Guide

Tactics for a test with no back button: pacing, elimination and guessing

Last checked against sources 26 October 2026 · 7 min read
Valid for: AD5 and AST3 (COM/AD/108/2026, COM/AST/109/2026) and AD6 and AST2 (COM/AD/111/2026, COM/AST/112/2026); not EPSO AD5 Part 2, which allows flag and return

In the Commission's internal EU knowledge test you answer 30 questions in order, cannot go back, and cannot move on without choosing an option. A wrong answer costs nothing. So the tactics are simple: about 60 seconds a question at AD grades and 80 at AST, decide early, never leave a blank, and never press Exit.

Last checked against sources: 26 October 2026. Test rules carry a label: the Commission's guidance states (confirmed, from the Commission's guidance to candidates), SHL's help states (the platform's public candidate help), reported (a vendor or a Commission staff union), we estimate (our inference).

The rules of the screen

Rule	What it means for you	Status
Questions come one at a time and cannot be revisited	Your first answer is your final answer. There is no review screen.	The Commission's guidance states; SHL's help says the same of its platform (article 174)
You must choose an option to move on	You cannot skip and come back. A blank is impossible on screen.	The Commission's guidance states; SHL's help: no skipping, no blanks (article 181)
A wrong answer scores zero, the same as a blank	No penalty for guessing. Guess every time you are unsure.	The Commission's guidance states; SHL's help: wrong answers do not lower the score (article 181)
Pressing Exit ends the session for good	Exit is not a pause button. Never touch it during the test.	The Commission's guidance states; SHL's help (article 201)
The test submits itself when time runs out	Unanswered questions at time-out score zero.	The Commission's guidance states
30 questions: 30 minutes at AD grades, 40 at AST	60 seconds a question at AD, 80 at AST.	Reported from the notices; see AD vs AST timing

These rules are the opposite of EPSO's open competitions. On EPSO's testing platform you can move freely between questions within a test part and bookmark questions for review (EPSO's testing instructions, March 2026). If you have sat EPSO tests, unlearn the habit of skipping hard questions to come back later: here there is no later.

Pacing: decide by 45 seconds

At AD grades you have 60 seconds a question on average; at AST grades, 80. Our working rule: if you have not settled on an answer by about 45 seconds (AD) or 60 seconds (AST), eliminate what you can, choose, and move on. Spending three minutes on one figure costs you the time for two or three other questions you might know cold (we estimate).

Check the clock at question 10 and question 20. At AD grades you want about 20 and 10 minutes left; at AST grades about 27 and 13.
Bank time on easy questions. A question you know takes 15 seconds. Do not re-read it to feel sure; the time is worth more later.
Do not chase a lost question. Once you have pressed Next, it is gone. Let it go and read the next stem fresh.
Keep a reserve for NOT questions. They need two readings of the stem. See the true or false method.

Never leave a blank, and know the guessing arithmetic

The screen will not let you skip, but time can run out with questions unseen. Every unseen question is a certain zero; every guessed one is worth a quarter of a point on average. With four options and no penalty, the arithmetic is plain:

Our arithmetic: k + p(30 - k), where k is the answers you know and p the chance of a right guess (0.25, 0.33 or 0.5). Averages only: a real score varies around them.
What you know	Average score out of 30
Nothing: you guess all 30	7.5
10 answers for certain, blind guesses on the other 20	15
10 for certain, one option eliminated on each of the other 20	About 16.7
10 for certain, two options eliminated on each of the other 20	20

The pass mark is 15/30 (reported from the notices), but passing is not the bar that matters: only the top 2.5 times the number of places have their written test marked (reported). So every point counts. More in the 15/30 pass mark and the top-2.5x rule.

Elimination: from 25% to 33% to 50%

Each option you can rule out with confidence lifts a guess from 25% to 33%, then to 50%. On institutional questions, start by striking the institution that plainly does not do the thing asked. On procedure questions, check the actor first, then the majority: each wrong option usually changes only one of them.

Worked example (our own question, from Article 283(2) TFEU)

What is the term of office of a member of the European Central Bank's Executive Board?

A. Five years, renewable once
B. Six years, renewable
C. Eight years, not renewable
D. Eight years, renewable once

Answer: C. Under time pressure: if you remember only that the ECB board term is longer than the Court of Auditors' six years, A and B go and you are at 50%. If you also remember that it is a single term, C is certain. B is the Court of Auditors' rule: six years, renewable (Article 286(2) TFEU). The whole decision should take under 30 seconds.

Their term of office shall be eight years and shall not be renewable.

Article 283(2) TFEU, third subparagraph, consolidated version, OJ C 202, 7.6.2016

Figures: use caution, never a rule

When you are guessing between numbers, prefer the option that fits the pattern of the document you remember: a share of GNI, a round political target, a Treaty fraction such as a quarter or two-thirds. Treat an extreme value as less likely only when it is far from the others. None of this is a rule, and test writers know the habits too. Learn the numbers that recur most: the traps that catch candidates lists twelve.

If the screen freezes

Before and after the test

Notice. No date for the AD5 or AST3 test is public. HR has committed to announce each test at least two weeks before it happens (reported by a Commission staff union).
Same day. The knowledge test and the written test are held online on the same day (reported). Leave energy for the 90-minute written test.
Complaints. For AD7 in 2026, there was no review of the knowledge-test results, and a complaint asking for a specific question to be neutralised had to be lodged within three calendar days of the test, counted from the day after, through the Single Candidate Portal (reported by a Commission staff union). Check your own notice; note any question you think is flawed straight after the sitting.
EPSO AD5 Part 2 is different. The notice states 30 questions in 40 minutes, and EPSO's platform allows moving between questions and bookmarking. See EPSO AD5 Part 2: the EU knowledge test.

Rehearse the format, not just the content

Knowing the facts is half the job; the other half is answering them at the right speed with no way back. The free 30-question test runs forward-only with an AD (30-minute) or AST (40-minute) timer, an answer required to move on, and the source of every answer at the end.

Questions people ask

Can I go back to a question in the EU knowledge test?

Not in the Commission's internal competitions: questions are answered in order and cannot be revisited (the Commission's guidance to candidates; SHL's help, article 174). EPSO's AD5 Part 2 test does allow moving between questions within a part.

Is there negative marking?

No. A wrong answer and a blank both score zero (the Commission's guidance to candidates; SHL's help, article 181). Always answer.

How long is the test at AD and at AST grades?

30 questions in 30 minutes at AD grades and in 40 minutes at AST grades, so about 60 and 80 seconds a question (reported from the 2026 notices).

What happens if I press Exit?

The Commission's guidance to candidates says it ends the session and you cannot re-enter. SHL's help warns that Exit during a freeze can submit your answers so far. Refresh or reopen the link instead.

Official sources

Every fact on this page comes from these documents. Quotations are from the official text in this language.