TARA (Test of Academic Reasoning for Admissions)
The TARA (Test of Academic Reasoning for Admissions) is run by UAT-UK and used by the University of Oxford and UCL for some courses across a range of subjects; each course page says whether it is required. It has three compulsory 40-minute modules: Critical Thinking (22 multiple-choice questions), Problem Solving (22 multiple-choice questions) and a Writing Task, one essay chosen from three, up to 750 words. No subject knowledge is needed, and no calculator or dictionary is allowed. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving are each scored from 1 to 9; the Writing Task is not scored by UAT-UK but is sent to the universities. There is no pass mark. It is taken at a Pearson test centre, in two sittings a year.
Practice set
A TARA practice test, each module in the real timing
- Critical Thinking: 22 questions in 40 minutes
- Problem Solving: 22 questions in 40 minutes
- No calculator, as in the test
- An explanation for every answer