Commission internal competitions · 2026
SHL-style cognitive simulator
The 2026 internal selection uses SHL adaptive cognitive testing — not the classic EPSO format. Try 12 interactive items across numerical, inductive and deductive reasoning: you drag, tap and build each answer, exactly like the real G+ test. No sign-up needed.
SHL-style Cognitive Simulation
A faithful, activity-based practice run across numerical, inductive and deductive reasoning — modelled on the adaptive cognitive assessment used in the 2026 internal selection. You drag, tap and build each answer, just like the real test.
- 12 questions · mixed reasoning, G+ style
- Two modes — practice with instant feedback, or a faithful timed simulation
- Interactive — drag, drop and tap to build every answer
- No going back, and each question must be answered
- No negative marking — never leave one blank
- Indicative report — grade band A–E + percentile, at the end
Original SHL-style items created by EU·Now for practice. EU·Now is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to SHL Group Ltd. Avatars are illustrative. Your result is an indicative practice score, not an official SHL assessment.
The test this simulator reproduces
- Test
- SHL Verify Interactive G+, an adaptive cognitive test — not EPSO’s TAO format.
- Where it is used
- Phase 1 of the European Commission’s 2026 internal competitions (COM/AD/107, COM/AD/108, COM/AST/109) and of the AST2 competition COM/AST/112/2026, open for applications until 30 October 2026.
- Length
- 24 questions in 36 minutes.
- What it measures
- Deductive, inductive and numerical reasoning, plus an overall General Ability (G) score.
- Answer format
- Interactive: you drag, tap and build the answer on screen instead of picking A to E.
- Adaptivity
- Difficulty changes with your performance, item by item.
- Marking
- No negative marking. You generally cannot skip a question or go back, so a blank simply scores zero.
- Pass mark
- At or above the 60th percentile of a fixed reference population in COM/AD/107, COM/AD/108 and COM/AST/109; the 40th percentile in the AST2 competition COM/AST/112/2026. Either way a norm group, not the other candidates in your competition.
- This simulator
- 12 interactive items across the three reasoning families, free, no account and no time limit.
Format facts as published by SHL and as set out in the notices of competition; the 60th-percentile mark follows EU Training’s analysis of the 2026 internal round, and the AST2 one is written in notice COM/AST/112/2026 itself. Each is sourced in the guides linked below.
Questions candidates actually ask
Is the SHL cognitive test the same as EPSO’s TAO tests?
No. The Commission’s internal competitions open with an SHL-style adaptive cognitive test of 24 questions in 36 minutes. External EPSO competitions such as EPSO/AD/427/26 run on the TAO platform with classic multiple-choice verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning. Different platform, different item types, different preparation.
What score do I need to pass?
At or above the 60th percentile of the relevant reference population. That benchmark is a fixed norm group of previous test-takers with a similar role profile — it is not a curve against the other candidates sitting your competition, so how well they do does not change your result. The AST2 competition COM/AST/112/2026 sets the bar lower: the 40th percentile of university graduates with several years of professional experience, as its notice states.
Is there negative marking?
No. You earn points for correct answers and lose nothing for a wrong one. The trade-off is that you normally cannot skip an item or return to it, so an unanswered question scores zero and a considered guess is strictly better than a blank.
Is this simulator really free?
Yes. Twelve interactive items, no account, no card and no expiry. SHL itself also publishes around 25 free practice tests at shl.com/shldirect, including interactive formats — we say so on the page about what is genuinely free, because a candidate should know that before paying anyone, us included.
Why does the interactive format matter?
Because the answering action is different. Dragging and building an answer costs time that choosing between five options does not, and that time is inside the 36 minutes. Practising the interaction, not just the reasoning, is most of what a simulator is for.