TestAS Digital vs Paper: Every Difference That Matters in 2026

If you are preparing for TestAS in 2026, the first question is not "how do I study". It is "which version am I actually taking". TestAS exists in two formats, digital and paper-based, and they differ in almost everything you practise: the subtests, the timing, the subject modules, the way answers are given and even the scale your score is reported on.

This guide compares both formats point by point, using the official information from g.a.s.t., the organisation that runs TestAS. At the end you will know which format fits your situation and how to adjust your preparation.

The short answer

Digital TestAS is taken on a computer at a licensed test centre. It has a three-part Core Module and six possible subject modules, and results arrive in about three weeks.

Paper-based TestAS is the older format. It is still offered on several dates a year, has a four-part Core Test and four subject modules, and results take about four weeks.

If you can choose, most applicants should prepare for the digital format. It offers every subject module, it is what most test centres run, and its results come back faster. Choose paper only if a paper date fits your deadlines much better or no digital centre is available to you.

Side-by-side comparison

	Digital TestAS	Paper-based TestAS
Where	Computer at a licensed test centre	Paper booklet at a licensed test centre
Core part	Core Module: 3 subtests	Core Test: 4 subtests
Core timing	3 × 25 minutes, about 90 minutes with instructions	110 minutes
Subject modules	6	4
Subject module timing	90 minutes	About 150 minutes
Total time	About 3.5 hours with breaks	About 4.5 hours with breaks
Answer format	Mostly single choice; Mathematical Equations answers are worked out	Mostly multiple choice with four options; Continuing Numerical Series answers are worked out
Score	TestAS Score, 0 to 200 per module	Standard Score, 70 to 130
Results	About 3 weeks	About 4 weeks
Registration closes	About 1 week before the exam	About 5 weeks before the exam
Languages	German or English	German or English

The core part: completely different subtests

Digital Core Module

The digital Core Module has three subtests. Each has 20 items and 25 minutes:

• Figure Sequences. You see four 4×4 grids in which one to four figures move (straight, diagonally or along the border, bouncing off the edges), rotate or change colour. You pick the next two grids, each from three options.
• Mathematical Equations. Letters (A to D) stand for whole numbers from 1 to 20, and you work out all of their values from a small system of equations. This is the one digital subtest where you enter an answer instead of choosing one, so there is no guessing from options.
• Latin Squares. A 5×5 grid where each letter from A to E appears exactly once in each row and column. You deduce which letter belongs in a marked cell.

You get two short two-minute breaks at your desk during the Core Module, then a 30-minute break outside the room before the subject module.

Paper-based Core Test

The paper Core Test has four subtests, each with 22 tasks, in 110 minutes:

• Solving Quantitative Problems (45 minutes): maths word problems.
• Inferring Relations (10 minutes): verbal analogies of the form A is to B as C is to ?.
• Completing Patterns (20 minutes plus 5 minutes of instructions): figure matrices.
• Continuing Numerical Series (25 minutes plus 5 minutes of instructions): find the next number in a series and write it down.

What this means for your preparation

There is some overlap in the thinking skills. Continuing a numerical series and continuing a figure sequence both train rule spotting, and quantitative problems and mathematical equations both need clean algebra. But the item formats are different enough that you should practise the exact subtests of the format you will sit. Someone who only drilled Latin Squares will meet verbal analogies on paper day with no practice at all.

Time pressure is also shaped differently. Inferring Relations gives you 10 minutes for 22 analogies, which is under 30 seconds each. On the digital side, 25 minutes for 20 items gives you 75 seconds per item, so accuracy matters more than raw speed.

Subject modules: six versus four

Both formats add one subject module that matches the degree you want to study.

Digital TestAS offers six modules:

1. Engineering
2. Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences (often shortened to MINT)
3. Economics
4. Humanities, Cultural Studies and Social Sciences
5. Life Sciences
6. Medicine

Each digital module lasts 90 minutes and uses testlets: 10 to 15 short units, each with a text, table, graph or diagram followed by 4 to 8 questions about it. You read, interpret and apply, rather than recall facts.

Paper-based TestAS offers four modules: Humanities, Cultural Studies and Social Sciences; Engineering; Mathematics, Computer Science and Natural Sciences; and Economics. Each takes about 150 minutes and is split into two or three named task groups. The Humanities module, for example, includes Understanding and Interpreting Texts, Using Representation Systems Flexibly and Linguistic Structures.

If you want to study medicine, pharmacy, biology or a related subject and your university asks for the Medicine or Life Sciences module, the digital format is your only option.

You can see what each digital module covers on our subject module overview.

Scoring: two different scales

This is the difference that confuses most people when they compare results.

• Digital TestAS reports a TestAS Score from 0 to 200 for the Core Module and for the subject module, plus an overall score from 0 to 400. 100 is the middle of each module scale, 50 to 150 counts as the average range, and only the top 2% of test takers reach 200.
• Paper-based TestAS reports a Standard Score from 70 to 130, with 100 as the middle.

Both formats also give you a percentile rank from 1 to 100, which tells you what share of test takers scored the same as you or lower.

g.a.s.t. publishes an official conversion chart between the two scales. A paper Standard Score of 100 equals a digital TestAS Score of 100, a Standard Score of 110 equals 150, and a Standard Score of 120 or more equals 200. So a "110" on paper and a "110" on digital mean very different results. We explain the scales in detail in how TestAS scoring works.

Results and deadlines

Digital results are usually available in the test taker portal about three weeks after the exam. Paper results take about four weeks. The official schedule also lists the exact results date for each exam.

Registration closes about one week before a digital exam and about five weeks before a paper exam. That makes the digital format far more flexible if you decide late.

When you pick a date, work backwards from your university's application deadline: exam date, plus results time, plus a few days to upload your certificate. Our TestAS dates page shows every upcoming date with its registration deadline and results date, taken directly from the official schedule.

Which format should you choose?

Choose digital if:

• you need the Medicine or Life Sciences module,
• you are registering less than five weeks before your preferred date,
• your application deadline is tight and one extra week of results time matters, or
• you have not started preparing yet and can simply prepare for the more common format.

Choose paper if:

• a paper date fits your application deadline clearly better than any digital date,
• there is no digital test centre you can reach, or
• you already prepared for the paper subtests and your module is available on paper.

Whichever you choose, commit to it early. Switching formats a few weeks before the exam means learning a new set of subtests under time pressure.

How to prepare for each format

For digital TestAS:

1. Learn the rules behind Figure Sequences, Mathematical Equations and Latin Squares until you can explain each one out loud.
2. Practise under the real limit of 25 minutes for 20 items.
3. Practise testlets for your subject module: read a stimulus once, then answer several questions from it without re-reading everything.
4. Sit at least one full, timed mock so the length of the day is not a surprise.

For paper-based TestAS:

1. Train speed for Inferring Relations, since the time per item is very short.
2. Practise numerical series where you write the answer instead of choosing it.
3. Rehearse the longer subject module blocks of about 150 minutes.

You can try real, freshly generated digital Core items for free on our practice page, with no signup.

Summary

The two TestAS formats share a name and a purpose, but not much else on test day. Check which format and module your target universities accept, pick a date whose results arrive before your deadline, and then prepare only for the subtests you will actually see.

Sources: structure of the digital TestAS, structure of the paper-based TestAS, evaluation of the digital TestAS, TestAS FAQ.