Digit Span

Digit Span test: three kinds of recall

By Cristian Dominguez Rein-Loring, Creative Technology Lead · Published September 5, 2026 · Updated October 6, 2026

Digit Span presents short sequences one digit at a time, then asks you to reproduce them. Forward recall emphasizes maintenance; backward and sequencing conditions add a requirement to transform what you held in mind.

Start Digit Span See how it works

3 conditionsAbout 11 minutesPractice included

Example sequence

Forward4 · 9 · 2

Backward2 · 9 · 4

Sequencing2 · 4 · 9

What it samples

What is Digit Span?

Digit Span is a memory task in which you recall a short sequence of digits after it has been presented. In this version, forward recall keeps the same order, backward recall reverses it, and sequencing puts the digits in ascending order.

Backward Digit Span is also called reverse digit span. For the example 4 · 9 · 2, the responses are 4 · 9 · 2 (forward), 2 · 9 · 4 (backward), and 2 · 4 · 9 (sequencing). Backward and sequencing conditions add manipulation and rule-following to short-term retention.

Digit span paradigms appear in cognitive research and professionally administered assessment batteries, but versions differ in presentation, stopping rules, scoring, setting, and norms. Results from different versions are not automatically interchangeable.

Working memory is also part of the ADHD check, an attention profile for adults that includes Corsi blocks.

This is Neuropsych's browser implementation. It is not the WAIS Digit Span subtest or another licensed proprietary instrument, and it has not been established as clinically equivalent to one. It cannot diagnose a condition.

The procedure

What happens during the task

Practice the response. Watch a two-digit example, then enter it with the on-screen keypad or your keyboard.
Complete forward recall. Enter each sequence in the same order it appeared.
Complete backward recall. Enter each sequence in reverse order.
Complete sequencing. Enter the digits in ascending numerical order.

Adaptive span length. Each condition begins with two digits and offers two trials at each length. If both trials at a length are incorrect, that condition ends. Sequences can increase to nine digits. Each digit appears for one second, separated by a brief interval.

Reading the result

Treat each score as a session record, not a label

The task records

The longest correct span in each of the three conditions.
Correct responses and attempted trials by condition.
A combined total across forward, backward, and sequencing spans.

It does not establish

A diagnosis or the cause of a memory concern.
Your full working memory ability from one brief task.
Clinical equivalence to a supervised, standardized assessment.

Many factors can change a score. Attention, hearing or vision, language, strategy, anxiety, fatigue, distraction, medication, keyboard familiarity, and misunderstanding the recall rule can all influence an attempt. A qualified professional can consider those factors alongside history and other measures.

Evidence

Primary and peer-reviewed sources

Woods et al. (2011): Improving digit span assessment of short-term verbal memory, on administration and measurement choices.
Piper et al. (2015): Reliability and validity of an open computerized Digit Span task, including mode-of-administration differences.
Cowan et al. (2018): Theories of Working Memory, on distinctions among maintenance, manipulation, and attention.
Schmiedek et al. (2014): Putting working memory tasks in psychometric context, on shared and task-specific variance.

Ready to try the three conditions?

Set aside about eleven uninterrupted minutes. Read each recall rule carefully and complete the practice before the recorded task.

Start Digit Span