MOXO Continuous Performance Test (MOXO CPT)
The MOXO Continuous Performance Test (MOXO CPT) is one of the few assessments that measures attention objectively rather than relying on questionnaires or observation.
Instead of asking parents, teachers or students whether attention is a problem, the MOXO CPT measures how a student actually performs during a carefully controlled computer-based task.
By introducing realistic visual and auditory distractions, it provides valuable evidence of how attention, timing, impulsivity and hyperactivity are affected under conditions that closely resemble a busy classroom.
The MOXO CPT forms an important part of every Global Education Testing ADHD assessment. The MOXO CPT does not tell us whether someone has ADHD. It tells us how their attention performs under controlled conditions.
The diagnosis comes from interpreting those findings alongside cognitive assessment, behavioural evidence and developmental history.
It does not replace clinical interviews or behavioural questionnaires, but it provides the important objective evidence that strengthens the diagnostic picture.
What Is the MOXO CPT?
The MOXO CPT is a computerised assessment designed to measure sustained attention and impulse control.
During the assessment, students respond to specific target images while ignoring irrelevant stimuli.
As the task progresses, visual and auditory distractions are introduced to simulate the kinds of interruptions students experience every day in school.
Performance is automatically measured against age-based norms, providing objective data that cannot be influenced by teacher expectations or parent observations.
What Does It Measure?
The MOXO CPT measures four key aspects of attention.
Attention
Can the student consistently identify and respond to the correct targets?
This reflects sustained attention over time.
Timing
Correct answers are not enough.
The MOXO CPT also measures whether responses occur quickly enough.
Students who consistently respond too slowly may experience difficulties that traditional attention tests fail to identify.
Impulsivity
The assessment records responses made when students should not respond.
These errors provide objective evidence of impulsive responding.
Hyperactivity
The MOXO CPT also measures unnecessary or excessive responses during the task, providing an additional indicator of hyperactive behaviour.
Together, these four indices provide a detailed profile of attentional functioning rather than a single overall score.
What Makes This Assessment Different?
Most ADHD assessments rely heavily on behavioural questionnaires.
These are valuable, but they remain subjective.
Parents, teachers and students may all describe the same behaviour differently depending on their expectations, experiences and environment.
The MOXO CPT measures performance directly.
Even more importantly, it measures attention both with and without distraction.
Many students perform well in a quiet testing room.
Their difficulties emerge only when the environment becomes noisy, visually busy or unpredictable, just like a typical classroom.
The MOXO CPT recreates these conditions using carefully standardised distractions, allowing us to observe how attention changes under realistic demands.
How It Fits Into our Gold Standard Assessment
The MOXO CPT provides objective evidence.
The remainder of the Gold Standard battery explains why that pattern exists.
For example:
- SNAP-IV and Conners 3 describe behaviours observed across home and school.
- WISC-V or WAIS-IV evaluates cognitive ability, working memory and processing speed.
- WIAT-III identifies learning difficulties that may contribute to inattention.
- CTOPP-2 investigates whether dyslexia is the underlying reason attention appears to fluctuate during reading.
- DIVA-5, for adults, systematically examines every diagnostic criterion for ADHD.
By considering all of these assessments together, we can distinguish ADHD from other conditions that may produce similar behaviours.
What MOXO Results Mean
The MOXO CPT provides objective evidence of how attention functions under controlled conditions.
It cannot diagnose ADHD on its own.
Many different factors (anxiety, fatigue, poor sleep and learning difficulties) can affect attention during testing.
That is why the results are always interpreted alongside developmental history, behavioural questionnaires, cognitive assessment and academic attainment.
When these independent sources of evidence point in the same direction, diagnostic confidence increases considerably.
From Assessment to Practical Support
The MOXO CPT findings often help support recommendations for school and examinations.
Depending on the results, recommendations may include:
- reduced-distraction examination environments
- rest breaks during longer assessments
- structured classroom seating
- attention-management strategies
- executive functioning support
- classroom organisation techniques
Because these recommendations are based on objective performance as well as clinical assessment, they provide strong evidence for schools and examination boards.
Why the MOXO CPT Is Ideal for International School Students
Global Education Testing specialises in assessing students from international schools around the world.
Many of our students are bilingual or multilingual and have attended schools in several different countries.
The MOXO CPT is particularly valuable in this population because it places very little demand on language.
Performance is measured through responses to visual stimuli rather than vocabulary or reading ability, reducing the influence of English language proficiency on the results.
Unlike behavioural questionnaires, the assessment is also unaffected by differences in teacher expectations, educational systems or cultural norms.
This makes it an exceptionally useful source of objective evidence when assessing internationally mobile students.
Expert Clinical Interpretation Matters
Although the MOXO CPT produces highly detailed performance data, interpretation requires far more than reading a computer-generated report.
Our HCPC-registered Educational Psychologists consider the results alongside behavioural observations made during the assessment, developmental history, cognitive ability and academic attainment.
For example, reduced attention may reflect ADHD, but it may also result from anxiety, sleep difficulties, low mood or an undiagnosed learning disorder.
Understanding the difference is what transforms objective measurements into an accurate diagnosis.
At Global Education Testing, every MOXO CPT is interpreted as part of the complete Gold Standard assessment, ensuring findings are considered within the wider clinical picture and reported against DSM-5-TR and ICD-11 diagnostic criteria.
Your MOXO CPT Assessment and Report
Your report includes:
- Objective analysis of attention, timing, impulsivity and hyperactivity
- Comparison of performance with and without distraction
- Integration with cognitive, academic and behavioural assessments
- Diagnostic conclusions based on DSM-5-TR and ICD-11 criteria
- Practical recommendations for school, home and examinations
- Exam benefits such as Extra Time
Reports are delivered within 7 days and are backed by our Exam Board Acceptance Guarantee, giving families confidence that they meet the standards expected by international schools, universities and examination boards.