Predictive Index Results 2026: Decoding Your Score and Behavioral Profile
A PI result is two reports. The cognitive assessment produces a score on a 100 to 450 scale, and each employer decides what number the role needs. The behavioral assessment produces a profile of your working style, with no good or bad result. This page decodes both, explains what the hiring team actually sees, and covers whether you can retake. If you have not taken the PI yet, the free drills further down show you both formats.
Your PI cognitive report says 270. The publisher's stated average is 250. What does that mean?
There is no pass mark, and 270 alone says nothing about percentiles. It means one thing: you sit above the publisher's stated average of 250 on the 100 to 450 scale. Whether it clears the role depends entirely on the target score the employer set for that position.
A decoded Predictive Index report: scaled cognitive score plus a four-drive behavioral profile.
How does Predictive Index scoring work?
Your PI result has two parts, one per assessment. The cognitive score starts as a raw count: how many of the 50 questions you got right. There is no penalty for wrong answers. That raw count is then placed on a scale from 100 to 450, in 10-point steps. The publisher puts the average at about 20 raw, which lands at 250 scaled, benchmarked against a reference group of more than 288,000 assessments.
The behavioral assessment is scored differently, because it has no right answers. Your choices across the two adjective checklists map onto four drives: Dominance, Extraversion, Patience and Formality, with Objectivity as a secondary factor. The pattern places you near one of the publisher's 17 Reference Profiles. Neither report carries a pass or fail. The employer compares your cognitive score with a target it set for the role, and your behavioral pattern with the profile it built for the job.
What each part of a PI result means
| Report item | What it is | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Raw score | Correct answers out of 50 on the cognitive assessment | The publisher's stated average is about 20; most people do not finish all 50, by design |
| Scaled score | Your raw score placed on the 100 to 450 scale, in 10-point steps | The number employers actually see; 250 is the stated average of the reference group |
| Target score | The cognitive benchmark the employer set for this role | Set per role and rarely published; the same score can clear one job and miss another |
| Drive pattern | Your four behavioral drives, each leaning high or low | A description of working style, not a grade; there is no good or bad pattern |
| Reference Profile | The closest of the publisher's 17 named profiles, in 4 families | Shorthand the hiring team uses to discuss fit with the role's behavioral pattern |
| The job match | How your two reports compare with the role's targets | The actual hiring signal; a mismatch on either side can cost an interview |
Whether you see your own reports is the employer's choice: some share them, many do not. You can ask the recruiter for your results and for the role's benchmark; the worst they can say is no.
The averages are the publisher's figures. The behavioral report has no bands at all: it is a profile of working style, and no pattern is better than another.
There is no pass mark on this scale. Each employer sets its own target per role and rarely publishes it.
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â–¶ Try the free PI drillsSee where you stand: the free PI drills
Reading about scores only goes so far; these two drills show you your own. The timed one reveals which question family leaks your points, scored the way the scale above works. The untimed one previews the checklist your behavioral report gets built from. If a past result fell short of a role, the AI analysis turns that bare number into a study plan (unlocked with your email).
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Took the PI and want the next result to be better?
The cognitive score responds to training
The test rewards pacing and familiar question formats. One drill per question family, easy to hard, turns the clock from the enemy into a known quantity.
Full-length practice on the real clock
Two 50-question simulations on the real 12-minute timer, so your next report reflects your ability instead of your surprise.
Understand what the behavioral report says
Guides to all four drives and the publisher's Reference Profiles, so you know what the hiring team reads in your pattern before they do.
Ready for the next invitation
Retakes are the employer's call, but the next application is yours. Ninety days of access covers this process and the next one.
Walk into the test knowing the shortcut for every question type.
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Free question banks vs. paid prep: what actually differs
| Free question banks | Other paid prep | Predictive Index Master Course | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-length tests on the real 50-in-12 clock | Rare | Varies | Yes |
| Behavioral drives and Reference Profiles explained | Partial | Varies | Yes |
| Per-family speed methods taught explicitly | Rare | Varies | Yes |
| Role-specific behavioral scenarios included | No | Varies | Yes |
| Instant start, 90-day access on any device | Partial | Varies | Yes |
| Price | $0 | Varies | $68.00 once · 90 days · 7-day money-back guarantee |
One plan. Ready before the next report.
Whatever the last result said, the next one is trainable. Ninety days covers it.
Next attempt coming? One evening gets you moving: re-run the drill, work the flagged family, then a full simulation on the 12-minute clock before the new invitation lands.
Predictive Index Master Course
Best for: anyone whose PI result, past or upcoming, has a role riding on it.
- Turn a disappointing number into a targeted study plan
- Simulations that report like the real thing: 50 questions, 12 minutes
- Family-by-family drills across a 436-question bank
- Understand the behavioral report before the hiring team reads it
- One payment, 90 days, every device you own
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If the course doesn't deliver for you, request a refund within 7 days of purchase; full details are in the terms. One-time payment. No subscription.
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What happens to your PI results
Your answers are scored
The cognitive raw count is placed on the 100 to 450 scale, and the behavioral checklists become a drive pattern with a matching Reference Profile.
The reports reach the employer
The hiring team sees the scaled score and the behavioral profile. Whether you receive a copy is their choice, so ask the recruiter directly.
Scores meet the role's benchmarks
The employer compares your cognitive score with the role's target, and your behavioral pattern with the profile built for the job. Neither comparison is public.
The result feeds the decision
PI results are usually one screening input alongside your CV and interviews, not the whole verdict. A strong result keeps doors open; a weak one can close them early.
Retakes are the employer's call
The publisher runs no public retake system. Testing windows and second chances belong to whoever invited you, so ask before assuming you get another attempt. The next application, though, always comes with a fresh test.
Built by the team behind 1.2M+ prepared students.
Michael built this decoder because most candidates meet their PI result as a bare number with no context: no pass mark, no percentile, no explanation of what the employer compares it against. Understanding the two reports is step one. The course is step two: it trains the cognitive score that responds to practice, and explains the behavioral report factor by factor.
PrepTerminal has prepared 1.2M+ students for high-stakes tests. The 7-day money-back guarantee is simple: if the course doesn't deliver for you, request a refund within 7 days of purchase (terms). Questions? Michael answers them at [email protected].
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Frequently Asked Questions: Predictive Index Test
Everything job applicants ask before taking the Predictive Index assessment, answered straight.
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â–¶ Try the free PI drillsThe report is just a number until you know what it is measured against.
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Sources and claims
- Cognitive scoring as number correct out of 50 with no penalty, the 100 to 450 scaled range in 10-point increments, the average of about 20 raw and 250 scaled, the reference group of more than 288,000 assessments, and that most test takers do not finish by design: figures stated by the test publisher. Employer targets are set per role and are generally not published; this page states none.
- Behavioral assessment format (untimed, about 6 minutes, two questions over the same 86-adjective list), the four drives (Dominance, Extraversion, Patience, Formality) with Objectivity as the secondary factor, and the 17 Reference Profiles in four families (Analytical, Social, Stabilizing, Persistent): the publisher's own descriptions.
- The 14-seconds-per-question figure is derived: 12 minutes divided by 50 questions is 14.4 seconds.
- Whether candidates see their reports, role targets, retake windows and result validity: set individually by each employer; this page makes no universal claim about any of them.
- "436 practice questions across 39 quizzes", "11 question families with easy, moderate and hard sets", "2 full-length simulations" and "4 role-specific behavioral scenarios": counted from the live Predictive Index Master Course on 2026-09-05.
- 7-day money-back guarantee: PrepTerminal terms and conditions (refund conditions apply; reviewed case by case).
- Independent company reviews are on Trustpilot (4.3 out of 5 from 441 reviews, retrieved 2026-09-26). "1.2M+ students" is platform-wide across all PrepTerminal courses.
Facts last checked: 2026-09-05. Found something out of date? Email [email protected] and we will correct it and re-date this block.
PrepTerminal is an independent test preparation service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by The Predictive Index. Predictive Index® and PI® are trademarks of their owner, referenced under nominative fair use solely to describe the assessments this course helps you prepare for. Test formats, scoring and employer requirements change; always confirm the current details with the organisation testing you.
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Your PI cognitive report says 270. The publisher's stated average is 250. What does that mean?
There is no pass mark, and 270 alone says nothing about percentiles. It means one thing: you sit above the publisher's stated average of 250 on the 100 to 450 scale. Whether it clears the role depends entirely on the target score the employer set for that position.
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