The WHO ADHD test is a free, six-question screening tool called the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS). Developed by the World Health Organization in collaboration with researchers at Harvard Medical School and New York University, it takes about five minutes to complete and is one of the most widely used ADHD screeners in the world. It is not a diagnosis on its own, but a structured starting point for identifying whether your symptoms warrant a full clinical evaluation.
What the ASRS Actually Measures
The ASRS exists in two forms. The short version, which is the one most people encounter online or in a doctor’s office, contains six questions selected from a larger 18-question symptom checklist. Those six were chosen through statistical analysis to be the most predictive of an ADHD diagnosis. The full 18-question version covers the complete list of core ADHD symptoms, but research has shown the six-question screener performs just as well, and sometimes better, for initial screening purposes.
Each question asks how frequently you’ve experienced a specific symptom recently. The topics span both the inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive sides of ADHD: difficulty concentrating, trouble finishing tasks, restlessness, interrupting others, and problems with organization. You rate each item on a five-point scale from “never” to “very often.”
How the Scoring Works
There are two ways to score the six-question screener. The original method is simpler: each question gets either 0 or 1 point based on whether your answer crosses a specific threshold, giving you a score between 0 and 6. A score of 4 or higher counts as a positive screen.
An updated scoring system offers more nuance. It assigns 0 points for “never,” 1 for “rarely,” 2 for “sometimes,” 3 for “often,” and 4 for “very often,” creating a scale from 0 to 24. The cutoff for a positive screen is 14 or higher. This system also breaks results into four categories:
- 0 to 9: Low likelihood of ADHD
- 10 to 13: Slightly elevated but still below the screening threshold
- 14 to 17: Low positive range, suggesting further evaluation is warranted
- 18 to 24: High positive range, strongly suggesting a clinical assessment
Neither scoring method tells you whether you have ADHD. Both tell you whether it’s worth pursuing a professional evaluation.
How Accurate Is It?
In general population surveys, the ASRS correctly identifies about 69% of people who actually have ADHD (sensitivity) while correctly ruling out 99.5% of people who don’t (specificity). That high specificity means a positive result on this screener carries real weight. If you score above the threshold, the odds are genuinely elevated that a full evaluation would confirm ADHD.
In clinical settings, the sensitivity climbs higher, to around 84%, though specificity drops to about 66%. This makes sense: people seeking clinical care are more likely to have overlapping symptoms from other conditions like anxiety or depression, which can look similar to ADHD on a self-report scale. The screener catches more true cases in that group but also flags more false positives.
The test was originally built around older diagnostic criteria, but a 2017 update aligned it with the current diagnostic standards. Research has confirmed that even the original version still effectively detects ADHD under the newer criteria.
Why It’s a Screener, Not a Diagnosis
Self-report scales have inherent limitations. Your answers depend on how well you remember your own behavior, and that recall can be shaded by your current mood, stress level, or life circumstances. Someone going through a chaotic period at work might rate their concentration problems as more severe than they typically are. Someone who has lived with undiagnosed ADHD for decades might underestimate their symptoms because they’ve normalized them.
A formal ADHD diagnosis requires a clinical evaluation based on standardized diagnostic criteria. That process typically involves a detailed interview about your symptoms, their duration, and how they affect multiple areas of your life. Clinicians also look at whether symptoms were present in childhood, since ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that begins early, even if it goes unrecognized until adulthood. They’ll consider whether another condition, like anxiety, sleep disorders, or depression, might better explain what you’re experiencing.
The ASRS is designed to sit at the front end of that process. It gives both you and a clinician a quick, standardized snapshot that can guide the conversation toward a more thorough assessment.
How to Take It
The ASRS is freely available as a PDF from Harvard Medical School’s Department of Health Care Policy. Many mental health websites also host interactive versions. You don’t need a referral or an account to access it.
When filling it out, answer based on how you’ve been functioning recently rather than how you felt during one particularly bad week. Try to reflect on patterns rather than isolated incidents. The whole thing takes about five minutes.
If you score in the positive range, bringing your completed screener to a doctor or mental health professional gives them a useful starting point. It won’t replace their own assessment, but it provides structured information that can make the diagnostic process more efficient. Many clinicians already use the ASRS as part of their standard intake for patients who come in with attention or focus concerns.
Who the Test Is Designed For
The ASRS was developed specifically for adults. ADHD screening in children uses different tools because the symptoms present differently at different ages, and children can’t reliably self-report in the same way. If you’re wondering about ADHD in a child, pediatric-specific rating scales filled out by parents and teachers are the standard approach.
Some research has explored using the ASRS with adolescents, and early results suggest it can be reliable in that age group as well. But its primary validation, and the population it was built for, is adults who suspect they may have ADHD that was never identified earlier in life. That group is large: many adults with ADHD weren’t diagnosed as children, particularly women and people whose symptoms lean more toward inattention than hyperactivity.