How the AssessFirst BRAIN test works
BRAIN opens with a 4-item tutorial. You can repeat it, a Reveal answer link shows how each one is solved, and you confirm you have understood before the real items start. Each item asks “Which figure is missing to complete the sequence?”. You drag or select one or more of the pieces onto the question mark to build the answer, with Reset to start the item again and Submit to confirm. A Pass button lets you skip an item.
The test is adaptive. Everyone starts at a medium level; a right answer makes the next item harder and a wrong one makes it easier. It stops once your answers settle at a similar level, usually after 8 to 12 items. You have up to 3 minutes for each sequence.
Your result is a whole number from 1 to 10. Half of people score 6 or more and 15% score 8 or more. The report also shows how long you took and rates the most likely sources of error, such as haste (mistakes from deciding too fast) and indecisiveness (skipping a lot of items). AssessFirst says new users usually take SWIPE, then DRIVE, then BRAIN, and you do not have to take all three at once.
How to solve a BRAIN sequence
Work out the change before you touch the pieces:
- Compare the first two figures and name what changed: a part added or removed, a turn, a move, or a change of shading.
- Check the same change takes the second figure to the third. If not, look for two changes happening at once.
- Apply the change once more and picture the missing figure in full.
- Build it from the pieces. The answer can need several pieces stacked together, not just the one new part.
- Before you press Submit, compare what you built with the last figure in the sequence. It should be exactly one step on.
Worked example
Figure 1 is a vertical line. Figure 2 is the vertical line plus a line leaning right (/). Figure 3 adds a horizontal line through the centre. Figure 4 is missing.
Each step keeps every line and adds one more, turned a further 45 degrees clockwise. The next line is the one leaning left (\), so the answer is all four lines crossing at the centre, built by stacking the vertical, right-leaning, horizontal and left-leaning pieces. Submitting the left-leaning line on its own is wrong: it is the new part, but not the whole figure.
Tips for the real BRAIN test
- Take the tutorial seriously and repeat it if a rule is unclear. It is the only practice you get inside the test.
- Use Pass sparingly. AssessFirst says to use it wisely, and skipping a lot shows up as indecisiveness in your report.
- Do not rush. Three minutes per sequence leaves time to check, and mistakes from deciding too fast are flagged as haste.
- Expect the items to get harder as you get them right. A hard item is a sign you are doing well.
- Find a quiet place and about 10 minutes. AssessFirst asks for a distraction-free environment.
Practise AssessFirst BRAIN on CogniPrep
Our version starts at level 5 and adapts: a right answer moves the next item up, and a wrong answer or a Pass moves it down. You get 8 to 12 sequences with 3 minutes each, and an item left at zero is recorded as unanswered. Tap or drag pieces to stack them, then use Reset, Submit or Pass; there is no going back. Your result is an estimate on AssessFirst’s 1 to 10 scale. Our figures are flat drawings and our rules are our own, and there is no tutorial, so read the method above first.