Span and recognition tasks
Hold the digits and give them back reversed
Backward digit span: watch the digits, then enter them in reverse order. Holding and reordering is what working memory does; your result is the longest reversed span.
What this assessment measures
Backward digit span asks you to hold a sequence and transform it, entering the digits in reverse order. Holding plus manipulation is the working part of working memory. The result is the longest reversed sequence you produced before two misses at one length.
What this test reports
- longest backward span
- attempts
How the task works
- Two digits appear first, one at a time, then more on each round.
- Type them backwards: the last digit you saw goes first.
- Each correct reversal adds a digit; the second miss at a length ends the run.
- The forward version of this task is the digit span test in this hub.
This task needs vision and a pointer or keyboard, and it measures response times. Times are measured on this device and browser and are reported as your own figures; they are not comparable across devices or with other people. If you use a screen reader or cannot respond quickly, the questionnaires and reasoning tests on this site are the accessible route.
- Time
- 4 minutes
- Length
- adaptive length
- Result
- device-local figures
- Source
- Original MyTestAtlas task; device-local figures, no norm
One attempt on one device is a snapshot, not a working-memory score or a clinical measure; it cannot be compared with other people or with norms.
This route calculates its result in this browser tab; answers and result text are not sent as analytics properties or written to browser storage. Response times stay in this tab as well.
Your progress
Your result
Your figures
Measured on this device and browser. Not comparable across devices or with other people, and not a clinical measure.
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