Interpreting workplace tables: guide and free practice

Read the labels before the numbers

Identify the row entity, time period and unit attached to each column. A table showing thousands of dollars needs a factor of one thousand when the question requests dollars. Do not assume every column uses the same unit.

Identify the comparison

A question may ask for a total, difference, share, rate or change. Write that operation before copying figures. When comparing productivity, divide output by the relevant resource rather than choosing the largest output count.

Do not add percentages with different bases

A 10% return rate on 100 orders and a 5% return rate on 1,000 orders combine through counts: ten plus fifty returns over 1,100 orders. The combined rate is not simply the mean of 10% and 5%.

Separate known and missing data

If the table supplies costs but not revenue, it cannot establish profit. If it shows one year's total but no earlier value, it cannot establish growth. Answer Cannot determine when the relevant baseline is genuinely absent rather than guessing from a familiar pattern.

A reliable review sequence

Copy the needed cells, label them, calculate and compare the answer with a rough estimate. The exercises below present small tables as labelled text records so that headings remain accessible in the practice player.

Before this lesson

Use percentage change, ratios and weighted averages to refresh the calculations. The extra challenge here is choosing the right data and denominator. Start by naming the exact measure requested.

Worked table: one source, different questions

Read each column's unit separately. The revenue columns are thousands of pounds; the employee counts are people. Q2 revenue totals 30 + 44 = 74 in the displayed scale, or £74,000. The two regions' Q1 and Q2 rows refer to the same periods, so period comparisons are possible.

Growth is not the same as size

North grows from £24,000 to £30,000: 6/24 = 25%. South grows from £40,000 to £44,000: 4/40 = 10%. South has more sales revenue, but North has the higher growth rate. The overall increase is (74−64)/64 = 15.625%, or 15.63% rounded to two decimal places. Averaging 25% and 10% would give the regions equal weight despite their different starting revenues.

Normalise before comparing productivity

For Q2 revenue per employee, North has £30,000/5 = £6,000 and South has £44,000/8 = £5,500. North is higher on that measure. It does not follow that North has greater profit, better customer service or higher individual ability. None of those measures is supplied by this table.

A short reading routine

1. Read the question and write the requested measure.
2. Check the caption, time period, units and any note explaining the population.
3. Copy only the necessary cells and label their units.
4. Form the total, difference, ratio or rate before entering numbers.
5. Estimate the size, then calculate and round only the final result.

Keep counts, rates and percentage points separate

For an overall success rate, add successful counts and divide by the total eligible counts. Do not average percentages unless their denominators are equal or the question explicitly asks for the unweighted mean. A rate falling from 88% to 79% falls by nine percentage points; its relative decline is 9/88, approximately 10.23%.

Read budget scales carefully

If budget and actual columns are in thousands, a displayed difference of three means three thousand currency units. For a percentage overspend, divide the difference by the original budget. The scale cancels when both numerator and denominator use the same unit, but it must be restored for an answer in dollars or pounds.

Contribution is not net profit

When a table gives unit sales, unit selling prices and variable costs, you can calculate contribution as units × (price − variable cost per unit). Net profit needs the remaining expenses as well. If fixed costs are not supplied, say that net profit cannot be determined rather than treating contribution as the final profit.

Look for changing group mixes

A pooled rate can worsen while each subgroup's rate improves, when the later period contains more of the lower-rate subgroup. Recompute each period from its own counts. Use the advanced delivery case to distinguish changes within a group from changes in the share of jobs assigned to each group.

Common mistakes and missing facts

• Using the largest raw total to answer a per-person or per-hour question.
• Using a new value instead of the original period as a growth denominator.
• Counting a total row again as if it were another independent category.
• Assuming an absent value is zero, or inferring a cost from a revenue-only table.
• Combining periods of different lengths without adjusting the measure.
• Inferring causation or future performance from a descriptive comparison.

Practise from the right level

Foundation uses short labelled records. Intermediate uses regional support and spending tables. Advanced combines unit economics, changing job mixes and limits on conclusions. These are teaching levels, not calibrated ability bands. On a small screen, focus a table and use horizontal scrolling to read every column. Next try data sufficiency or verbal reasoning to practise separating supported conclusions from missing information.

Your first practice session

Treat each labelled record or displayed table as the complete data for that question. Use stated units. Figures are hypothetical and no missing cell should be guessed. A calculator is allowed.

Try 10 questions with explanations

Choose your practice difficulty

Difficulty labels describe the steps needed in these teaching sets; they are not validated ability bands. Start with foundation practice and move on after you can explain your method.

• Foundation: 10 questions — labelled records, totals, units and simple rates.
• Intermediate: 10 questions — Interpret regional support and spending tables with ten original questions on totals, rates, units and budget comparisons.
• Advanced: 10 questions — Use product and delivery tables to evaluate contribution, changing group mixes and missing information in ten original questions.

Continue learning

• Numerical reasoning
• Weighted averages and combined rates
• Data sufficiency reasoning

About this practice

These are independently written teaching questions. A practice score helps you review your answers; it is not a validated hiring prediction or an official employer score.