A national study on the development of visual attention using the cognitive assessment system.

Objective: Developmental changes in the performance of children and adolescents are studied using the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS) which is an individually administered test of 4 basic cognitive processes.

Method: The test measures the Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive (PASS) processes as a theory of intelligence that can provide the framework for an alternative to traditional IQ tests. The CAS, which includes a scale of attention comprising 3 subtests, each of which is presented visually, provides an opportunity to study the development of visual attention for 2,200 children and adolescents aged 5- to 17-years-old who participated in the national standardization sample. A subsample ( n = 1,395) is also administered the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement - Revised (WJ-R).

Results: On all 3 CAS attention subtests, the mean scores improve with age, and the rate of change between adjacent age groups is moderate-to-large up to 15-years-old. At all ages the CAS Attention standard score is moderately related to WJ-R Achievement Cluster scores.

Conclusion: The results are discussed in light of conclusions about the development of attention based on the standardization sample of the NEPSY-A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment.