Rice Purity Test

What the Rice Purity Test is

The Rice Purity Test is a list of 100 plain statements about things people do as they grow up. The list started at Rice University in Houston, Texas, where students used it as a light hearted way to compare life experience during orientation week. Versions of the test have circulated for decades, first on paper and later online, and the version on this page is the classic 100 question Rice Purity Test that most people know. It was never an exam and it was never meant to grade anyone. You read each statement, you check the ones that apply to you, and the number at the end simply counts how much of the list you have not done yet. People also call it an innocence test or a purity quiz, and all three names describe the same thing: a self scored survey of 100 questions about romance, social life, substances and trouble. If you want the background first, read what the Rice Purity Test is and the full history of the test.

The 100 questions, category by category

The 100 questions on this page are grouped into six categories, and the order matters. The list starts gently and gets more serious as it goes, which is why most people find the first half easy to read and the second half harder to complete.

Romance covers the early firsts: holding hands, going on a date, kissing and being in a relationship. Social covers everyday student life, parties, staying out late and the small rules everyone breaks at that age. Substances asks about alcohol, smoking and other substances. Sexual Activity is the largest and most personal section of the list, and it is the section that moves scores the most. Risky Behavior covers dares, dangerous decisions and close calls. Legal/Illegal closes the list with run ins with the law, from minor trouble to arrest. Because the questions are grouped this way, your category breakdown at the end tells you more than the headline number does. It shows exactly which parts of the list moved your Rice Purity Score and which parts you have not reached yet.

How the scoring works

The scoring could not be simpler. You start at 100. Every statement you check takes one point off your Rice Purity Score. Check none of them and you score 100. Check all of them and you score 0. A quick worked example makes it plain: if you check 23 statements, your score is 100 minus 23, which is 77. Every statement counts the same, whether it is about holding hands or about something far more serious, and that is exactly why two people with the same score can have lived very different lives. One person might check 23 gentle items from the first three categories, while another checks 23 of the heaviest items on the list, and both finish on 77. The number is a count, not a judgement, and our Rice Purity Test checker shows the count updating live as you work through the page. For the full maths, including more worked examples, see how the Rice Purity Score is calculated.

How to take the Rice Purity Test online on this page

Taking the test online takes five to ten minutes for most people. Work through the list from the top and check every statement that is true for you. The counter at the top of the page shows how many questions you have checked and what your score is right now, so you can watch it change as you go. If you are looking for a specific item, use the search box above the list to jump straight to it instead of scrolling. You can also open one category at a time and work through the test in sections. Answer honestly, because the result only means something if the checks are true, and nobody here benefits from a polite answer. When you reach the end, your final score and a full category breakdown are shown on screen. If you have an account, you can save the result to your history and compare it with earlier attempts, which is the best way to see how your score moves over the years.

What your Rice Purity Score means

Scores on this site fall into six bands. None of them is good or bad. Each band just describes how much of the list a person has typically done, and where that tends to place them next to everyone else who has taken the purity test.

98 to 100

Almost nothing on the list has happened yet. A score in this band is very common for younger students and for anyone who takes the test early in life. It usually means the romance and social sections are still almost completely unchecked.

85 to 97

A few firsts are out of the way. Scores here normally include dating, kissing and the milder social items, with little or nothing from the later categories. This is a typical range for people in their first serious relationship or their first year at college.

55 to 84

This is the middle of the range, and it is where most recorded results on this site sit. A score here usually means a normal spread of social experience, some items from the substances section, and the beginning of the later categories. Our own anonymous data put the average Rice Purity Score at 64.9 across the first 83 completed tests, right in the centre of this band.

35 to 54

A good spread of the list is checked, including serious items from the later sections. Scores in this band are more common with age, for the simple reason that there has been more time to collect experiences. They are also common among people who had an eventful few years at university.

15 to 34

Most of the list is familiar at this point. Scores here are uncommon, and they usually belong to older respondents looking back over a long period, rather than to anyone describing a single wild year.

Below 15

Nearly every item on the list is checked. A score below 15 is genuinely rare in the results recorded on this site, and when very low scores appear in screenshots online they are often exaggerated for effect. Treat any score in single figures with friendly suspicion.

For a longer band by band explanation, read what your Rice Purity Score really means.

The average Rice Purity Score

People usually want one clean number, but the honest answer needs two. Across the anonymous results recorded on this site, the average Rice Purity Score is 64.9 and the median is 70. The gap between those two numbers is real information: a small group of very low scores pulls the average down, while the typical person actually finishes closer to 70. Other websites quote averages anywhere between 60 and 80, but most of those figures are guesses repeated from site to site rather than measurements. Ours comes from the tests taken on this page. Remember also that the average moves with age. Students tend to score higher, older respondents tend to score lower, and both are exactly where they should be. The full breakdown, including the band by band counts, is in the most common Rice Purity Score.

How to read your result honestly

Three things are worth remembering before you compare scores with anyone. First, the purity test does not measure character, worth or maturity. It measures how many items on one fixed list you have done, and the list was written for college students in a different era, so it says nothing about the person you are now. Second, the same score can hide completely different answers, because every item is worth exactly one point. Third, age changes everything. A score of 90 at sixteen and a score of 90 at thirty describe very different lives, and neither one is a problem to fix. Treat the number as a conversation starter, not a verdict.

Taking the test with friends

Most people do not take the Rice Purity Test alone. The classic way to do it is in a group, with everyone answering on their own phone and revealing scores at the end. If you do it that way, agree the ground rules first: nobody has to explain any single answer, nobody reads anyone else's screen, and the lowest score buys the drinks only if that rule was agreed before anyone started. Comparing the category breakdowns is usually more interesting than comparing the final numbers, because it shows where a group is similar and where one person's life has taken a very different turn.

Your score over time

A Rice Purity Score is a snapshot, not a permanent label. Almost nobody keeps the same score for long, because the list is designed so that ordinary life keeps adding items to it. Students often watch their score fall fastest during their first two years at university, when a large number of social and romance items tend to happen in a short space of time. After that the fall slows down, and many adults find their score barely moves for years at a stretch. That pattern is why retaking the test is more useful than taking it once. A single score tells you where you are today. Two scores, taken a few years apart, tell you how much your life has actually changed, and the category breakdown shows you which part of your life did the changing. If you save your results while signed in, this page keeps that history for you, so each new attempt is added to the record instead of replacing the last one.

Your privacy on this page

The test runs in your browser. You can complete all 100 questions without giving your name or your email address, and your Rice Purity Score is calculated on the spot. A result is only stored if you choose to save it while signed in. We never ask who you are as a condition of taking the test, and there is nothing to share unless you decide to share it yourself. The longer explanation is in whether Rice Purity Tests are anonymous and in our privacy policy.

Common questions

Is the Rice Purity Test accurate?

It is accurate as a count and nothing more. It counts your answers correctly, but it was never designed or validated as a psychological measure, so it cannot tell you anything scientific about yourself. We go through the detail in whether the Rice Purity Test is accurate.

Is this the official Rice Purity Test?

This page runs the classic 100 question version of the test, with the original scoring system of 100 minus the number of items checked. It is the same list and the same maths that made the test famous, presented in a form that works properly on a phone.

Where can I read all 100 Rice Purity Test questions?

The full list is on this page, grouped into the six categories above: Romance, Social, Substances, Sexual Activity, Risky Behavior and Legal/Illegal. There is nothing hidden behind a download or a sign up. Scroll the list, use the search box to find a single item, and check the statements that are true for you.

What does the question mark mean on the Rice Purity Test?

On the traditional list, question 69 is printed as a single question mark, with no words at all. It is a joke that has sat in the list for decades, and nobody has ever given it an official meaning. It is not a trick and it hides no secret item. You cannot check it, and it does not change your score, which still comes from the statements you do check.

What is a good Rice Purity Score?

There is no good or bad score. The most common results recorded on this site sit between 55 and 84, with an average of 64.9, so anything in that wide middle is completely typical. A very high score is not a prize and a very low score is not a warning.

Can I retake the test?

Yes, and many people do. Retaking the purity test a year or two later is the best way to see what changed, because your score will usually drift down slowly over time as life adds items. That drift is normal, and it is the whole point of coming back.

How old should I be to take the test?

The list includes adult topics, including sex, alcohol and trouble with the law. It was written for college students, and it makes most sense for older teenagers and adults who can read those items in context. There is no formal age gate, but younger readers should know what kind of list it is before they start.

Who made the Rice Purity Test?

The test grew out of student culture at Rice University in Houston, Texas, and versions of it have circulated for decades, first in print and later online. Nobody owns your score, and the test belongs to the tradition more than to any single author.

Still curious? The frequently asked questions page covers the rest, and the journal has a guide for every part of the test, from the history to the meaning of every score band.