Memory, attention and space
Selective attention
Holding accuracy through a repetitive comparison — checking a string of characters against copies of it and finding the one that matches exactly, without losing your place or tiring into a guess.
Exams on RankHigh that test this
What follows is our approach, not an official rule. What each question type measures is set by the body that runs the examination. How to work one is RankHigh’s method — it is what a good tutor would tell you, and there is more than one way to be right. Where an examination publishes its own instructions, those govern on the day.
Clerical Checking
Tested as “Clerical Checking” on NYS Court Officer-Trainee.
Comparing names, numbers, codes, and other record details quickly while detecting small but meaningful differences.
Where people lose it
Recognizing the overall pattern and overlooking a transposed digit, missing character, or changed field.
How to work itRankHigh method
- Compare one field at a time in a fixed direction rather than scanning the whole entry at once.
- For numbers and codes, group characters into short chunks and verify each chunk in order.
- Mark a mismatch as soon as it appears, then continue checking so a second mismatch does not change the classification.
- Use the same comparison routine on every item; speed comes from consistency, not from skipping steps.
Compare character by character; familiarity is not equality.
Operations with Letters and Numbers
Tested as “Operations with Letters and Numbers” on NY Clerical.
Comparing, checking and counting groups of letters and numbers to a stated instruction. The guide says every examination in this series includes it.
Where people lose it
Reading what you expect instead of what is printed. A transposed pair looks correct at a glance, and a count is lost by starting again after an interruption.
How to work itRankHigh method
- For paired groups, compare the first and last characters first — that clears most non-matching lines before the middle is read.
- For counting inside words, remember that the letter has to repeat within one word; the same letter in two different words is not a repeat.
- For alphabet distance, count the steps between letters rather than the letters themselves, and count them twice.
- Keep your place physically. Losing position costs more time than the comparison itself.
This is the one area you can be certain will appear. Accuracy under repetition is the whole measure, so slow down where it is dull.
Selective Attention
Tested as “Selective Attention” on NY Local Police Officer.
Comparing a string of letters, numbers and symbols against four copies and finding the one that matches exactly.
Where people lose it
Skimming the middle. Differences are planted where the eye has no landmark.
How to work itRankHigh method
- Check the first characters and the last characters first — they eliminate options fastest.
- Then compare in short blocks of three or four rather than character by character.
- Keep your place with a finger or the cursor; losing position costs more time than the comparison.
- A transposed pair reads correctly at a glance, so check order as well as identity.
Accuracy is the whole task here. Speed comes from eliminating early, not from reading faster.
Carry this into the room
- Clerical Checking: Compare character by character; familiarity is not equality.
- Operations with Letters and Numbers: This is the one area you can be certain will appear. Accuracy under repetition is the whole measure, so slow down where it is dull.
- Selective Attention: Accuracy is the whole task here. Speed comes from eliminating early, not from reading faster.
Practice it on your own exam
Method only sticks against real questions. Every exam in the catalog opens with a free twelve-question diagnostic — in your browser, with a worked explanation for every answer, and no signup.
Find your exam