The Grit Test: Your Grit Score & What It Means

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Grit" by Angela Duckworth. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.

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Are you looking for a Grit test? What can a grit test tell you about your ability to succeed?

Angela Duckworth’s Grit Scale, or Grit test, can help you assess your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to your grit. This test often serves as a predictor of success, but can also show where there’s room for improvement.

Check out the Grit test below and see where you fall on the Angela Duckworth Grit scale.

Test Your Grit

How do you measure grit? In all the studies we’ve mentioned, grit was quantified through a grit test. You can take it yourself and see how gritty you are.

You’ll see 10 statements. For each statement, choose a number from 1 to 5, depending on how much you identify with it:

5 = Not at all like me
4 = Not much like me
3 = Somewhat like me
2 = Mostly like me
1 = Very much like me

The 10 statements:

1. New ideas and projects sometimes distract me from previous ones.
2. Setbacks discourage me. I give up easily.
3. I often set a goal but later choose to pursue a different one.
4. I am not a hard worker.
5. I have difficulty maintaining my focus on projects that take more than a few months to complete.
6. I have trouble finishing whatever I begin.
7. My interests change from year to year.
8. I don’t consider myself diligent. I give up often.
9. I have been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest.
10. I don’t often overcome setbacks to conquer an important challenge.

Now add up your score – there’s a possible total of 50. Then divide that by 10. The higher your score, then the more grit you have.

How do you stack up against the population? Here’s the different percentiles of Angela Duckworth’s grit scale across the population:

Grit has two components: passion and perseverance, and the questions actually correspond to both. 

For your passion score, add up the odd-numbered items above. For your perseverance score, add up the even-numbered items.

Chances are, your perseverance score is higher than your passion score. People tend to be better at working hard than at maintaining a consistent focus. It’s easy to get attracted to a new idea. It’s hard to maintain that passion over a consistent period of time without giving up.

Because people have different scores, this suggests passion and perseverance are different things.

Rather than letting your interest be an intense burst of firecrackers that vanishes into vapor, let your passion be a compass instead, guiding you on a long winding route to your ultimate goal.

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Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of Angela Duckworth's "Grit" at Shortform .

Here's what you'll find in our full Grit summary :

• How your grit can predict your success
• The 4 components that make up grit
• Why focusing on talent means you overlook true potential

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