The assessments
POST Checking & Listening: The Two-Task Sub-Test
The hardest sub-test in the POST battery asks you to compare a hot sheet and log radio traffic at the same time. What it involves and how to train for it.
Published September 25, 2026 · 6 min read
Sub-test 11 of the POST Entry-Level Dispatcher Selection Test Battery is the one candidates remember. It is also the one that most resembles the job, which is not a coincidence.
What it involves
POST describes it plainly: "the examinee performs two tasks at the same time."
- Task one is to compare a list of names, addresses and licence numbers against a "hot sheet" and identify as many matches as possible.
- Task two is to listen to simulated radio broadcasts from several field units and record the unit status transmissions on a "radio log".
After the broadcasts end, you stop the hot sheet comparison and answer multiple-choice questions about the status broadcasts of each unit.
The structure matters. The written comparison task is self-paced and you control how fast you go. The listening task is not — the radio traffic arrives when it arrives, and it does not wait for you to finish checking a licence plate.
Why it is the sub-test people find hardest
Because the two tasks compete for the same resource. Comparing alphanumeric strings against a reference list is visually and verbally demanding, and so is holding a unit's status while another unit transmits. There is no way to do both with full attention, and the test is measuring how you divide what you have.
The failure mode is predictable: candidates get absorbed in the hot sheet, the radio becomes background noise, and the questions afterwards are about the radio. Task one is the one with visible progress in front of you, which makes it psychologically sticky. Task two is the one that is scored with questions you have not seen yet.
How to approach it
- Treat the radio as the primary task. You cannot rewind it. The hot sheet is still there in ten seconds; the transmission is not.
- Log in a fixed shape. Unit, status, time — the same order every time, abbreviated. Consistency is what makes a scrappy log readable afterwards.
- Break the comparison work into short bursts. Check two or three items, look up, check two or three more. Long uninterrupted runs on the hot sheet are where the radio disappears.
- Accept a lower hot sheet count. Doing fewer comparisons accurately while capturing the radio properly is the trade the test is asking you to make.
- Do not stop logging when you fall behind. A partial log of later transmissions is worth more than a complete log that stops halfway.
What it is actually measuring
POST groups this under perceptual ability: "the ability to quickly and accurately compare letters and numbers presented orally and in written form; and the ability to shift back and forth between two or more sources of information, both written and orally imparted, in performing a task."
That second clause is the one to read twice. The test is not measuring whether you can do two things at once — nobody can, really — but how efficiently you switch between them and how much you lose in the switch.
Notes are not scored
Worth knowing across the listening tests generally. The guide states that where you are allowed to take notes, "your notes will not be scored. Only your final answers marked on your answer sheet will be scored, so you may abbreviate your notes in any manner."
Nobody is reading your radio log for neatness. Invent whatever shorthand lets you write faster.
Practising it
This is the one sub-test where generic practice genuinely does not transfer, because the difficulty is entirely in the division of attention. Practising hot-sheet comparison on its own trains the easy half.
Our multitasking drill and cross-referencing with interruptions are built for exactly this shape: a checking task that continues while something else demands a response. Audio data entry trains the listening-and-recording half. Why candidates fail multitasking covers the underlying pattern, and the POST battery guide covers all eleven sub-tests.
The Examinee Guide is dated February 1996 and is the document POST publishes for candidates. Confirm the current arrangements with the agency testing you.
Sources
- California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, POST Entry-Level Dispatcher Selection Test Battery: Examinee Guide (February 1996)
- California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, Public Safety Dispatcher Entry-Level Test Battery: Applicant FAQs
The POST Entry-Level Dispatcher Selection Test Battery is administered by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. DispatchDrills is an independent practice provider and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by California POST. We do not reproduce exam content; every example in our material is original and illustrative.
Common questions
What is the Checking & Listening test?
Sub-test 11 of the POST dispatcher battery. You compare a list against a hot sheet while simultaneously logging radio status transmissions, then answer questions on the radio traffic.
Which task is scored?
The questions afterwards concern the status broadcasts of each unit. The hot sheet comparison forms part one of the exercise.
Can I take notes?
The exercise involves recording transmissions on a radio log. POST states that notes are not scored — only the answers on your answer sheet are.
Is it the hardest part of the battery?
Candidates commonly find it so, because the two tasks compete for the same attention. POST classes it under perceptual ability, which includes shifting between written and spoken sources.
How do I practise for it?
With drills that force genuine division of attention rather than either task alone — a checking task that continues while audio demands a response.