How the Controleren test works
Each item is two short rows, both of digits or both of letters, with a dash between them. Sometimes the rows are identical; sometimes one character differs or two are swapped. You answer gelijk or niet gelijk and move on.
Controleren is the only measure of speed (Snelheid) in the MCT-M and MCT-H. It is not in the adaptive MCT-A. Harver uses the same item type as “Perceptual Speed (Checking)”.
NOA’s own researchers left Controleren out of a 2018 study because its scores depend heavily on whether it is taken on paper or on screen. Practise on the kind of device you will use.
How to check a pair
Use one fixed routine so your eyes do not wander:
- Compare in chunks of two or three characters, left to right, rather than the whole row at once.
- Give the last characters the same attention as the first. Differences at the end are easy to miss.
- Watch for two neighbouring characters swapped, such as 38 and 83, and for look-alikes such as 6 and 8 or O and Q.
- Decide once and move on. Re-reading a pair you have judged costs time you will not get back.
Worked example
First: 4917382 - 4917832. Chunk it: 491 and 491 match, 73 and 78 do not. The 3 and 8 have been swapped, so the answer is niet gelijk.
Second: MWNVHK - MWNVHK. Every chunk matches: gelijk.
Third: QPRBDO - QPRBOO. The first four letters match, but the fifth is D in one row and O in the other: niet gelijk.
Tips for the real Controleren test
- Accuracy first, then speed. A fast run full of errors is not a strong result.
- Find a rhythm in the practice items and hold it. Speeding up near the end is where errors creep in.
- Use a desktop or tablet with the screen at a comfortable distance. NOA advises against phones for its capacity tests.
- Do not pause in the middle of the subtest. If you need a break, take it between subtests.
Practise Controleren on CogniPrep
Our Checking game gives you 100 pairs against a 4-minute clock. The clock is our choice, because NOA does not publish one. Tap Same or Different, or use the arrow keys or F and J. There is no Skip. We score correct answers minus wrong ones, so fast guessing does not pay; NOA does not publish its own rule. You see your score and a Lager, Midden or Hoger band against CogniPrep users.