Running Digit Span

Working Memory — Updating

Instructions

You will hear a series of numbers spoken aloud. Listen carefully — you will not know how long the list will be.

When the list stops, the screen will tell you how many of the final numbers to recall. Enter them in the order you heard them.

You earn 1 point for each digit you place in the correct position. You do not need to get all of them right to earn points.

Difficulty increases as you progress. The test will end early if you score imperfectly on 3 consecutive items.

Example

You hear:  7 — 4 — 1 — 9 — 0 — 7 — 5 — 2 — 8 — 3 — 1 — 5

The screen asks for the last 4 digits.

Correct answer: 8   3   1   5  (4 / 4 points)

If you entered: 8   3   7   5  you'd still earn 3 / 4 points.

0.90x

Ensure your volume is turned up. The test uses text-to-speech.
No numbers will be shown on screen — audio only.

Item of

Press Start when you are ready to listen.

Listen…

Test Complete

WMI Running Digits — Estimated IQ
Raw Score
Scaled Score Est.
Running Span
Accuracy

Accuracy by Level

Trial Detail

Scoring & Norms Reference

Metric Value
Scoring1 point per digit in correct serial position (partial credit)
Scaled ScoreMean = 10, SD = 3 (range 1–19)
DiscontinueAfter 3 consecutive imperfect scores
Typical Capacity3–4 items (healthy adults)
Level (Probe) Typical Per-Digit Accuracy
Last 3~85–95 %
Last 4~70–85 %
Last 5~55–70 %
Last 6~45–60 %
Last 7~35–50 %

Research benchmarks from Bunting, Cowan & Saults (2006, QJEP) and Cowan et al. (2005, Cognitive Psychology, 51, 42–100). WAIS-V scaled scores use proprietary age-based norm tables (Pearson, 2024) — the estimate above is approximate.

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