Module overview
What the test trains
This module focuses on Visual & Auditory Perception — clean rule-switching under a stream of different target types. 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, Target Recognition is grouped under Visual & Auditory Perception (Percpt). 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
- Search for several target types in turn — imagery, colour, alphanumeric strings, codes, warnings.
- Keep the current rule separate from whichever rule you were just using.
- Break off to handle a priority or warning target, then pick the original search back up.
- Register real targets without inflating false alarms just to look thorough.
Practice screen example
These screenshots show CBAT Academy’s independent practice version of the task.
Interface briefing
Controls and test flow
Controls
Identify and click the correct targets as they appear among distractors on screen.
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
Question count rises from 8 to 16 and the number of distractors on screen at once grows from 6 to 14, within a fixed 4-minute session.
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
- Every switch is a chance to apply the previous screen's rule by habit.
- Sensitivity is a trade-off: chase every borderline hit and false alarms climb.
- A visually loud target can pull you off a search that was actually going fine.
- Re-covering ground you've already cleared costs time you don't get back.
Preparation tips
- Name the current rule to yourself before you start scanning under it.
- Use the same physical scan path every time rather than hunting wherever looks promising.
- Handle priority events fast, then resume from where you stopped — don't restart the sweep.
- A miss and a false alarm aren't equally cheap; know which one your current rule is more forgiving of.
Common mistakes
- Carrying the last screen's target definition into this one.
- Chasing the most visually obvious option instead of the correct rule.
- Scanning without a repeatable path and re-checking the same corner twice.
- Forgetting the original search existed after a priority interruption.
Useful practice drills
- Alternate between two defined target rules every few seconds until switching stops costing you time.
- Run mixed sheets with letters, symbols and colour targets in the same block.
- Score misses and false alarms separately so you know which one needs the work.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as an official Target Recognition 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?
Carrying the last screen's target definition into this one.
What actually helps here?
Name the current rule to yourself before you start scanning under it.
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.