Module overview
What the test trains
This module focuses on Short Term Memory / Capacity — holding spoken information while a separate task keeps running. It is designed to make the underlying process easier to recognise, repeat and review before you add more speed or workload.
How this trainer relates to CFAST
In this trainer's Pilot (PLT) domain breakdown, Auditory Capacity is grouped under Short Term Memory / Capacity (STM/C). The Academy tracks this domain separately rather than combining it with an overall weighted index. This is the Academy’s training model, not an official CAF scoring calculation.
Task profile
What the task looks like
What it involves
- Take in spoken instructions and hold short sequences while a manual task continues underneath.
- Act on colour or number instructions using the right control.
- Keep a joystick task going without letting it consume all your attention.
- Clear an instruction once it's done so it stops taking up space.
Practice screen example
These screenshots show CBAT Academy’s independent practice version of the task.
Interface briefing
Controls and test flow
Controls
Listen to the presented sequence, then respond using the on-screen answer field, the keyboard, or a calibrated gamepad and pedal set — this module accepts more input channels than most because it tracks several response streams at once.
How the Academy version works
CBAT Academy presents an independently developed browser exercise with its own questions, graphics, timing and scoring. The instruction screen explains the current workload before launch; it does not claim to reproduce an official assessment screen or confidential question set.
Performance briefing
Difficulty and scoring
Difficulty and settings
Sequence length grows from 4 to 6 items and playback speeds up from 1.0x to 1.4x as difficulty increases, with the response window held at 4 minutes throughout.
How scoring works
The result reflects performance in this Academy module. Accuracy is the main signal for decision tasks, while timing, missed targets, false responses or control error can also contribute where the task requires them. Assessment mode is more suitable for trend comparisons than adjustable practice runs.
Read how practice scores and estimates work →Training plan
Build a method that holds up under pressure
Why this becomes difficult
- Spoken information doesn't wait for you; there's no re-reading it.
- Chasing perfect tracking accuracy can quietly eat the attention the auditory task needs.
- More than one instruction can be live at once, stacking demand rather than replacing it.
- Trying to recover a missed instruction tends to cost you the next one too.
Preparation tips
- Treat new spoken information as the priority the moment it arrives.
- Chunk digits instead of holding them as individual items.
- Keep manual corrections small — smooth beats precise here.
- Finish and mentally clear each instruction before the next one needs space.
Common mistakes
- Letting the tracking task absorb so much attention that instructions get missed.
- Spending too long trying to recover one missed instruction.
- Holding onto instructions after they're already actioned.
- Overcorrecting the manual task instead of accepting "close enough."
Useful practice drills
- Recall 4-8 digit strings while tracing a moving target by hand.
- Follow short conditional instructions while doing simple arithmetic in parallel.
- Score the listening and tracking halves separately to see which one gives first under load.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as an official Auditory Capacity test?
No. It trains related skills with an independently developed task. Rules, controls, timing, visuals and scoring can differ from an official assessment.
What's the most common mistake on this task?
Letting the tracking task absorb so much attention that instructions get missed.
What actually helps here?
Treat new spoken information as the priority the moment it arrives.
Transparency
Sources and information status
Task guidance on this page describes CBAT Academy’s own software. Broad aptitude context is checked against the public references in the source register. Details not established by an official source are treated as independent training methodology.
The official CFASC candidate-guide PDF (22 January 2015) describes named test examples. Use it for historical familiarisation and follow your current joining instructions. The exercise mechanics and practice advice here describe the Academy version; domain mappings and scores are independent.
This guide describes CBAT Academy’s independently developed practice modules. It is not an exact specification of any current RAF, Canadian Forces or Ministry of Defence assessment. Official content, timings, scoring and administration may differ.
Continue the briefing
Turn the method into repeatable performance.
Launch the interactive trainer, begin with accuracy and review the pattern behind each mistake before increasing pace.