Error Checking Test Practice
An original, a copy and a clock. Find every difference without flagging the ones that are not there.
Error Checking Practice Tests
Error Checking
Compare a master record with a copy and identify fields that differ. Measures attention to detail and processing speed under extreme time pressure.
Clevry Checking Test (Enhanced)
Compare an Original stock list with a Copy and find the copying errors: 16 five-option questions in 10 minutes, the tightest clock in the Enhanced suite.
Checking and Accuracy
Compare a record against its copy and flag the fields that do not match. Some records are identical, so flagging a correct field costs as much as missing a wrong one.
ACT Error Detection
Compare an original string of letters and numbers with a copy and count the mistakes, 0 to 4. Press Next and both strings vanish, so you answer from memory, exactly as on the Army Cognitive Test.
Checking (Controleren)
Two rows of digits or letters: exactly the same, or not? 100 pairs against a 4-minute clock, scored as correct minus wrong so fast guessing does not pay, and reported on speed and on errors. Mirrors the Controleren speed subtest of the NOA MCT-M and MCT-H, and Harver’s Perceptual Speed (Checking).
Perceptual Speed and Accuracy (Checking)
Two strings of letters or digits: are they the same or not the same? 100 pairs in 5 minutes, answered with one tap each. Scored as correct minus wrong, so fast guessing does not pay. Mirrors Harver’s Perceptual Speed and Accuracy subtest.
GIA Perceptual Speed
Count how many of four vertical letter pairs contain the same letter, ignoring capitals, and click 0 to 4. Almost everyone works at the same speed here, so the score is decided by errors.
CritiCall Cross Referencing
Find the right entry in an alphabetical address book full of near-duplicate names and type the phone number, address or name the question asks for. Includes reverse lookups from a phone number.
TestGorilla Attention to Detail (Textual)
Count the versions of a workplace snippet, count the differences between two sentences, and find the sentence that contradicts the others. 16 questions in 12 minutes; the differences hide in digits, punctuation, word forms and abbreviations. Generated fresh every sitting.
What Error Checking Measures
Perceptual speed
How fast you can compare two strings or records. Given unlimited time almost anyone would be accurate, so these tests are short and the clock does the sorting.
Accuracy under pressure
Several tests penalise mistakes directly. NOA Checking and Harver Perceptual Speed score correct answers minus wrong ones, so guessing fast does not pay.
Searching and cross-referencing
Finding a value in one source and checking it in another. CritiCall says its Cross Referencing test assesses alphabetic, character recognition and numeric searching skills, for emergency call taker and dispatcher roles.
Question Formats
Record against copy
A master record and a copy with fields that may differ. Saville Error Checking, Clevry Checking and Sova Checking and Accuracy use it. On the Sova test, flagging a correct field costs as much as missing a wrong one.
Same or different pairs
Two strings of letters or digits: identical or not? NOA Checking sets 100 pairs in four minutes, and Harver Perceptual Speed 100 in five.
Count the errors
The British Army ACT Error Detection shows an original and a copy, then hides both before you say how many mistakes there were. The Thomas GIA Perceptual Speed task counts matching letter pairs.
Address book look-ups
CritiCall Cross Referencing: find the right entry among near-duplicate names in an alphabetical list and type the number or address the question asks for.
Textual detail
TestGorilla Attention to Detail (Textual) counts differences between sentences, with the errors hidden in digits, punctuation, word forms and abbreviations.
How to Prepare
Compare in chunks
Read three or four characters at a time from the original and match them in the copy, rather than a whole line at once. Chunks are fast enough and still catch transposed digits.
Know the usual error types
Transposed digits, a doubled or dropped character, lookalikes such as O and 0 or l and 1, and changed punctuation. Check for those first.
Do not guess where errors cost marks
Where wrong answers are subtracted, as on NOA Checking and Harver Perceptual Speed, a skipped item costs nothing and a wrong guess costs a mark.
Hold a steady pace
Accuracy falls when you speed up late in a test. Find a pace you can keep for the whole clock and stay at it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an error checking test?
A clerical aptitude test that asks you to compare information, usually an original and a copy, and find the differences quickly and accurately. It is set on its own for administrative and data roles and appears inside military and general ability batteries.
Is attention to detail the same as error checking?
Largely. Attention to detail is the trait; error checking is the most direct way to test it. Vendors also call it checking, perceptual speed or cross-referencing.
How are checking tests scored?
Usually on correct answers, though some subtract wrong ones. NOA Checking and Harver Perceptual Speed score correct minus wrong, and NOA reports speed and errors separately.
Which jobs use error checking tests?
Among the tests we cover: the British Army Cognitive Test, the Thomas GIA, CritiCall for emergency call takers and dispatchers, and the NOA and Harver batteries used in Dutch selection.
Provider guides
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