Rice Purity Test Variations: Every Version Explained

Published: October 21, 2026
Updated: October 21, 2026

You have probably seen it in the group chat: someone posts a 72, someone else claims an 89, and a third person links a quiz you have never even heard of. Those numbers came from different rice purity test variations, and that is exactly why they do not line up. Over the years, the original quiz has split into a whole family of remakes, campus versions, fan-made spin-offs, and internet jokes.

This guide breaks down every well-known version, so you know what you are actually taking. One thing to get out of the way first: these quizzes are made for fun. A score is just a number from a checklist, and it says nothing about anyone’s character, morals, or worth.

The Original Test: Where Every Variation Started

The story starts in March 1924 at Rice University in Houston, Texas. The student newspaper, The Rice Thresher, published the results of an informal ten-question survey given to 119 female undergraduates. It was a campus curiosity, not a scientific instrument.

The test grew up with the campus. The Thresher revisited it over the decades, and expanded lists appeared later, including a 150-question version in 1988. The familiar modern format took shape later still: one hundred yes-or-no questions, a score that starts at 100, and one point subtracted for every box you check. That is the version that spread across the internet, and it is the baseline every variation below copies. For the full backstory, read our history of the Rice Purity Test.

There is no official edition maintained by anyone, and Rice University does not run an online version. The list is a living document that sites copy and tweak, which is why so many variations exist in the first place.

The Innocence Test

The best-known remake is the Innocence Test, created in December 2020 by two college students, Ella Menashe and Grace Wetsel. It keeps the same 100-question format and the same scoring, but it rewrites the questions for modern life: social media, dating apps, and online messaging replace the outdated items. It went viral on TikTok and is often reported informally as the most talked-about alternative to the classic.

Despite its gentle name, it is not a shorter or school-friendly version. That is a common myth. It is a full 100-question quiz that keeps mature themes, just written for a newer generation.

Campus Versions: Berkeley and Rice University

The Berkeley Purity Test is an unofficial campus-themed checklist written for students of the University of California, Berkeley. It uses the same checklist and scoring format, but the questions center on Berkeley locations, clubs, campus culture, and local references. It circulates among Berkeley students and alumni as a local in-joke version of the classic.

The Rice University version is the ancestor of them all. On campus, the test has long circulated as a social icebreaker, often tied to Orientation Week, where new students compare answers as a way to bond. The exact wording has drifted over the decades, so the campus version and the internet version are cousins, not twins.

Fandom and Internet Culture Versions

The AO3 Rice Purity Test is a fan-made spin-off for users of Archive of Our Own, the fanfiction platform. It keeps the identical 100-item format, but every question is about fandom life instead of real life: reading habits, writing, tagging, tropes, and community engagement. It is not affiliated with AO3 itself.

The Performative Purity Test is a meme-style checklist found on dedicated quiz sites. Instead of life experiences, it pokes fun at modern aesthetic habits, such as trend-chasing and online image crafting. It uses the same subtract-one-point scoring, but the joke is the culture, not the score.

Themed Checklists: The Mental Health Purity Test

The Mental Health Purity Test is a themed checklist found on quiz aggregator sites. It swaps the original topics for questions about self-care habits, stress, and emotional ups and downs. There is no single standard version; different sites use different question counts, often between 50 and 100. It is entertainment, not a clinical tool, and a result should never be treated as a diagnosis or a measure of mental health.

Names to Treat With Caution

A few names come up in searches that do not correspond to a real, established quiz. The Bizarro Rice Purity Test is one example: despite the name appearing online, there is no widely recognized standalone test under that title. The Asian Purity Test and the Christian Purity Test are similar cases. Various small quizzes use those names, but there is no single canonical version of either. Christian purity quizzes do exist, but they are generally faith-based reflection tools, not direct spin-offs of the Rice-style checklist. Treat these names as unverified rather than established versions, and stick to the well-known quizzes above.

Every Version at a Glance

Which Version Should You Take?

Take the classic test for the original experience that everyone compares scores on, and you can take the Rice Purity Test right here on this site. Take the Innocence Test if you want questions that match current habits. Take the AO3 version if you are deep in fandom, or the Performative version if you prefer a lighthearted meme quiz. The Berkeley test is best for Berkeley students who get the local references.

Whatever you choose, remember that scores only make sense within the same version. An 80 on the AO3 test and an 80 on the classic test do not mean the same thing, because the questions are different. If you are comparing with friends, make sure everyone takes the same quiz, and check our score guide to see what your score means.

Frequently Asked Questions