The TEA-OCC Test
Explained
Count tones with your ears while matching symbols with your eyes — at the same time. Here is what the TEA-OCC divided attention test measures and how to practise for it.
Train Driver Tests is an independent practice platform. "TEA-Occ" / "Test of Everyday Attention" are the property of their respective owners; our Beats & Symbols exercise is original practice for divided attention, based on publicly available descriptions of the test, and is not the official test.
Independent practice — not the official test
Train Driver Tests is not affiliated with RSSB, any test publisher or any train company. Our questions are original practice for the abilities the assessment measures. If you're invited to an assessment, the train company will give you the official approved practice materials at least a week before your assessment date — if they haven't arrived, contact the company you applied to (RSSB candidate FAQ, Q18).
What is the TEA-OCC test?
The TEA-OCC (Test of Everyday Attention — Occupational) is a standardised divided attention assessment used in selection for safety-critical roles. It is one of the attention tests in RSSB's standard UK train driver battery (RIS-3751-TOM), alongside Group Bourdon. Unlike the Vigilance Test (which measures sustained attention to a single stimulus) or the ATAVT (which measures rapid visual scene processing), the TEA-OCC measures something distinct: your ability to manage two independent cognitive tasks simultaneously without degrading performance on either.
The exact structure and timings of the official test as used in rail are not published. Our original Beats & Symbols practice is structured in three progressive parts. Part 1 is auditory only: you listen to a sequence of tones — a low, round beat and a high, sharp ping — and count only the low tones, ignoring the high ones. At the end, you enter your count. This establishes your baseline auditory attention performance. Part 2 is visual only: a column of rows appears on screen, each row containing two symbols chosen from a set of six. You have 40 seconds to click every row where both symbols match. This establishes your baseline visual attention performance.
Part 3 is where the practice becomes genuinely demanding. The visual symbol task runs simultaneously with the tone sequence. You must click the matching rows and count the low tones at the same time. Comparing Part 3 with Parts 1 and 2 shows you how much your performance drops (or does not drop) when you have to split your attention across two concurrent tasks.
For train drivers, divided attention is not an abstract cognitive concept — it is a daily operational requirement. Reading a signal while monitoring the speedometer, tracking the line ahead while listening to a radio call, or processing a cab display while watching for a platform starting signal all require the same fundamental capacity that the TEA-OCC is designed to measure.
Our practice version
Three parts, increasing demand
Part 1 — Beats only
A sequence of low and high tones plays. Count only the low tones (ignore high ones) and enter your total at the end. Establishes your auditory attention baseline.
Part 2 — Symbols only
Rows of symbol pairs scroll on screen. Click every row where both symbols match. You have 40 seconds. Establishes your visual scanning baseline.
Part 3 — Combined
Both tasks run simultaneously. Match symbols on screen while counting low tones in the audio. Compare your score here with Parts 1 and 2 to see how you cope with doing both at once.
How to prepare
Step by step
Master each part separately before attempting the combined test
Do not go straight to Part 3. Spend time on the auditory task alone (Part 1) until your tone-counting is accurate and almost automatic. Then do the visual task alone (Part 2) until your symbol-matching rhythm is consistent. Only then attempt Part 3 — the combined version.
Practice the auditory task until counting is automatic
In Part 1, you need to silently count low tones while ignoring high ones. This sounds straightforward but the high tones are deliberately distracting. The goal is to reach the point where counting low tones requires almost no conscious effort — freeing cognitive capacity for the visual task in Part 3.
Use a scanning rhythm for the symbol rows
In the visual task, develop a consistent left-to-right scan of each row. You are looking for rows where both symbols match. A steady rhythm — rather than fixating on difficult pairs — produces more hits in the 45-second window and reduces false alarms.
In Part 3, anchor on the visual task and let counting run in the background
A useful approach is to keep the visual scanning task as your primary focus and run the count in the background. Trying to split attention equally typically degrades both. Experiment during practice to find which anchoring approach works best for you.
Complete multiple full three-part sessions
The divided attention deficit — the drop in performance between Part 1/Part 2 individually and Part 3 combined — reduces with practice. Running several complete sessions gives you measurable evidence of how your dual-task performance is improving.
Use headphones and a quiet room for practice
The auditory component requires you to clearly distinguish between two different tones. External noise makes this significantly harder. Use headphones if possible, and practice in the same quiet conditions you will have during assessment.
FAQ
Common questions about the TEA-OCC
What is the TEA-OCC test?
TEA-OCC stands for Test of Everyday Attention — Occupational. It is a divided attention assessment that measures your ability to process two independent streams of information simultaneously: an auditory task (counting specific tones) and a visual task (identifying matching symbol pairs). It is part of the standard attention tests in RSSB's train driver battery, alongside Group Bourdon.
How does your Beats & Symbols practice work?
The exact structure and timings of the official TEA-Occ as used in rail are not published. Our original practice version has three parts. Part 1 is auditory only: you hear a sequence of tones and count the low tones while ignoring the high ones. Part 2 is visual only: rows of symbol pairs appear and you click every row where both symbols match, within 40 seconds. Part 3 combines them: you match symbols while counting the low tones. Part 3 is the hardest.
Why is the Beats & Symbols practice in Premium?
The TEA-Occ is part of RSSB's standard train driver battery, so it is relevant to every candidate. Our Beats & Symbols practice for it is included in the Premium plan because it needs audio playback and a more demanding simultaneous-task interface.
What does divided attention mean in practice for a train driver?
A train driver routinely manages multiple information streams at once: monitoring the track ahead, watching for lineside signals, checking cab gauges, and listening for radio communications. Divided attention — the ability to allocate cognitive resources across concurrent tasks without degrading performance on either — is one of the most safety-critical cognitive capacities in the role.
Can you improve at divided attention tasks with practice?
Yes. Part of what makes divided attention hard is the unfamiliarity of doing two things at once in a structured way. Regular practice with a similar style of task can build the automatic processing that lets you handle the auditory task without consciously pulling attention away from the visual one. You can track your improvement across practice sessions.
How is your Beats & Symbols practice scored?
The official TEA-Occ scoring is not published. In our practice version each part is scored separately: in the auditory parts your count is compared against the actual number of low tones, and in the visual parts hits (correct matches) and false alarms (non-matches clicked) are both recorded, so you can compare how you do on each task alone and combined.
The other tests in your train driver test battery
Need to practice divided attention?
Our Beats & Symbols divided-attention practice test (modelled on the TEA-OCC format) is included in our premium plan, alongside practice versions of the Vigilance, ATAVT, Group Bourdon, and TRP1 tests.