for and the hiring company, but it usually contains 10-35 questions to complete in 15-45 minutes.
To make sure you get a high score on your MS Excel test, it is essential that you know which test you are about to take and prepare specifically for it.
Types of Excel Tests
There are two types of Excel Tests – Multiple-choice questions and Interactive spreadsheets.
Excel Test - Multiple Choice Question
In the Excel multiple-choice question test, you will be asked questions followed by a series of answers. You will need to choose the best response and show your Excel knowledge without working on the actual spreadsheet. Selecting the correct answer without performing it first can be pretty challenging, especially for those who are working on Excel daily.
Excel Test - Interactive Spreadsheet
In the Excel interactive spreadsheet test, you will be asked to perform specific tasks on an actual Excel spreadsheet or an Excel simulation. The tasks can be single or multi-functioned, in which you are asked to complete several commands to answer the question.$hrtag$
Excel Test Levels
The Microsoft Excel assessment tests are divided into three levels – basic, intermediate, and advanced.
The difficulty of the test depends on the types of Excel skills needed in the position you are applying for.
Basic Excel Test
The excel test for beginners evaluates the Excel skills needed for entry-level, clerical, and administrative positions. Therefore, it aims to assess your abilities to perform everyday office tasks and probably will not include advanced questions such as macros and functions.
The topics of the Excel Basic test can include –
- Change cell colors/fonts
- filter and sort data
- Move a chart in a worksheet
- Preview and print workbooks
- Fill cell range with a series of labels
💡 Basic doesn’t mean easy, and you will need to be prepared and demonstrate your knowledge of the software's fundamentals, commands, and terminology. Our PrepPack covers all of these topics and will help you become an Excel expert and ace the test.
Intermediate Excel Test
The Excel intermediate test evaluates the Excel skills needed for roles that require calculations and data processing. Therefore, it aims to assess your abilities to perform basic and advanced tasks that demand a more profound knowledge of Excel.
The topics of the Excel intermediate test can include –
- Merge cells
- Freeze top rows
- Sort data through auto-filtering
- Use Autosum
- Filter PivotTable data
- Change chart types and other visual representation
- Create conditional formatting rules & writing formulas
💡 Because the Excel intermediate test requires both basic and advanced skills, you should master both levels and make sure you are prepared for any sort of questions coming ahead, even the most fundamental. Our PrepPack includes all the levels of difficulties needed for the real Excel assessment test, so there won’t be a question you can't tackle.
Advanced Excel Test
The Excel Advanced Test evaluates the excel skills needed for roles that require managing and analyzing a large amount of complex data. Therefore, it aims to assess your ability to perform complicated tasks that require mastering the software and its features.
The topics of the Excel intermediate test can include –
- Record macros
- Apply styles to a chart
- Data validation / Data Manipulation
- Full PivotTable use
- Calculating using average functions
- Use goal seek
- Using functions Vlookup, SumIf, and concatenate
💡 As the name suggests, the Excel advanced test requires deep knowledge of the software. The tasks in our PrepPack include every function and command available on the Excel worksheet, so there won’t be any surprises for you during the real Excel assessment test.
GMetrix Excel Practice Tests
The JobTestPrep Excel assessment test PrepPack enables access to the GMetrix Excel practice tests that replicate the Microsoft Office environment and provide an authentic application experience. Once you purchase your PrepPack, you can use it for a whole year or up to 100 tests.
The GMetrix Excel practice tests is a user-friendly software with various features that allows you to overview your progress and receive real-time feedback on your improvement. While you work on an actual excel worksheet on the top of your screen, a control panel appears on the bottom, where you can move between tasks, restart the test, view the test’s grade, etc.
The GMetrix Excel practice tests offer two types of practices – associate and expert. Both include all the levels of difficulties needed for the real Excel assessment test, from basic to advanced. That allows you to gradually build your excel skills and sharpen your understanding and proficiency of the software, so there will be no questions in the real-life test that you couldn’t handle.
For each practice test there is a training mode and a testing mode.
The training mode allows you to take your time to understand the tasks and answer the questions while receiving real-time feedback. At any moment, you can use the help button that opens a detailed study guide. Like your own personal tutor, this explains step-by-step every procedure that needs to be performed to complete the task.
The testing mode is a limited-time mock test that simulates the conditions when taking the real excel assessment, including an accurate demand of a grade of at least 80% to pass the test.
When finishing the test, you can view the mistakes and evaluate your performance with the statistics panel that presents how many tests you took, the grade you received in each one, and how many topics you mastered. This allows you to assess your strengths and weakness and know which topics to focus your efforts on.
Excel Practice Questions and Answers
Excel Practice - Basic Sample Questions
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
| 1 | Name | Surname | Position | Full Name | Age | Annual Salary* |
| 2 | John | Smith | Manager | John Smith | 35 | 85 |
| 3 | Jimmy | Michaels | Salesperson | Jimmy Michaels | 26 | 60 |
| 4 | Michelle | Levine | Manager | Michelle Adams | 37 | 80 |
| 5 | Levi | Johnson | Tech | Levi Johnson | 40 | 75 |
| 6 | Jenna | Masterson | Salesperson | Jenna Masterson | 26 | 60 |
- Align the text to the right
- Set the page orientation to Landscape
1. Align the Text to the right.
a. Click on cell A1 (1), hold down shift and click on cell F7 to select the entire table (2).
b. Under the Home tab, click on the “Align Text Right” button (3).
2. Change the Page Orientation to Landscape
a. Click on the Page Layout tab (1).
b. Under Page Setup group, click on Orientation (2).
c. In the opened menu, click on Landscape (3).
Excel Practice - Intermediate Sample Questions
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
| 1 | Name | Surname | Position | Full Name | Age | Annual Salary* |
| 2 | John | Smith | Manager | John Smith | 35 | 85 |
| 3 | Jimmy | Michaels | Salesperson | Jimmy Michaels | 26 | 60 |
| 4 | Michelle | Levine | Manager | Michelle Adams | 37 | 80 |
| 5 | Levi | Johnson | Tech | Levi Johnson | 40 | 75 |
| 6 | Jenna | Masterson | Salesperson | Jenna Masterson | 26 | 60 |
- Highlight all cells with yearly sales above 70 mil.$.
- Under “Full Model Name”, in cell D4, write a function that combines the “Maker” and the “Type” (like in cell D3).
1. Highlight every cell with Annual Sales over 70 (mil. $).
a. Click on cell F3, hold down Shift and click on cell F7 to select all cells under Sales (1 & 2).
b. In the Home tab under the Styles group, Click on Conditional Formatting (3).
c. In the opened menu, move the mouse cursor over Highlight Cells Rules and click on Greater Than… (4 & 5)
d. In the opened dialog box, enter 70 under Format cells that are Greater Than: (6)
e. Click OK (7).
2. Under “Full Model Name”, in cell D4, write a function that combines the “Maker” and the “Type” (like in cell D3).
a. Click on cell D4 (1).
b. In the Formula Bar write: =CONCATENATE(A4,” “,B4). Notice the space added in the formula between the two cells (2).
c. Click Enter (3).
Excel Practice - Advanced Questions
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Prepare for your MS Excel Test
From basic to advanced, in the MS Excel Test you will need to exhibit mastery of a variety of excel skills to get good test results. The best way to receive a high score is to prepare with accurate practice materials that familiarize you with the actual test’s structure, types of questions, and time limit.
Our MS Excel Test PrepPack includes a selection of MS Excel practice tests and other accurate preparation resources for every skill set with free sample questions, tips, step-by-step answering guides, and statistics showing your strengths and weakness. These will allow you to sharpen your MS Excel skills, and ace the test with an excellent final score. In addition, with your PrepPack, you will receive a bonus of our combo Microsoft Office pack, which includes free study guides and practice tests for Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
*The MS Excel Test prep pack is not compatible with Apple operating systems
Tips to Ace Your MS Excel Test
Come Prepared
Before taking the test, read about the position’s requirements and the level of Excel proficiency needed, and focus your preparation on these types of questions.
Cover the Basics
Make sure you are familiar with all the Excel keyboard shortcuts, as well as standard formulas such as COUNT, SUM, IF, CONCATENATE, and VLOOKUP.
Take Time to Memorize
For the multiple-choice test, you will be expected to know the name of every part of the software (what is the ribbon, what is the data bar, etc.), and you should memorize the excel spreadsheet layout (which tab contains the “table” option, where the zoom scale is etc.).
Know Your Company
In many cases, companies will give you a test they have built internally. Such a test will usually be taken using the actual Excel software and will focus mainly on implementation instead of general knowledge.
Have an Awareness of Efficiency
In some cases, the test will be taken using a specially designed interface like the one used at JobTestPrep. Unlike the actual Excel software, these interfaces leave no room for errors. Not all shortcuts are acceptable, and all formulas must be spelled correctly since most software offers no program help. In addition, on these interfaces, there is only one acceptable answer to questions which can usually be answered in more than one way.
Make sure you refresh your skills before you take the test. Take an Excel Practice test to ensure you are familiar with the various commands as well as any possible alternative ways to execute them.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Excel assessment test is part of the hiring process for various jobs, from administrative to accounting positions. It helps to evaluate your Excel proficiency and assess if you can perform the tasks the role requires.
The Excel assessment test can include several topics, depending on the position and the difficulty level of the test. While the basic excel test can cover topics such as filtering and sorting data, the intermediate and the advanced excel tests can cover topics such as PivotTable and record macros.
Yes. Once you have purchased the kit, it is available for one year or 100 uses (whichever comes first).
Absolutely. You can only practice for these tests with the version of Excel/Word is already on your computer. Therefore, you should have the relevant version for the test available before your purchase.
To practice the excel test you will need to install the software, which allows you to prepare for all versions of excel, including Excel 2010, Excel 2013, Excel 2016, Excel 2019, and Office 365.
Currently, the preparation kit is supported only by Microsoft Windows.