The ATSA subtests explained, one by one
What each part of the FAA's Air Traffic Skills Assessment asks you to do — the memory games, the spatial test, the simulation that runs two tasks at once, logical reasoning, reading and the personality questionnaire.
The ATSA runs about three and a half hours and covers several distinct tasks. The FAA names the broad areas — decision-making, spatial awareness, multitasking, working memory — but does not publish a subtest-by-subtest specification.
Sourcing, plainly: the breakdown below reflects what preparation vendors and candidate accounts consistently describe, and matches the ability areas the FAA does name. It is a reliable picture of the shape of the assessment, not an official specification. Two of the commonly-listed subtests are not publicly identified by the FAA at all.
Numbers and differences
A number appears. Then another. You report the difference between the one you are looking at and the one before it — while the next number is already on screen. The task is simple arithmetic wrapped around a memory load: the sum is easy, holding the previous value while the current one competes for attention is not.
What it measures: working memory under interference, and arithmetic that stays accurate when it is not the only thing you are doing.
Variables
You are given values for a few variables — A, B, C — and asked to hold them while questions build on them. Later items combine or transform the values rather than simply reading them back.
What it measures: holding several values at once and operating on them, which is the everyday shape of controlling traffic — a callsign, a level, a heading and a squawk, all live at the same time.
Spatial and visual relationships
An aircraft, a viewpoint, and a question about direction. The difficulty is the frame of reference: left from the cockpit is not left from the tower, and switching between the two under time pressure is where candidates lose marks.
What it measures: spatial orientation and perspective-taking — mentally standing somewhere other than where you are.
The ATC simulation
The subtest that most resembles the job. Aircraft move across a display and you keep them apart, while a stream of arithmetic runs alongside and also has to be answered.
What it measures: multitasking with a genuine cost to dropping either task. Candidates who protect the traffic and abandon the arithmetic score badly, and so do candidates who do the reverse. The scoring rewards an even hand.
Logical reasoning
Two parts in practice. The first gives you a statement and asks which assumption it rests on, or what follows from it. The second is an arrangement puzzle — people or objects placed around a table or in a row, with a set of constraints, and a question about who sits where.
What it measures: deduction from stated rules, and the discipline of using only what you are told rather than what seems likely.
Reading comprehension
Passages followed by questions on what the passage actually says. The trap is consistent: the wrong answers are plausible, true-sounding statements that the passage does not support.
What it measures: reading precisely and at pace, and resisting the pull of an answer that sounds right.
The personality questionnaire
A forced-choice or rating instrument covering work style, temperament and how you operate under pressure. It is scored and it contributes to the composite result.
It cannot be usefully gamed. The same traits are approached repeatedly from different directions, and a constructed profile comes out inconsistent — which is more visible than any single answer.
How to prepare across all of it
- Train against a clock from the first session. Every cognitive subtest here is speeded.
- On the dual-task subtests, practise keeping the secondary task alive. That is where the marks are lost.
- On reading and logical reasoning, practise answering only from what is stated. Both punish inference.
- Sit at least one full-length session. Three and a half hours is a stamina test as well as an ability test.
- Answer the personality questionnaire honestly and quickly.
Try a real item
Written to the same standard as the live tests — same format, same difficulty, and where it matters, the same trap that catches people in the real thing. Pick an answer to see the reasoning.
Numbers & Differences
The ATSA opens with a memory task dressed up as arithmetic. You report the difference between the number in front of you and the one before it — while the next one is already on screen.
You have seen, in order: 14, then 9, then 17. The number now showing is 17, and you are asked for the difference from the previous number. What do you answer?
Variables
You are given values to hold, then asked to work with them rather than read them back. This is working memory with an operation on top.
You are told A = 6, B = 4 and C = 9. What is (C − B) × A?
Spatial / Visual Relationship
The spatial subtest turns on frame of reference: left from the cockpit is not left from the tower, and the test moves between them without warning.
An aircraft is flying due south. From the pilot's seat, another aircraft appears off the left wing. Standing in the tower and looking at the map with north at the top, where is that second aircraft?
Logical Reasoning
The logical reasoning subtest asks what a statement actually rests on — not what sounds sensible alongside it. Use only what is written.
Statement: “We should move the training course to the morning, because trainees perform better before lunch.” Which assumption is this argument relying on?
Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension items are answered from the passage alone. The wrong answers are true-sounding statements the passage does not support.
Passage: “The new sequencing procedure was introduced at Northfield in March. Controllers reported that arrival delays fell over the following quarter, although traffic volumes were also lower than in the same period the previous year.” Which of these does the passage support?
Practise what this guide covers
These are live now. Reading about a timed test is not the same as sitting one.
Common questions
How many subtests does the ATSA have?
The FAA does not publish a definitive subtest list. Preparation vendors and candidate accounts consistently describe around seven components, including memory tasks, a spatial test, an ATC simulation, logical reasoning, reading comprehension and a scored personality questionnaire.
Is the ATSA the same as the old AT-SAT?
No. The ATSA replaced the earlier AT-SAT assessment, and the two differ in content and length. Material written for the AT-SAT is not a reliable guide to the ATSA.
Does the ATSA test air traffic control knowledge?
No. It is an aptitude assessment sat by candidates who have not been trained yet, so no aviation knowledge is required.
Can you use a calculator on the ATSA?
The arithmetic in the assessment is deliberately simple and built to be done mentally at speed. Assume you are working without one and practise that way.
Keep reading
Last updated 2026-09-10. ATC Ready is an independent practice tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or associated with NATS Holdings, EUROCONTROL, the Federal Aviation Administration, NAV CANADA or any other air navigation service provider or testing authority. Always confirm current details on the provider's own recruitment pages.