If there is one part of the selection process that keeps candidates awake at night, it is the psychometric tests. Candidates worry about the time pressure, they worry about the abstract shapes, and they worry that some hidden intellectual ceiling will be exposed in front of everyone.

The AOSB psychometric tests are standard graduate aptitude tests. They are not military-specific puzzles designed to catch you out. They measure your potential to think clearly under pressure, not your knowledge of obscure facts or your ability to perform complex mathematics. With proper preparation, you can approach them with confidence rather than dread.

In this guide, I will explain exactly what each test involves, what assessors are looking for, and how you can prepare effectively. By the end, you will have a clear picture of what to expect and a practical plan for your preparation.

What Are the Psychometric Tests?

On day one of both Briefing and Main Board, you will complete four computer-based tests in a quiet room under exam conditions. You sit at an individual terminal alongside other candidates, but you work in silence and at your own pace within the time limits.

For more information on the running order of assessments you can refer to the AOSB section of the British Army's website.

The purpose of these tests is to provide an objective measure of your intellectual potential. The Army needs officers who can process information quickly, think logically under pressure, and make sound decisions when the stakes are high. These tests give assessors hard data on your reasoning ability that complements the subjective judgements they make during interviews, group tasks, and planning exercises.

It is important to understand that these tests are not assessing military knowledge. You do not need to know anything about the Army to answer the questions. They are testing how you think, not what you know.

You will take four tests in turn. These are verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, abstract reasoning, and Memory & Attention. Each one focuses on a different aspect of your thinking, and together they build a picture of your overall intellectual capacity.

You will also complete a personality questionnaire. This is not a test you can pass or fail. It simply helps the Army get a sense of your personality and how you think and behave. You will respond to statements on a scale from "Strongly Agree" to "Strongly Disagree," covering topics like how you handle stress, work in teams, and approach leadership.

There is no need to prepare for the personality questionnaire, and it does not contribute to your score. Just answer honestly. Do not worry about trying to game it or second-guess what they want to hear.

The Four Tests Explained

Verbal Reasoning

Verbal reasoning measures how well you understand, analyse and draw conclusions from written information under time pressure.

You will sit it at both Briefing and Main Board. You are expected to answer 40 multiple-choice questions in 15 minutes, which gives you a limit of 22.5 seconds per question.

The Format

You are shown a written passage and an accompanying question. For each passage you are typically asked four separate questions, one at a time. Each question is written as a statement, and your task is to decide from the passage alone whether it is True, False, or Can't tell.

The example below shows what this looks like in practice. Try it for yourself.

The passage will remain unchanged for four questions at a time. This means the first question on each passage will usually take longer, as you read the passage for the first time. By the remaining three you already know where everything sits, and you will answer more quickly.

The key to this test is discipline. You must answer based only on what the passage says, not on what you already know or believe to be true. If a passage discusses recruitment policy, for example, you might have your own knowledge about how recruitment works. Ignore it. Your job is to evaluate whether each statement logically follows from the text in front of you, nothing more.

Watch out for absolute language. Words like "always," "never," "all," and "none" often signal a False answer, because passages rarely make such sweeping claims. If a passage says "most employees receive training," a statement claiming "all employees receive training" would be False.

If the passage simply does not address what the statement is claiming, the answer is Can't tell. Do not infer or assume. Stick to what is written.

I break this test down in full, including all eighteen question types and the traps they set, in my verbal reasoning strategy guide.

Numerical Reasoning

Numerical reasoning measures how accurately you can work with numbers, read data from tables and charts, and solve problems under time pressure.

No calculator is allowed, and you will sit it at both Briefing and Main Board. You are expected to answer 50 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes, which gives you a limit of 36 seconds per question.

The Format

You are shown an exhibit containing numerical data. Its exact nature varies, but it often takes the form of a pie chart, bar chart, line graph, or data table. For each exhibit you are shown four questions, one at a time, and you must choose the correct answer out of four options.

The example below shows what this looks like in practice. Try it for yourself.

The exhibit remains unchanged for several questions at a time, typically four. This means the first question on each exhibit will usually take slightly longer, as you find your bearings in the data. By the time you reach the remaining questions you will already know where everything sits, and you will answer more quickly.

The maths itself is not advanced. You will not face calculus or complex algebra. The challenge is working quickly and accurately under pressure, often with data presented in unfamiliar formats.

A few techniques can help. First, get comfortable estimating. If the answer options are £42, £48, £54, and £60, and your rough calculation gives you something around £53, you can be confident the answer is £54 without working it to the last penny. Second, practise working backwards from the answer options when it saves time. Sometimes choosing a middle option and seeing if it fits is faster than calculating from scratch. Third, make sure your mental arithmetic is sharp.

It is also important to be comfortable with speed, distance, and time calculations. The core formula is distance equals speed multiplied by time. Being able to rearrange this quickly in your head will save valuable seconds.

Practising speed-distance-time questions also pays dividends in the planning exercise, where you will need to calculate journey times and distances under pressure. By sharpening this skill for the psychometric tests, you are killing two birds with one stone.

I break this test down in full, including all fifteen question types and the eight rules I recommend for test day, in my numerical reasoning strategy guide.

Abstract Reasoning

Abstract reasoning measures your ability to identify patterns and relationships between shapes, and to do it at speed.

You will sit it at both Briefing and Main Board. You are expected to answer 70 questions in 12 minutes, which gives you a limit of roughly 10 seconds per question.

The Format

Each problem presents two groups of shapes, Set A and Set B. Each group is shown as a panel of six boxes, and every box in a group obeys a single hidden rule. The two rules are independent of one another.

You are then shown five test figures, one at a time. For each, you must decide whether it belongs to Set A, Set B, or Neither. The test contains 14 of these puzzles at five questions each, giving 70 questions in total.

The example below shows what this looks like in practice. Try it for yourself.

The two sets remain unchanged for five questions at a time. You will almost always spend more time on the first question of each puzzle, because you must work out the two rules before you can classify anything. Once the rules are cracked, the remaining four questions go quickly.

The classification logic is strict. A figure belongs to Set A only if it clearly follows Set A's rule, and to Set B only if it clearly follows Set B's rule. In every other case, the answer is Neither.

For most candidates, abstract reasoning is the least familiar of the reasoning tests. Verbal and numerical reasoning appear throughout the UK education system in various forms, but this kind of pattern recognition is something many people have never practised. That unfamiliarity breeds anxiety, but it also means that targeted preparation pays off significantly.

Every rule in the test is built from six pattern dimensions, captured by the acronym SPONCS. When you are trying to identify a rule and nothing jumps out, work through the six dimensions in order until one of them clicks.

• S for Shape. The type of shape, or its number of sides
• P for Position. Where shapes sit in the box, and what is touching what
• O for Orientation. Direction, rotation and angle
• N for Number. The count of shapes, sides, dots or intersections
• C for Colour. Shading, black or white, hatching and inversion
• S for Size. Relative size, always judged within a single box

Use SPONCS as a training tool first and a test tool second. Early in your preparation, run the checklist deliberately against each set. By test day the checking should have become automatic, so that you see fills, counts and positions without reciting anything.

I break this test down in full, including all six dimensions with interactive examples and the nine rules I recommend for test day, in my abstract reasoning strategy guide.

Memory & Attention

The Memory & Attention test measures how much information you can take in quickly, how accurately you can hold it, and how well you can keep applying rules that change as you go.

The test will open with an introduction that explains how each individual task works. From there you are given a variety of short tasks. Some involve showing you material on a screen for a few seconds at a time, and then you must answer questions from memory. Others keep everything on screen and load you up with rules to hold and apply instead.

A full sitting takes around 20 minutes, though the exact length differs from candidate to candidate. Much of the pacing is self-managed, because the time you spend on the instruction screens is your own.

Below is an example task, similar to those you will face at AOSB. You learn a set of rules that map figures to directions, then figures appear one at a time and you press the direction each one dictates. Later rules override earlier ones, so a figure may match an early rule and a newer exception at once, and the exception wins. Try it for yourself.

Preparation for this test is about training the capacities themselves. Rapid encoding, short-term retention, and rule-following all sharpen with repeated sittings, so that whatever combination of grids, sequences, and rules the day throws at you, the underlying skills are already in place.

How Your Results Are Used

Your psychometric test scores contribute to your overall assessment, but they are not the whole picture. Assessors combine your test results with their observations from interviews, group discussions, planning exercises, and physical tasks to build a complete view of your potential.

A strong performance in one area can offset a weaker one. If your abstract reasoning score is slightly lower but you excel in the interview and command tasks, that context matters. Equally, strong test scores cannot compensate for serious concerns elsewhere.

The tests provide objective data on your intellectual capacity. They give assessors confidence that you have the mental horsepower to handle the demands of officer training and the complex decisions you will face as a leader.

How to Prepare

Preparation for psychometric tests is straightforward, but it requires discipline. The single most important thing you can do is practise under realistic conditions.

This means sitting down in a quiet room, setting a strict timer, and working through a full test without interruptions. Do not pause to check your phone. Do not give yourself extra time. The goal is to replicate the pressure you will feel on the day so that it feels familiar rather than overwhelming.

Start by completing a practice test in each of the four areas to identify your baseline. Where are you strong? Where do you struggle? Once you know your weaknesses, focus your preparation there. If verbal reasoning comes naturally but you find yourself running out of time on numerical questions, spend more of your practice time on numerical. If abstract reasoning feels completely alien, give it extra attention until the format becomes familiar.

For numerical reasoning specifically, invest time in sharpening your mental arithmetic. Practise percentages, ratios, and speed-distance-time calculations until they become automatic. The less mental effort you spend on basic calculations, the more you have available for interpreting the question.

For abstract reasoning, the key is exposure. The more pattern types you see, the faster you will recognise them. Early on, you might spend a minute staring at a problem with no idea where to start. After twenty or thirty practice sets, you will start spotting common patterns within seconds.

The same logic applies to Memory & Attention. The tasks feel unusual on a first sitting, but repeated practice trains the encoding, retention, and rule-following the test demands, and each sitting feels more natural than the last.

Test Day: What to Expect

On the day, you will complete the psychometric tests at an individual computer terminal in a room with other candidates. An assessing officer will give a short briefing before you begin, explaining the format and answering any questions.

Once the instructions are finished, the room falls silent. You work through the four tests in turn, each strictly timed. You read the question on screen, select your answer, and move on.

You will be given paper for rough working, which is particularly useful for numerical reasoning. Use it freely. Writing things down helps you think clearly and avoids careless errors.

You can navigate forwards and backwards through questions within each reasoning test. If you hit a question that stumps you, skip it and come back later if you have time. Do not let one difficult question eat into the time you need for easier ones.

There is no negative marking, and this is crucial. If you are running out of time and have unanswered questions, click through and select an answer for each one. A guess has a chance of being correct; a blank has none.

Benchmark Your Performance

A score on its own tells you less than you might think. Sixty percent on an abstract reasoning test could be excellent or worrying, and you have no way of knowing which until you can see how other candidates found the same questions.

This is why every test on Officer Ready is benchmarked. Your scores are compared against the other users going through the same process, so you always know exactly where you stand.

This view allows you to see which tests you are already performing well in, and which ones need additional time. From there, improvement stops being guesswork, and you can focus your time where it will have the most impact.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

The psychometric tests are not designed to catch you out. They are designed to measure your potential to think clearly, reason logically, and perform under pressure. These are exactly the qualities the Army needs in its officers.

With proper preparation, the tests become manageable. Practise under realistic conditions. Identify your weaknesses and address them. Familiarise yourself with the formats until they feel routine rather than intimidating.

When you sit down at that terminal on test day, you will know exactly what to expect. That familiarity is your edge.