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Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI)3

Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) Test

Learn how well you manage your thinking while working or studying in about 10 minutes. Get clear insight into planning, monitoring, and self-evaluation to sharpen learning and problem-solving.

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Questions: 5210 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

30,980 views

3,313 completions

1,943 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

125/260

Metacognitive Regulation Ability (MRA)

Measures how well a person consciously plans, monitors, and adjusts their thinking to regulate activity during learning or problem-solving.

Lower regulation

Moderate regulation

Higher regulation

52 – 121: Lower regulation | 122 – 191: Moderate regulation | 192 – 260: Higher regulation

A score of 125 falls in the Moderate regulation range, suggesting a generally adequate ability to manage cognitive processes with some room to strengthen consistency across tasks.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

University and grad students

41%OF USERS

Students take it to understand how well they plan, monitor, and evaluate their thinking while studying for exams, writing papers, and learning complex material.

Teachers and tutors

34%OF USERS

Educators use it to assess learners’ self-regulation skills and adjust instruction to strengthen planning, monitoring, and reflection.

Working professionals upskilling

25%OF USERS

Professionals take it to spot gaps in how they manage their thinking during demanding tasks and improve problem-solving and learning at work.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Metacognitive Regulation Ability (MRA)

Average

179.6

Normal range

144.2 — 215.1

min.

max.

260

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

You are presented with a series of statements concerning characteristics of thinking and approaches to problem solving. Please rate these statements. Keep in mind that there are no right or wrong answers.

- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Not sure
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Not sure
- Agree
- Strongly agree
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Not sure
- Agree
- Strongly agree

These are 3 of the 52 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Metacognitive Engagement in Activity, MAI Test

Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) Test - Symptoms and Signs

metacognition

This self-report measure is used to assess awareness and regulation of one’s own cognitive processes during learning and problem solving. The Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) consists of 52 items and typically takes about 10 minutes to complete.

Items describe common metacognitive behaviors (e.g., planning, monitoring comprehension, and evaluating strategy use), with respondents indicating how characteristic each statement is of them. The Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) may be used to support clinical, educational, or organizational assessment by providing a structured estimate of metacognitive self-regulation; results should be interpreted in context and in conjunction with other relevant information. Ann L. Brown is commonly cited in relation to foundational work in metacognition.

Author: Ann L. Brown, John H. Flavell

Literature: Flavell, J. H. Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive-developmental inquiry. American Psychologist. 1979.; Pintrich, P. R. The role of metacognitive knowledge in learning, teaching, and assessing. Theory Into Practice. 2002.; Schraw, G., & Dennison, R. S. Assessing metacognitive awareness. Contemporary Educational Psychology. 1994.