Show pageOld revisionsBacklinksBack to top This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong. ==== Childhood Cognitive Ability ==== ---- The cognitive tests administered in childhood and adolescence in NSHD were all ones of intellectual ability; tests of functional performance (memory, speed of processing, executive function, etc.) were first given at [[questionnaires:1989|age 43 years]] <HTML> <br> <h4> </HTML> Age 8 <HTML> </h4> </HTML> Four tests devised by the <html><b>National Foundation for Educational Research</b></html> (NFER) were used: <html><br></html> 1. Reading Comprehension (selecting appropriate words to complete 35 sentences)<html><br></html> 2. Word Reading (ability to read and pronounce 50 words) <html><br></html> 3. Vocabulary (ability to explain the meaning of 50 words) <html><br></html> 4. Picture Intelligence (a 60-item, non-verbal reasoning test)<html><br></html> <HTML> <h4><br> </HTML> Age 11 <HTML> </h4> </HTML> Four NFER tests were used: <html><br></html> 1. A verbal and non-verbal test, where participants were asked to select an appropriate word or shape to complete 80 different series, yielding scores for Verbal Intelligence and Non-verbal Intelligence <html><br></html> 2. An arithmetic test comprising 50 addition, multiplication, subtraction and division sums, and two tests previously used at age 8 years <html><br></html> 3. Word Reading<html><br></html> 4. Vocabulary<html><br></html> <HTML> <h4><br> </HTML> Age 15 <HTML> </h4> </HTML> At age 15 three tests were administered:<html><br></html> 1. The Heim Group Ability Test AH4 (Heim, 1970), a 130-item test requiring shape matching and selection, and verbal and number problems, yielding scores for Verbal Intelligence and Non-verbal Intelligence <html><br></html> 2. The Watts-Vernon Reading Test, a 35-item test of reading comprehension requiring the participant to select an appropriate word to complete a sentence <html><br></html> 3. A 47-item mathematics test, requiring the use of arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry and algebra<html><br></html> <html><br></html> Further details of these measures, including estimates of reliability and validity, are provided by Pigeon (1964, 1968). <html><br></html> <html><br></html> Scores for all of these tests are also available in <html><b>normalised</b></html> form for approximation to a standard IQ score.<html><br></html> <html><br></html> Since these cognitive tests are highly inter-correlated, simple global scores can be calculated by summing the scores at each age. If this is done it is recommended that each score is <html><b>first standardised</b></html> to a z-score to allow for the varying ranges across the raw test scores, in the following way:<html><br></html> <HTML> <ol> <li> </HTML> Subtract the mean score (based on the analytic sample) from the individual score, then divide the difference by the standard deviation of the mean score <HTML> </li> <li> </HTML> Sum the resulting z-scores, then re-standardise this total score <HTML> </li> </ol> </HTML> <HTML> <hr style="width: 100%; height: 2px;"> </HTML> === Obtaining the standard childhood cognitive ability variables === * You can obtain a list of the standard topic variables to use in an NSHD data sharing request by selecting the link below.\\ \\ **Please Note** that the childhood cognitive ability standard basket only contains the three summary, standardised //**COG..H**// variables, which are the most commonly-used covariates on this topic. For the full, detailed variable list please investigate this subject on [[skylark:skylark|Skylark]]. \\ <html><b></html>{{mrepo:childhood_cognition.pdf|More information}} <html></b></html>is available on this topic - including the main variable naming conventions and some value labels. \\ \\ <html><b></html> [[https://skylark.ucl.ac.uk/Sparrow/search/html/keyword/mrepo:topics:childhoodcognitiveability | HTML version of the standard variables to view]] \\ \\ <html></b></html> mrepo/topics/childhoodcognitiveability.txt Last modified: 5 months agoby director Log In