About Mindset Test

mindset-test.org is an independent educational site that provides a free, research-informed growth mindset test and plain-language guides for learners, teachers, coaches, and curious readers. The project was created to make the ideas from Carol S. Dweck's implicit theories research accessible without the marketing, oversimplification, and hype that often surround the topic online.

The test itself contains 16 short items based on published implicit-theories scales. Half of the items describe a growth view and half describe a fixed view; the fixed items are reverse-coded during scoring. Results are reported on a 1–6 continuum with two subscores (intelligence and talent), and every result page explicitly frames the score as a reflection tool rather than a label or prediction.

Editorial approach: every article page cites the specific studies it draws on, distinguishes between what the research supports and what remains contested, and is updated when new meta-analyses or replications change the picture. When a claim is disputed in the literature (for example, effect sizes from Sisk et al., 2018 or Macnamara & Burgoyne, 2022), both the original claim and the critique are presented so readers can judge for themselves.

The project is written and maintained by the Mindset Test editorial team. It is not affiliated with Carol Dweck, Mindset Works, Stanford University, or any commercial mindset training programme. Content is reviewed periodically against current research and updated when needed; substantive changes are noted at the bottom of the affected page.

Funding: the site is free and does not require an account. Running costs are covered by unobtrusive, consent-based advertising (Google AdSense) that only loads if you accept cookies in the banner, plus occasional referrals to books and courses. No sponsored content is accepted, and editorial decisions are made independently of any advertiser.

Corrections and feedback are welcome via the Contact page. If you spot a factual error, an outdated citation, or a translation issue in any of the nine supported languages, please let us know and we will fix it.