Enhancing Intelligence and Cognitive Assessment Toolkit: Updates and Considerations

1. A PROCESS FOR COMPARING INTELLIGENCE/COGNITIVE PROCESSING BATTERIES WHEN UPDATING OUR TOOLKIT Rachel Simpson SASC Conference 2024 1

2. ADDITIONS TO TEST LISTS  Cognitive Assessment System 2ndEdition (CAS2)  Intelligence and Development Scales 2ndEdition (IDS2)  Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales 2ndEdition (RIAS2)  Woodcock Johnson IV Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJIV Cog)  Test of Dyslexia (TOD) 2

3. WITHDRAWAL OF WRIT WRIT will be withdrawn from the Pre-16 and Post-16 lists on 1stJanuary 2026. There will be a grace period of 12 calendar months after this date for continuing to use WRIT. The grace period will end on 31 December 2026. 3

4. DYSLEXIA DELPHI STUDY • Beneficial to use co-normed tests to identify intracognitive test variances. • Explore and measure • Oral Language Skills • Intellectual Abilities • Working memory, • Processing speed • Speeded naming • Phonological and/or orthographic processing skills 4

5. DYSCALCULIA WORKING GROUP • An updated definition of Dyscalculia, • Updated guidance on assessing Maths Difficulties, • A revised maths cognition and maths attainment section on the pr-16 and post-16 lists. 5

6. UNDERPINNING THEORY AND CONCEPT NAMING • CHC theory: most traditional IQ and cognitive processing batteries are based on CHC theory, but considerable variation in their overall design: • Different levels of emphasis on calculating IQs or exploring cognitive variation. • Variation in the range of cognitive domains covered, . • PASS theory – (CAS2) Planning. Attention. Simultaneous. Successive. Assesses cognitive processes rather than intelligence, and links those cognitive processes directly to their role in attainment. 6

7. DESIGN CHALLENGE Every subtest • Has a stimulus : visual (pictorial, numerical or written), spoken, or kinaesthetic. • Has instructions. • Requires some element of prior knowledge (language, numbers, groups, sequences, shapes, size, distance, procedures . . . ). • Requires a response : spoken, written, drawn or kinaesthetic. 7

8. DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO THE CHALLENGE • Attempt to make test as “pure” a measure as possible • OR Deliberately set out to measure knowledge as part of the subtest • OR Deliberately make it as “real life” as possible to reflect the complexity of everyday activities. 8

9. ORAL LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS 1. Receptive Language: Are extent and precision of vocabulary knowledge, and knowledge and understanding of language structure (syntax, morphology, sentence structure), sufficiently developed to understand spoken input at the level required for the individual’s educational level or workplace role? 1. Expressive Language: Are knowledge and skills sufficiently developed for precise and concise expression at the level required for the individual’s educational level or workplace role? 9

10. ORAL LANGUAGE TESTS • 6 different types of stimulus (some visual, some language-based) • 12 different types of activity (some visual, some spoken) to be done with those stimuli, ranging from 1 word answers to listening comprehensions. • At least 7 different areas of skill, knowledge, cognitive processing may be called on. 10

11. TYPES OF STIMULUS Single picture TYPES OF ACTIVITY Name the object in the picture. OR Make up sentence that includes the word in the picture. Name the category that links them together. Several pictures Single word presented orally Provide another similar/opposite word. Word(s) presented orally Explain its meaning (definition), purpose, or where it might typically be found. OR Make up sentence including the word(s). 11

12. TYPES OF STIMULUS Incomplete sentence presented orally TYPES OF ACTIVITY Provide a word or phrase to complete the sentence. Sentence/paragraph presented orally. Select a picture which represents what was heard. OR Respond to questions about sentence/paragraph). OR Summarise content. OR Solve a riddle contained within that sentence/paragraph. OR Follow instructions in the sentence/paragraph. 12

13. Skills and knowledge required to respond: Receptive Vocabulary Knowledge General Knowledge. Listening Comprehension. Reasoning. Language Retrieval. Expressive Language Skills. Working Memory (for longer items) 13

14. REASONING (GROUPING/SEQUENCING) 1. Is there appropriate understanding of how concepts (numerical, verbal, visual or spatial) can be related and grouped/categorised according to those relationships? Can that understanding be used to problem solve. 2. Is there appropriate understanding of how concepts (numerical, verbal, visual, spatial) can be ordered/sequenced and how order/sequence can affect meaning? Can that understanding be used to problem solve? 14

15. REASONING TESTS • At least 11 different types of stimulus • At least 16 different types of activity. Sometimes visual stimulus leads to verbal respons, and vice versa. • Some tests also have element of time limits or time-related scoring. • At least 12 areas of skill, knowledge, cognitive processing that may be called on. 15

16. TYPES OF STIMULUS Single word presented orally Incomplete sentence presented orally TYPES OF ACTIVITY Provide another similar/opposite word. Provide a word or phrase to complete the analogy. Sentence/paragraph presented orally. Solve a riddle contained within that sentence/paragraph. Or guess what the object is that is being described. 16

17. TYPES OF STIMULUS Several pictures TYPES OF ACTIVITY Name/explain the category that links them together. OR several words presented orally. Pictures presented in a matrix Select missing part of an image. OR select image which completes a sequence. OR select the image that is the odd-one-out OR identify how a figure changes and then apply the same change to a different figure. 17

18. TYPES OF STIMULUS TYPES OF ACTIVITY One picture + series of pictures to choose from. Identify pieces that form the target picture OR identify rotated sets of blocks that match the target picture Identify the rule (s) that governs how they are grouped/sequenced. Pictures whose nature, number and organisation change from one item to the next. Visual design plus tiles/blocks/washes See a design and recreate it using tiles/blocks/washers. 18

19. TYPES OF STIMULUS Sequence of numbers TYPES OF ACTIVITY Identify the missing number in the sequence. Select the choice that keeps the scale balanced. Pictures of shapes/objects on one side of a scale, plus a selection of pictures to choose from for the other side. 19

20. Skills and knowledge required to respond: Know properties of an item. Know/retrieve relevant vocabulary/general knowledge. Understand and recognise various ways verbal/numerical/visual items can be grouped/categorised. Understand and recognise various ways verbal/numerical/visual items can be sequenced/ordered. Understand and apply visual processes (eg reduction, enlargement, rotation, reflection, directional movement . . . ) Verbally name verbal/visual/numerical categories/sequences. Recognise relationship between the whole and parts. 20

21. Skills and knowledge required to respond: Motor coordination to manipulate tiles/blocks/washers or to point at relevant items. Number fact knowledge (for speedy responses) Understand the concept of equal/balanced. Recognise and understand the relative values attributed to different objects. Speed (for timed tests). Visual/Auditory Working memory (for longer items) 21

22. PROCESSING AND RETRIEVAL (SPEED) 1. Is the individual able to register and process what is seen fast enough for the type of reading/data scanning tasks required at the individual’s educational level/workplace role? 2. Is the individual able to retrieve knowledge from long-term memory fast enough to be able to respond (in speech, or in writing, to spoken, visual or written stimuli) at the required speed for the individual’s educational level/workplace role? 3. Can phonological representations of words be retrieved from the long- term memory at speed in response to a visual representation? This is perhaps most relevant to reading out loud. 22

23. Processing and retrieval tasks depend on complex and by no means fully understood interactions in six main brain processing systems: • Auditory-cognitive, • Attentional, • Working memory, • Visuocognitive, • Visuomotor • Executive 23

24. Mena-Garcia et al define Visual Processing Speed (VPS) as •The reaction time (RT) needed •To correctly search and/or reach for a visual stimulus. •It taps into all six of the processing systems. •Speed of reaction is also dependent upon the complexity of the stimulus 24

25. Rapid Naming The numbers/letters/objects are always presented as visual stimuli, so performance will presumably be subject to • Visual reaction times, • Speed of phonological retrieval, • Speed of speech articulation, • ie uses at least five of the six brain processing systems. 25

26. Word retrieval fluency tests rarely involve any visual stimuli, but performance will be dependent upon: • Having a wide enough vocabulary knowledge, • Understanding categories, • Accessing at least 4 of the 6 processing systems (auditory-cognitive, attentional, working memory, and executive). 26

27. PROCESSIGN AND RETRIEVAL TESTS Multiple ways of presenting stimulus. Multiple variations in the type of activity. Call on multiple combinations of processing and knowledge. 27

28. TYPES OF STIMULUS Visual: Several short rows of  Numbers  Letters  Objects Visual: Pages of densely packed objects. Visual: Short sets of  Numbers  Letters  Objects which vary in size/colour/font TYPES OF ACTIVITY (ALL TIMED) Find and circle/underline/cross out a specified number of identical items in each row. The target item increases in complexity from a single number/letter/object to longer combinations. OR Verbally name each number/letter/object Find and circle/underline/cross out a target combination of objects each time it occurs (number of times it will occur in each line is not specified). Stroop tests. Find and circle/underline/cross out given types of item, ignoring interference from other stimuli presented in distracting colours/sizes/fonts. OR Find and name given items ignoring interference from other stimuli presented in distracting colours/sizes/fonts. 28

29. TYPES OF STIMULUS Visual: Key plus rows of letters/numbers/shap es, each next to an empty box. TYPES OF ACTIVITY (ALL TIMED) Use key to write/draw the appropriate matching item next to/below the letter/number/shape. Verbal instruction to say as many words as possible from a given category, or beginning with a specific letter. Say as many words as possible in the time available. 29

30. Skills and knowledge required to respond: Know and recognise the numbers/letters/objects, on their own, and in sequences/combinations Visually discriminate between similar looking items. Scan a row at speed. OR Scan a densely packed page at speed. OR Scan backwards and forwards between the key and the boxes over varying distances. Keep track of place. Rapidly memorise combinations (to achieve greater speed). 30

31. Skills and knowledge required to respond: Retrieve phonological representation of the number/letter/object from long term memory. Articulate the name in speech Motor coordination to circle/underline/cross out at speed OR write/draw the responses within the boxes. 31

32. Skills and knowledge required to respond: Direct attention consistently and pay attention to details. Inhibit incorrect responses, ignore distractions from competing stimuli. Inhibit repetition of previous spoken stimuli. Inhibit impulse to rush and miss out items 32

33. HOW DO EACH OF THE BATTERIES APPROACH REASONING Comment : Divides the ability tests into Comprehension- Knowledge- (which primarily measures language knowledge) and Fluid Reasoning, which measures reasoning using a mixture of verbal, visual and numerical stimuli. In two of the fluid reasoning tests (Concept Formation and Analysis Synthesis) the required prior knowledge is deliberately minimised. Test Descriptions: Knowledge Comprehension Oral Vocabulary: name words which have same, or opposite meaning to given words. General Knowledge; explain an objects purpose or where it may be found. Fluid Reasoning Number Series: name a number which would complete a sequence. Analysis-Synthesis: use a directional key to decide what colour a blank square should be. Concept Formation: identify the rule governing a set of shapes. Visualisation: identify pieces that form a target shape; identify rotated sets of blocks that match a target set. Analysis-Synthesis: use a directional key to decide what colour a blank square should be 33

34. REFERENCES Mena-Garcia, L., Maldonado-Lopez, M.J., Fernandez, I. et al. Visual processing speed in hemianopia patients secondary to acquired brain injury: a new assessment methodology. J NeuroEngineering Rehabil 17, 12 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12984-020-0650-5 https://jneuroengrehab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s129 84-020-0650-5 34