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Test and Evaluation Glossary

A compilation of the types of evaluations and tests that South County Child and Family Consultants uses to assess their patient and what each test is designed to target.

Adaptive Behavior Assessment System-3 (ABAS-3): The ABAS-3 provides a complete assessment of adaptive skills of individuals from birth to 89 years of age. It uses a behavior rating scale typically completed by parent, caregiver, and/or teacher; however, there is also a self-rating option for adults. This system provides the clinician with information on a client’s ability to function in areas such as social skills, leisure skills, communication skills, self-care, health and safety, and work. These domains encompass practical, everyday skills required to function, meet environmental demands, care for oneself, and interact with others effectively and independently. On a 4-point response scale, raters indicate whether, and how frequently, the individual performs each activity.

Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS):  The ASRS was designed to effectively identify symptoms, behaviors, and associated features of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) in children and adolescents ages 2 through 18. Using a five-point Likert rating scale, parents and teachers are asked to evaluate how often they observed specific behaviors in the child or adolescent in areas such as socialization, communication, unusual behaviors, behavioral rigidity, sensory sensitivity, and self-regulation. When completed, this scale can provide the clinician with insight as to a client’s likelihood of exhibiting an ASD or ASD symptoms.

Beck Youth Inventories (BYI): The BYI is used to evaluate children’s and adolescent’s (ages 7 to 18) emotional and social impairment. Five self-report inventories can be used separately or in combination to assess symptoms of depression, anxiety, anger, disruptive behavior, and self-concept. Each inventory contains 20 statements about thoughts, feelings, and behaviors associated with emotional and social impairment in youth. Children and adolescents describe how frequently the statement has been true for them.

Beery VMI: The Beery VMI helps to assess the extent to which individuals can integrate their visual and motor abilities. It is appropriate for use in children and adults (ages 2 to 100) and presents several drawings of geometric forms in order of increasing difficulty, for the client to copy. It is primarily used by the clinician to identify individuals who may be encountering difficulties in visual-motor integration, which can lead to learning, neuropsychological, and behavioral problems.

Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC-3): The BASC-3 is a comprehensive set of rating scales and forms including the Teacher Rating Scales (TRS), Parent Rating Scales (PRS), Self-Report of Personality (SRP), Student Observation System (SOS), and Structured Developmental History (SDH). Teachers, parents, and sometimes the students themselves rate a variety of behaviors and emotions experienced during a typical day. Together, these scales and forms help the clinician understand the behaviors and emotions of children and young adults, ages 2 through college age.

Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning Self Report (BRIEF): The BRIEF seeks to assess an adolescent’s (ages 11 to 18) view of his/her cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functions. It is an 80-item self-report behavior rating scale that can serve as an important tool in the clinical evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents who have demonstrated problems involving the executive control functions.

Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test-II: The Bender-II is a test used to evaluate visual-motor maturity and is appropriate for use with individuals ages 4 through 85. The test consists of 16 figures, each on its own 3 x 5 card, with the participant shown each figure and asked to copy it onto a piece of blank paper. The test can provide the clinician with interpretive information about an individual’s development, neuropsychological functioning, and maturation level of visuomotor perceptions.

Brief Academic Skills Survey (BASS): This measure of a child’s academic skills was developed at South County Child & Family Consultants as part of an ongoing research project. The BASS is a 36-item, parent-completed questionnaire about his/her child’s performance in reading, writing, and mathematics. It measures a parent’s observation of his/her child’s academic skills in areas such as reading fluency and comprehension, written expression, organization, and conceptual mathematics and computation. There are two versions of the BASS; grades K-2 and grades 3-6.

Brown ADD Scales: These scales are two 40-item self-report scales that measure symptoms of attention-deficit disorders. One of these scales, the Brown ADD Scale for Adolescents, has been designed and tested for use with students 12 to 18 years old. The second scale, the Brown ADD Scale for Adults, has been designed and tested for use with adults 18 years and older. These scales can assist the clinician in screening persons suspected of having an attentional disorder.

Comprehensive Executive Function Inventory (CEFI): The CEFI comes in both a self-response form and a response form for teachers. The form for teachers can be filled out for children between the ages of 5 and 18, and the self-response form can be filled out by children ages 12-18. The CEFI is designed to measure a wide spectrum of behaviors associated with executive functioning. The test uses standard scores to compare the youth to a nationally representative norm group. This information can be used to guide assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning.

Child Sensory Profile 2: The Child Sensory Profile 2 is a group of assessments that are designed to evaluate a child’s sensory processing patterns. These forms are to be filled out by teachers and parents/guardians. The tests are appropriate for children ages 3 to 14:11 years. 

Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI-2): The CDI-2 measures cognitive, affective, and behavioral signs of depression and is appropriate for use with individuals ages 7 to 17. It is a self-report, multiple-choice inventory that consists of 27 items. The child marks the choice that best describes his/her feelings or behaviors over the past 2 weeks. There are also parent and teacher test forms which provide additional perspectives on childhood depression. The CDI is useful for the clinician in identifying students with depression or depressive symptoms.

Conners’ Continuous Performance Test (CPT-3): The CPT-3 is an attention test that is widely used by clinicians who are seeking to identify ADHD and other attentional concerns in clients ages 6 and older. Response patterns on the CPT-3 provide information that enables the practitioner to better understand the type of deficits that might be present. For example, some response patterns suggest inattentiveness or impulsivity, while other response patterns may indicate activation/arousal problems or difficulties maintaining vigilance.

Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS): The D-KEFS provides a comprehensive assessment of the key components of executive functioning, specifically higher-level thinking and cognitive flexibility. In addition, it assesses vital executive functions such as flexibility of thinking, inhibition, problem solving, planning, impulse control, and creativity. It is appropriate for use in individuals from ages 8 through 90 and can be used by the clinician to assess how an individual’s frontal system of the brain is functioning, determine deficits in abstract thinking, and plan appropriate strategies and interventions.

Denckla Cancellation Test: The Denckla requires the client to recognize a target number or shape in an array of numbers or shapes. The clinician asks the client to cross out every item which matches the noted stimulus item. The clinician can subsequently use the time and accuracy of the client’s performance to assist in a diagnosis.

Disruptive Behavior Rating Scale – Parent and Teacher Form: The Disruptive Behavior Rating Scale comes in three multiple-choice rating form versions: Mother Version, Father Version, and Teacher Version. The scale seeks to identify common behavior problems such as attention deficit disorder, attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity, oppositional disorders, and antisocial conduct problems in school children ages 5 to 10.

Executive Skills Questionnaire  for Parents (ESQ): This measure of executive functioning was developed at South County Child & Family Consultants as part of an ongoing research project. The ESQ is a 60-item questionnaire assessing 12 executive skills. It is particularly helpful in understanding skills such as planning, organization, time management, and working memory.

Executive Skills Questionnaire for Teachers (ESQ): This measure of executive functioning was developed at South County Child & Family Consultants as part of an ongoing research project. The ESQ is a 60-item questionnaire assessing 12 executive skills. It is particularly helpful in understanding skills such as planning, organization, time management, and working memory.

Executive Skills Survey for Adolescents and Youth (ESSAY): This measure of executive functioning was developed at South County Child & Family Consultants as part of an ongoing research project. This is a self-report measure for children that assesses executive functions. The measure assesses a child’s view of his/her own executive functions and can be very helpful in targeting educational interventions in areas that the child is acknowledging having academic difficulties.

Gray Oral Reading Tests- Fifth Edition, Complete Kit (GORT-5): The GORT 5 is used to measure oral reading fluency and comprehension has two equivalent forms. The forms both contain 16 developmentally sequenced reading passages and five comprehension questions. The GORT 5 is appropriate for children ages 6 to 23:11.

Incomplete Sentences Form: The Incomplete Sentences Form asks the client to complete the rest of a provided sentence stem, either verbally or in written form. The initial sentence stems are typically short, such as “I regret…”, and the client’s unique responses can provide the clinician with some insight into his/her thought patterns, while also helping to better paint a picture of the client as an individual.

Kiddie-Butler-Bradley Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Kiddie B-BOCS): The Kiddie B-BOCS is a parent report form which seeks to identify symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder in children. The parent is asked to complete the 29-item report form, noting behaviors that his/her child has exhibited over the past six months. This scale can assist the clinician in identifying children with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Kinetic Drawing System for Family and School: This technique allows the clinician to assess a child’s perceptions of important relationships and dynamics at home and in school. The child is asked to draw pictures showing interactions between people at home and in school, and is then asked to explain each drawing. An emphasis is placed on how the child perceives his or her interactions with others and this exercise can provide insight into the child’s feelings and functioning in a non-threatening manner. The Kinetic Drawing System for Family and School can be an especially helpful approach for younger children who may lack proficient verbal expression skills.

Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ): This test is designed to assess how adolescents ages 13 to 18 have been feeling or acting recently. There is one version for students in which they are asked to answer questions about their own feelings and behavior, and a second version for parents in which they answer questions about their child. This test can help identify specific symptoms that may be affecting the client, which, in turn, can help clinicians in accurately diagnosing clients.

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2-RF, MMPI-A-RF): The MMPI is the most widely-used personality inventory in the world and has versions appropriate for both adults and adolescents. The adolescent version consists of 487 true-false items and it is an invaluable instrument that provides normative information about adolescents’ levels of depression, anxiety, substance use, and other psychiatric disorders.

Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC 2): This is a 50-item self-report test is designed to assess anxiety symptoms across clinically significant symptom domains. It can be given to children ages 8 through 19 years, and consists of questions related to different areas of life.

Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC 2): This is a 50-item parent questionnaire is designed to assess anxiety symptoms across clinically significant symptom domains. It can be given to parents of children ages 8 through 19 years, and consists of questions related to different areas of life.

Multiple Intelligence Questionnaire: This measure of multiple intelligence was developed at South County Child & Family Consultants as part of an ongoing research project. It is based upon Howard Gardner’s work on multiple intelligence and is designed to assess a child’s skills in areas such as musical, interpersonal, kinesthetic, and naturalistic intelligences. It measures skills beyond traditional conceptualizations of intelligence that focus on verbal, mathematical, and logical skills.

NEPSY-II: This test is used to evaluate children’s ability and performance in their executive function and attention, language, memory and learning, sensorimotor, visuospatial processing, and social perception. It is appropriate for use in children from preschool age through age 16. It allows the clinician to create a tailored assessment across six domains, specific to a child’s situation in order to answer referral questions or diagnostic concerns. The results provide information relating to typical childhood disorders, which can lead to accurate diagnosis and intervention planning for success in school and at home.

Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-5): This test is used as a measure of receptive vocabulary for standard English, in addition to acting as a screening test of verbal ability. The test involves the examiner saying a word, presenting a series of pictures to the client, and then asking the client to point to the picture that the word describes. This test can be given to clients ages 2 years 6 months through 90, and provides a quick estimate of their verbal ability or scholastic aptitude.

Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale-II: This measure provides the clinician with a well-rounded picture of a child’s self-concept by asking the child (ages 7 to 18) questions in a paper-based yes/no format. These questions are related to the child’s perception of his/her physical appearance, attributions, freedom from anxiety, intellectual and school status, behavioral adjustment, happiness and satisfaction, and popularity. The Piers Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale will often aid the clinician in identifying specific areas of conflict, typical coping and defense mechanisms, and appropriate intervention techniques for a particular child.

Processing Speed Questionnaire: This measure of processing speed was developed at South County Child & Family Consultants as part of an ongoing research project. This measure is a parent’s observation of a child’s ability to process information efficiently while writing, at school, or in conversation with others. It can be very helpful in understanding children who are falling behind in school or do not appear to be reaching their academic potential.

Rapid Automatized Naming and Rapid Alternating Stimulus Test (RAN/RAS): The RAN/RAS tests seek to estimate an individual’s ability to recognize a visual symbol, such as a letter or color, and then name it accurately and rapidly. The tests consist of rapid automatized naming tests (letters, numbers, colors, objects) and two rapid alternating stimulus tests. These tests are appropriate for individuals ages 5 through adulthood and based on the amount of time required to accurately name the stimulus items on each test, the clinician can gain insightful information on an individual’s abilities in these areas.

Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale-II (RCMAS-II): This self-report measure attempts to ascertain the level and nature of anxiety being experienced by a child or adolescent (ages 6 to 19). The RCMAS employs a paper-based yes/no format which asks the child questions dealing with worry/oversensitivity, social concerns/concentration, and physiological anxiety. Since anxiety is identified as a likely indicator of stress, this test can aid clinicians in better helping a child to cope with stressful situations in his/her daily life.

Rey Complex Figure Test and Recognition Trial (RCFT): This test is designed to assess the client’s ability to use cues in order to retrieve information. It can be given to patients ages 6 and up, and takes approximately 45 minutes to administer. This test is useful in measuring visuo-spatial ability and memory in a client.

Roberts-II: The Roberts-II is the popular revision of the Roberts Apperception Test for Children. This storytelling measure provides an indication of a child’s social understanding as expressed in free narrative form, as the child is asked to tell a story in response to each picture that they are shown. The Roberts-II provides useful descriptive information, such as providing the clinician with insight as to how well the child reads social cues, recognizes and solves interpersonal problems, copes with difficulties, and makes use of social and emotional resources.

Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders (SCARED): This test is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure anxiety symptoms in children. This test can be used to diagnose anxiety, as well as to monitor anxiety over time. There are two versions, one for the child to fill out about his/her experiences, and one for the parent to fill out about how they view their child’s experiences.

Short Sensory Profile: This is a caregiver questionnaire which measures children’s responses to sensory events in everyday life. It is appropriate for children 3 to 10 years of age. Caregivers complete the questionnaire by reporting how frequently their children respond in the way described by each item. The Sensory Profile contains sections corresponding to each sensory system, sections which indicate the modulation of sensory input across sensory systems, and sections which indicate behavioral and emotional responses that are associated with sensory processing. The clinician can use such information when diagnosing a child for a number of disabilities which correlate with sensory difficulties.

Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2):  This 65-item rating scale measures the severity of autism spectrum symptoms as they occur in natural social settings. This scale can be completed by a parent or teacher and provides a clear picture of a child’s social impairments, assessing social awareness, social information processing, capacity for reciprocal social communication, social anxiety/avoidance, and autistic preoccupations and traits. It is appropriate for use with children from 4 to 18 years of age.

Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale: This self-report test is designed to assess children’s anxiety, as it assesses a wide range of anxiety symptoms, which include: panic/agoraphobia, social anxiety, separation anxiety, generalized anxiety, obsessions/compulsions, and fear of physical injury. This test contains 45 items and helps in diagnostics of child anxiety disorders.

Stroop Test: The Stroop test is a psychological test of one’s mental or attentional vitality and flexibility. The test taps into an individual’s ability to read words more quickly and automatically than naming colors. For example, if a word is printed in a color differently from the color it actually names, one may struggle. If the word green is written in blue ink, one will oftentimes say green more readily than naming the color in which it is displayed (blue). The cognitive mechanism involved in this task is called directed attention, and this test allows the clinician to examine an individual’s ability to inhibit one response in order to say or do something else.

Test of Written Language-III (TOWL-III): This test is designed to assess the important aspects of written language in children and adolescents (ages 9 to 17) in order to aid the clinician in identifying possible interventions to aid the student. The test is used to identify students who write poorly, to determine students’ strengths and weaknesses in writing abilities, to document students’ progress in writing programs, and to measure writing in research.

Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE): The TOWRE measures an individual’s ability to pronounce printed words accurately and fluently. It allows the clinician to assess skills critical to overall reading proficiency, specifically the ability to sound out words quickly and accurately and the ability to recognize familiar words as whole units. It is appropriate for individuals ages 6 to 24 and can be helpful in identifying reading difficulties and weaknesses.

Thematic Apperception Test (TAT): In this test, clients are shown 31 pictures of human figures in a variety of settings and situations about which they are asked to make up stories. There are specific subsets of the test for men, women, boys, and girls. This test can help to reveal the client’s motivations, emotions, and conflicts, as well as assisting the clinician in diagnosing, therapy, and research.

Trail Making Test: This test is a neuropsychological test of visual attention and task switching designed for all ages. It requires the client to ‘connect-the-dots’ of consecutive targets, either numbers or numbers and letters, on a sheet of paper, as quickly as possible. The strategy and time of the client can help to inform the clinician about the client’s attentional and task switching skills.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-5): This test is designed to measure the cognitive abilities of adults, ages 16 to 89 years. The test takes approximately 60-90 minutes to administer, and assesses visual comprehension, perceptual organization, working memory, and processing speed. The client is asked to respond to various stimuli presented by the examiner, which may include creating prompted designs with blocks, recalling letter and number combinations, and comprehending and expressing vocabulary words.

Wechsler Individual Achievement Test-II (WIAT-4): This is a test used to assess an individual’s achievement skills and problem solving ability, and can be administered to clients ages 4 to 85. This test has sections assessing oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, spelling, word reading, pseudoword decoding, reading comprehension, numerical operations, and math reasoning. This test is useful in planning a child’s individual education plan, in recognizing at-risk students in order to develop on-target interventions, and in identifying individual strengths and weaknesses.

Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-III (WPPSI-IV): This is an assessment of early childhood cognitive abilities. It takes approximately 30-60 minutes to administer, and involves the children responding to stimuli given by the examiner. This test is useful in identifying intellectual giftedness, mild and moderate mental retardation, developmental delays, developmental risk factors, autism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The client is asked to respond to various stimuli presented by the examiner, which may include creating prompted designs with blocks or answering general knowledge questions.

Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning-II (WRAML-3): The WRAML-3 is a standardized test that measures an individual’s memory functioning by evaluating both immediate and delayed memory ability. It is appropriate for use with individuals ages 5 to 90 years of age. It is composed of two verbal, two visual, and two attention-concentration subtests, which allow the clinician to grasp a better understanding of a client’s verbal, visual, and working memory skills, as well as their attention and concentration capabilities.

Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children (WISC – V): The WISC- V is a test that measures a child’s general intellectual ability or Full Scale IQ. lr also provides five primary index scores that represent a child’s abilities in cognitive domains. These five primary index scores include: Verbal Comprehension Index, Visual Spatial Index, Fluid Reasoning Index, Working Memory Index, and Processing Speed Index. This test is appropriate for children in between the ages of 6 and 18.

Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Achievement (WJ III ACH): The WJ III ACH is a set of academic achievement tests appropriate for administration with children ages 2 and up, all the way through adults (90+). It can be used to determine and describe the present status of an individual’s strengths and weaknesses. It consist of 22 tests, of which the clinician can choose to use all or some of them. The tests tap into areas such as reading, oral language, mathematics, written language, and academic knowledge.

Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS): The YMRS is an eleven-item, multiple-choice diagnostic questionnaire which clinicians can use to measure the severity of manic episodes in children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 17. The 11 items assessed are Elevated Mood, Increased Motor Activity Energy, Sexual Interest, Sleep, Irritability, Speech (Rate and Amount), Language – Thought Disorder, Content, Disruptive – Aggressive Behavior, Appearance and Insight.