Why do this, and what you will not read out of it
Before sitting down to the tries, it is worth knowing which question they answer and which they do not.
- They answer the question “where exactly” — “Poor memory” is too broad a phrase. Six tries break it into things that can be told apart: words, digits, the arrangement of objects, instructions, and what survives a day.
- They do not answer the question “is this normal” — They have no norms and no procedure — they are simplified versions of tasks used in psychology. Comparing with peers needs instruments that cannot be filled in at a kitchen table.
- They are not grounds for talking about the child in front of the child — You write the results down for yourselves. “You have a bad memory” stays for years and works as a label, while the tries exist so you know what to practise.
Three things that have to be separated
Otherwise one try answers a question you did not ask.
Recognition versus recall
The child looks at a list and says “I know this”. That is recognition, and it is far easier. Checking has to happen with the sheet covered — then recall is doing the work.
Holding versus transforming
Repeating a digit sequence is holding. Repeating it backwards is already working on the material. A child can be good at one and weak at the other.
Straight after versus a day later
The score ten seconds after studying is about the material going in. The score the next day is about whether it stayed. School asks about the second.
The six tries in order
Do them in one sitting, calmly, without commenting on the results. Each one ends with a number and a date written down.
- Ten words
You read out ten unrelated nouns, one a second. Ten minutes later the child says what they remember — the order does not matter. You write down: how many out of ten.
- A digit sequence forwards
You read digits one a second and the child repeats them in the same order. You start with four and add one at a time until it fails twice in a row. You record the longest successful sequence.
- A digit sequence backwards
The same, but from the end. It usually comes out one or two items shorter, and that is normal — the gap between these two numbers is more interesting than either on its own.
- The arrangement of objects
You lay six small objects in a row; the child looks for half a minute and turns away. You swap two of them. The question is what changed — “tell me”, not “point at it”.
- A three-step instruction
You say it once: “take the blue exercise book, put it on the windowsill and bring me a pen”. You note how many steps were carried out. This is the closest thing to what happens in a lesson.
- The check a day later
The next day, without warning, you ask about the same ten words. This number is the most important in the whole set and usually the lowest.
Do not run all of this when the child is tired or upset — you will be measuring tiredness. And do not comment on the result as you go: a single sigh can spoil the next three tries.
Two sets of results and what follows from them
The same six tries with two children. The total says nothing and the shape of the result says everything: the conclusions come out opposite, and that is exactly why all six are done rather than one.
Child A
- Ten words: 6 straight away, 2 a day later.
- Digits forwards: 5. Backwards: 4.
- Arrangement of six objects: 5 reproduced.
- Three-step instruction: 3 of 3 carried out.
- The picture: material goes in normally and does not stay. You work on spaced review — this is a matter of the way of studying, not of memory.
Child B
- Ten words: 5 straight away, 5 a day later.
- Digits forwards: 4. Backwards: 2.
- Arrangement of six objects: 3 reproduced.
- Three-step instruction: 1 of 3 carried out.
- An entirely different picture: what goes in stays, but not much goes in at once. You work on lightening the load — one instruction at a time, steps on paper, word problems broken up.
With only one try, both would have come out as “bad memory”. All the information sits in the differences between the tries, not in the total.
The first try — ten words, three minutes
Start with one rather than all six at once. This is the shortest and says the most, because it has a sequel the next day.
- Ten unrelated nouns
bridge · coffee · leaf · lift · dog · key · cloud · boot · lamp · bicycle. You read them one a second, once, in a calm voice.
- Ten seconds' pause, then recall
The child says or writes them in any order. You do not prompt and do not count out loud.
- Write down the first number
How many came back straight away. The date beside it.
- The next day, without warning, ask about the same words
This second number matters more than the first, and it is the one that speaks about durability.
The two numbers are read together. A lot straight away and little a day later — the material goes in but does not stay, so you work on spaced review. Little straight away but almost all of it a day later — not much goes in at once, so you work on portions and on lightening the load. Little in both — repeat the set a week later at a different time of day before drawing any conclusion at all: one day settles nothing.
Do not announce this as a memory test and do not comment on the result in front of the child. If they ask, tell them the truth: you are looking for a way to make studying easier for them.
What the research says
Two papers: one on where these numbers come from, the other on what not to promise after tries like these.
Gathercole et al., 2004 — working memory from 4 to 15
The capacity of each component of working memory grows throughout the school years, and the differences between children of the same age are large. Hence the caveat beside the table below: the numbers are a reference point, not a norm.
Melby-Lervåg and Hulme, 2013 — a meta-analysis of working-memory training
Working-memory exercises improve performance on the exercises themselves and do not transfer to marks or to reading. So a low number on the digit try is not a reason to buy digit training.
These six tries are simplified versions of tasks used in cognitive psychology — with no norms, no procedure and nobody qualified to interpret them. They give you a shared language with a teacher or a specialist, not a diagnosis.
How to read these numbers
Four rules, without which the set turns into a label.
Compare with the child themselves
Not with a sibling, not with the class and not with a table off the internet. What matters is the difference between today and a month from now.
Look at the differences between tries
A high score on objects and a low one on digits says something about those two tries, not that the child is “a visual learner” — matching the form of presentation to such a type has no support in the research. The practical conclusion is narrower: long digit sequences are worth writing down rather than holding in the head.
One day settles nothing
Sleep, mood and time of day move the results. Repeat the set a week later before drawing conclusions.
This is not an assessment
These tries are simplified versions of tasks used in psychology. They have no norms and no diagnostic procedure, and they will not replace a specialist.
Roughly what to expect
An approximate reference point for you, not norms — and not the result of our own measurements. Differences between children of the same age are large, and in the evening or after a short night the same tries come out worse.
| Age | What to expect |
|---|---|
| 8–10 years | Usually 4–5 digits forwards |
| 11–13 years | Usually 5–6 digits forwards |
| 14–18 years | Usually 6–7 digits forwards |
The same check, only more precisely
The free cognitive test does the same thing on age-matched tasks and works out the score for you. One of its tasks is about memory exactly: repeating a sequence of digits.
Open the free testshort test, about 7 minutes · no sign-up · instant result
Where these tries come from
They are home versions of the tasks a Space Memory coach runs at the first session: ten words, a digit sequence both ways, and a check a day later. We run them not to grade the child but to have a number to come back to after a month of work.
Parents' questions
How many words out of ten is a good result?
There is no single number, and the ones circulating online usually come from different procedures. In this try what matters is how many came back after a day compared with how many came back after ten minutes.
The child did badly. What now?
Repeat the set a week later, at a better time of day. If the picture holds, start with the simplest things: sleep, the phone out of the room and three short returns to the material.
Can I do this with a younger child?
From seven or eight, yes, in a shorter version: six words instead of ten and three digits to start. Younger children get lost in the instruction rather than in the material.
Could tries like these do any harm?
No, as long as they do not turn into a graded test. So it is worth saying plainly: this is not for a mark, we are checking the method, not you.
How do we know it is a matter for a specialist?
When the difficulties show up not only in studying but in everyday tasks, when they also affect speech or reading, or when they appeared suddenly. Then do not wait for the results of these tries.
Is it worth writing the results down?
That is effectively the entire value of these tries. Three columns — date, try, number — and in two months you have an answer to the question of whether anything changed.
Pages on what to do with the numbers and how to work on memory.
Memory course for kids
The same techniques in weekly classes with a coach, on material from school.
Memory test for kids online
Check for free how your child remembers now — before you start practising.
How to train a child's memory
What to do once the numbers are written down
How to improve memory for kids
When it is not memory but the way of studying
Memory exercises for kids
Ten minutes a day on the same material
You have the numbers and a question about what next?
In online classes the coach starts with the same measurement and comes back to it a month later: 90 minutes once a week, in a group of 5–10 children. Leave a request and we will tell you about the next group.
Request a callThe tries are indicative. They do not replace an assessment by a specialist and are not for making diagnoses.