Finding one name on a class list, one jar on a crowded shelf, one price on a menu, or the one exit sign in a busy station: each of these means sweeping the eyes across a whole area and picking out a single target while everything else competes for attention. After a stroke or brain injury that sweep can become slow, patchy, or lopsided, so that items on one side of a page or a plate are simply not noticed, even when eyesight is fine.
This page covers the star cancellation format. You can download a free Level 2 worksheet below, read what the standardized Star Cancellation Test is and where the official copy lives (if you searched for the test PDF, that link is in the section on the test), see how the 30-worksheet Shape Cancellation set is graded across three levels, and get a few ways to run the task in a session or at home.
Download the free star cancellation worksheet
Download the PDFWant more pages like this? Shape Cancellation Task Bundle (30 Worksheets) $3.25 See the full set
Worksheet SCT2G from the set, Level 2 of 3. The instruction is to cancel all of the stars as fast as possible, with a crossed-out star shown as the example. The field holds 33 solid stars in several sizes, scattered among close to 90 shapes in all (hearts, clouds, double-headed arrows, circles, ovals, squares, arches, four-point sparkles, and a few outlined and dotted stars), with five outlined regions drawn around clusters of shapes. Name and date lines sit at the top, and fields for number of errors and time at the bottom. Free for personal, classroom, and session use.
- Level: 2 of 3 (moderate)
- Targets: 33 solid stars
- Field: close to 90 shapes, 5 outlined regions
- Timing: as fast as possible, time and errors recorded
- Paper: US Letter
What is a star cancellation task?
A cancellation task gives the person a page full of items and one rule: mark every example of the target and leave the rest alone. On a star cancellation worksheet the target is a star, and the distractors are other shapes. The person works across the whole page, crossing out each star, and the page is scored on how long it took, how many stars were missed, and how many non-targets were marked by mistake. Where the misses fall matters as much as how many there are: a page with misses scattered evenly says something different from a page where every miss sits in the same corner.
The format looks easy, and on a sparse page it is. What makes it demanding is density and similarity. When the stars come in four sizes, when some of the distractors are outlined or dotted stars, and when outlined regions break the field into visual chunks, the eyes have to keep a steady route across the page instead of jumping to whatever stands out. That steady route is the skill being practiced.
Visual scanning
Moving the eyes across the whole field in an organized way so that no area is skipped. The main thing a cancellation page asks for, and the reason left and right halves are worth counting separately.
Selective attention
Responding to the target and ignoring everything that merely resembles it. Marked sparkles and outlined stars are the tell.
Sustained attention
Holding the same accuracy through the bottom rows as in the top ones. Compare the first third of the page with the last.
Processing speed
How quickly each shape is recognized, judged, and either marked or passed over. The number to watch once accuracy is steady.
The Star Cancellation Test, and how these worksheets differ
The format borrows from the Star Cancellation Test, a paper-and-pencil screening measure developed by Wilson, Cockburn, and Halligan in 1987 as part of the Behavioural Inattention Test. It is used, most often with people after a stroke, as a screen for unilateral spatial neglect: a tendency to miss information on one side of space. In practical terms, it checks whether a person is overlooking part of a page when scanning it.
The test is a single letter-size page on which 56 small stars are scattered among 52 large stars, 13 letters, and 10 short words. The page is placed at the person's midline, the examiner demonstrates on two small stars near the center (those two are not scored, which leaves 54), and the person is asked to cross out every small star. Administration takes under five minutes. Scoring counts the small stars that were cancelled and looks at where the misses fall, comparing the left and right sides of the page.
To read more about the test, its scoring, and the research behind it, see Stroke Engine's Star Cancellation Test page, which also hosts a copy of the test. If you searched for “star cancellation test pdf”, that is the document you are looking for. It is administered and interpreted by trained clinicians, and the worksheet on this page is not a replacement for it.
Worth knowing: the worksheets on this page are practice materials that share the test's format. They are not the Star Cancellation Test, they are not an assessment, and they come with no norms or cut-off scores. Nothing here is a substitute for evaluation by a qualified professional. If someone is going to be assessed with the test, tell the clinician about any cancellation practice, since familiarity with the format can affect how a score is read.
The Bells Test (bells cancellation test)
Another well-known cancellation test, the Bells Test, was developed by Gauthier, Dehaut, and Joanette in 1989. The person circles 35 small bells hidden among 280 other line drawings, such as houses and horses, on a single page placed at their midline. The drawings look randomly placed but sit in seven columns, so the pattern of missed bells shows which part of the page was overlooked. It takes under five minutes and, like the Star Cancellation Test, is used most often after a stroke to look for unilateral spatial neglect.
If you searched for a bells cancellation test PDF, the test and its scoring are described on Stroke Engine's Bells Test page. It is administered and interpreted by trained clinicians. The worksheets on this page use stars and shapes rather than bells, and they are practice materials, not the test.
How the shape cancellation worksheets are graded
The Shape Cancellation set has 30 worksheets, ten at each of three levels, and the target changes from page to page (stars, triangles, squares, and other shapes) so the rule has to be read fresh each time. Every page carries name and date lines, the target shape with a crossed-out example, fields for number of errors and time, and a printed level dial:
Level 1 (SCT1A to SCT1J)
One target shape on a sparse field of roughly 50 shapes, with only a few distractor types and generous space between them. The place to start when the format is new or when scanning is effortful.
Level 2 (SCT2A to SCT2J)
A denser field with many more shape types (hearts, clouds, arrows, ovals, circles, and sparkle stars in different sizes) and outlined regions drawn around parts of the field, so the eyes have to cross visual boundaries without stopping. The free worksheet above is from this level.
Level 3 (SCT3A to SCT3J)
The densest pages: many near-identical shapes at several sizes, hollow and filled versions of the same shape side by side, and dashed overlay outlines crossing the field and each other. Targets sit inside, outside, and on the overlays.
| What you get | Free sample | Full set |
|---|---|---|
| Worksheets | 1 | 30 |
| Levels | Level 2 | Levels 1, 2, and 3 |
| Target shapes | Stars | Stars, triangles, squares, and others |
| Field density | Close to 90 shapes | Roughly 50 shapes per page at Level 1, up to the densest fields at Level 3 |
| Outlined regions and overlays | 5 outlined regions | None at Level 1, regions at Level 2, crossing dashed overlays at Level 3 |
| Fields for time and errors | Yes | Yes, every page, plus a level dial |
| Repeat sessions without reusing a page | One page | Weeks of practice |
Using it in a session or at home
- Agree on the rule before the pen moves. The Level 2 page holds solid stars, outlined stars, dotted stars, and four-point sparkles. Decide up front whether only the solid five-pointed stars count, and use the same rule next time so the numbers can be compared.
- Time it, then count two kinds of error. Stars that were missed and non-targets that were marked tell different stories. Write both in the margin next to the total, along with the time.
- Note where the misses are. Before scoring, draw a light line down the middle of the page and count the misses on each side, then top against bottom. Misses that cluster on one side or in one corner are worth mentioning to the person's therapist.
- Start untimed, with a route. Ask the person to begin at the top left and work across in rows, the way a page is read. A finger or a ruler under the current row can guide the sweep at first and be dropped later.
- Move up when the page is clean. When the Level 2 pages come back with no misses, the Level 3 pages with crossing overlays are ready. If Level 2 is still effortful, the Level 1 pages with the timer running are a good middle step.
- Change the tool if the hand is the bottleneck. A thick marker or a highlighter needs less control than a pencil stroke through a small star. If marking is still hard, the person points and a partner crosses out; the scanning is the task, not the pen.
Prefer a screen? We also offer a free interactive version, Visual Search on our tools site, which puts a cancellation field on screen, marks each target with a tap, and reports the results split by the left and right side of the field so a lopsided pattern shows up without any hand counting. Nothing to print, free to use.
Who uses star cancellation worksheets
- Occupational therapists and speech-language professionals
- Stroke, brain injury, and community day programs
- Educators working with adult learners
- Caregivers supporting cognitive practice at home
- Adults looking for structured, printable visual scanning activities
All of our worksheets are designed to be adult-appropriate, visually clean, and easy to understand without unnecessary visual clutter.
The free worksheet above is a single Level 2 sample. If you want the full graded progression, our Shape Cancellation set includes 30 worksheets across Levels 1, 2, and 3. It is also part of the Attention Worksheets Bundle, 165 pages, alongside trail making, symbol digit, and vigilance sets. For the same task with letters instead of shapes, there is a free letter cancellation worksheet, and the attention worksheets guide explains how the attention sets fit together.
These materials support cognitive stimulation and structured practice. They are not medical treatment or an assessment, and no specific therapeutic outcomes are claimed.
