Tests of cognitive ability

Tests of cognitive ability

Three-year-olds in Cohort 08 completed two tests of their cognitive ability. Both

tests were components of the British Ability Scales (Elliott et al., 1996) suite for the

early years. The ‘naming vocabulary’ test measured the child’s expressive vocabulary

by showing them a sequence of pictures and asking them to name the object in the

picture (e.g. ‘book’, ‘scissors’ etc). The ‘picture similarities’ test measured their

reasoning ability by showing them a target picture and four possible matches for the

target (a hypothetical example: the target picture could be of a coin which matches to

a picture of a screw because they are both made of metal, while the other possible

matches – cushion, dog, apple - don’t have anything in common with the coin).

These cognitive tests are an important marker of the child’s ability in skills that will be

critical to their future cognitive development and school readiness (e.g. Rowe et al.

2012). It is also crucial that they be administered in a standard format to make

comparisons between children fair and accurate. Cross-sectionally, the test results

can be used to compare children at the age of 3 and examine what factors help or

hinder ability at this early stage (e.g. breastfeeding, home learning environment,

quality of childcare). Longitudinally, the age 3 results can be used to map the extent

to which the child is facilitated or impeded in achieving their full educational potential

as they get older. For example, previous work by Feinstein (2003) in the UK was very

influential in showing that economically disadvantaged children with strong cognitive

potential in the pre-school period were at risk of falling behind their economically

advantaged (but less cognitively able) peers by the end of primary schooling. A similar

trend of ‘struggling to maintain potential’ was observed in the Cohort 08 data by

McNamara et al. (2021): children with lower-educated mothers but in the top quartile

for vocabulary at age 3 had lower average reading scores by age 9 than their peers

who had been in the bottom vocabulary score at age 3 but whose mothers had a

degree (Fig 4.18, p.77).

The cognitive test scores, particularly the vocabulary test scores, have been very

widely used by researchers using the Cohort 08 data. Even when the focus of an

analysis is on reading ability or academic attainment at an older age, being able to

control for earlier ability can be an essential component. It should be noted that the

tests, as previously used, must be administered in English and answers for the

vocabulary test have to be in English.

Recommendation for Cohort 24 at age 3

•Ideally, in the interests of cross-cohort comparison, the same cognitive tests would be used with Cohort 24 as Cohort 08. The British Abilities Scales are currently published as a ‘version 3’ by GL Assessments.40

•If for some reason it was not possible to use the same tests, for example if the current version of the BAS has different subscales, then a similar test could be selected as long as it offered the possibility of being re-administered at age 5 to capture change over time. It is particularly important that the child’s vocabulary level is directly assessed: as well as being an indicator of their overall ability, a wider vocabulary helps the child to foster other skills related to socio-emotional and academic competence (e.g. Slot et al., 2020).

Height and weight