Module overview
What the test trains
This module focuses on divided attention, working memory, visual monitoring, arithmetic and response switching. It is designed to make the underlying process easier to recognise, repeat and review before you add more speed or workload.
Task profile
What the task looks like
What it involves
- Figures: solve quick mental arithmetic while other streams continue.
- Logistics: monitor aircraft entering coloured zones and respond to relevant events.
- Groups: remember short callsigns and their current in/out status.
- Switch between the three streams as pace increases.
Practice screen example
These screenshots show CBAT Academy’s independent practice version of the task.
Interface briefing
Controls and difficulty
Controls
Classify each item into its stream using a dedicated key-binding scheme (configurable in Settings) or a click, with multiple streams running in parallel.
Difficulty and settings
Question count rises sharply from 18 at Easy to 45 at Hard, with the time allowed increasing from 3 to 5 minutes to match.
Read how practice scores and estimates work →Training plan
Build a method that holds up under pressure
Why this becomes difficult
- Events from different task streams can arrive almost simultaneously.
- Callsigns are easy to overwrite when aircraft enter and leave.
- Simple arithmetic invites rushing and avoidable errors.
- One missed event can create frustration and damage performance on later events.
- Increasing pace reduces recovery time.
Preparation tips
- Use a short state label for each relevant aircraft.
- Respond to a zone event and immediately return attention to the whole display.
- Keep arithmetic procedural: solve, enter, clear.
- If an event is missed, reset immediately instead of reconstructing it for too long.
- Develop a repeating scan: aircraft status, memory/question area, then arithmetic.
Common mistakes
- Trying to remember full histories instead of the current status that matters.
- Allowing one arithmetic problem to monopolise attention.
- Tracking unimportant aircraft when only marked aircraft matter.
- Continuing to think about a suspected mistake after the opportunity has passed.
- Mis-keying simple arithmetic by entering too quickly.
Useful practice drills
- Combine moving-object monitoring with multiplication flash cards.
- Track three to five two-letter callsigns and answer whether each is in or out.
- Switch between three task types every few seconds.
- Use a deliberate reset cue such as “next event” after an error.
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.
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.