Battery guide
School-Age Battery guide
Five tests of working memory, planning and arithmetic fluency, for child development and education research.
- Guide version
- 1.2.0
- Battery version
- 1.0.0
What it measures
Who it is for: Child development and education research.
It measures Visuospatial working memory span, Verbal working memory span, Working memory updating, Planning and Arithmetic fluency.
Working memory: Holding and updating information for a few seconds.
Executive function: Planning, switching rules, handling conflict and making decisions.
Processing speed: How quickly people take in information and respond.
Scores describe how a person performs on these tasks. Research use only.
Tests in order
The tests run in this order. A study started from the battery keeps the order and the settings.
1. Corsi Block-Tapping Test. Measures visuospatial short-term and working memory by asking participants to reproduce sequences across a fixed nine-block layout.
2. Digit Span Test. Measures verbal working memory capacity by asking participants to recall sequences of digits in forward and backward order.
3. 1-Back Task. Measures working memory by requiring participants to indicate whether the current stimulus matches the one presented N items ago.
4. Tower Planning. Measures planning with Tower of London puzzles. Participants move three balls between pegs to match a goal in as few moves as possible.
5. Arithmetic Fluency Task. Measures how quickly and accurately people solve simple arithmetic. Single-digit addition, subtraction and multiplication problems appear one at a time in three timed blocks, one per operation, and participants type each answer.
| Order | Test | Domain | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corsi Block-Tapping Test | Working memory | 5 to 8 minutes |
| 2 | Digit Span Test | Working memory | 5 to 7 minutes |
| 3 | 1-Back Task | Working memory | 3 to 4 minutes |
| 4 | Tower Planning | Executive function | 6 to 9 minutes |
| 5 | Arithmetic Fluency Task | Processing speed | 4 to 5 minutes |
Time and devices
Allow about 33 minutes for the whole battery. The table gives each test's time.
The battery has timed tests. Participants need a desktop or laptop with a mouse or trackpad, and the timed tests run in full screen. Tablets and phones cannot run it.
On a desktop or laptop the screen must be at least 1024 by 700 pixels.
Participants need Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
| Test | Timing | Devices |
|---|---|---|
| Corsi Block-Tapping Test | Untimed | Desktop or laptop, tablet or phone |
| Digit Span Test | Untimed | Desktop or laptop, tablet or phone |
| 1-Back Task | Timed | Desktop or laptop |
| Tower Planning | Untimed | Desktop or laptop, tablet or phone |
| Arithmetic Fluency Task | Timed | Desktop or laptop |
Languages
Runs in all eight participant languages.
How to give it
Start a study from the battery in the app. The tests, their order and their settings are already set and stay fixed. If you change, reorder or customize a test, the study becomes a custom study and no longer carries the battery.
Each test opens with its instructions. Participants see these:
Corsi Block-Tapping Test: Watch the blocks light up, then click the same blocks in order. In the optional backward phase, click them in reverse order.
Digit Span Test: You will see a sequence of digits shown one at a time. After the sequence, type the digits in the order you saw them (forward) or in reverse order (backward).
1-Back Task: You will see a series of letters. Press the SPACEBAR if the current letter is the SAME as the one shown immediately before it (1 back). Otherwise, do not press anything.
Tower Planning: Move one ball at a time until your board matches the goal. Plan all your moves before you start.
Arithmetic Fluency Task: Type the answer to each problem and press Enter. Answer as many as you can, as quickly and accurately as you can.
| Step | Before you invite participants |
|---|---|
| 1 | Get a parent's or guardian's permission and the child's agreement before the first test. |
| 2 | Record each child's age: no reference group covers ages under 18, so reports show raw scores only. |
| 3 | An adult sets up the device, then the child takes the tests in a quiet room. |
| 4 | Pilot the battery with one or two children to check that they follow the instructions. |
How each test is scored
The server scores each test when the participant finishes it. The primary score is the one the app compares with a norm. The other scores are reported with it.
Every result records its scoring version. For this battery they are Corsi Block-Tapping Test 1.0.0, Digit Span Test 1.0.0, 1-Back Task 1.0.0, Tower Planning 2.0.0 and Arithmetic Fluency Task 1.0.0.
| Test | Score | What it is | Better |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corsi Block-Tapping Test | Forward Span (primary) | Longest block sequence correctly recalled in presented order. | Higher is better |
| Corsi Block-Tapping Test | Backward Span | Longest block sequence correctly recalled in reverse order. Null if backward phase is disabled. | Higher is better |
| Corsi Block-Tapping Test | Total Score | Forward span plus backward span when both phases are enabled. | Higher is better |
| Corsi Block-Tapping Test | Forward Accuracy (proportion) | Proportion of forward Corsi trials reproduced correctly. | Higher is better |
| Corsi Block-Tapping Test | Backward Accuracy (proportion) | Proportion of backward Corsi trials reproduced correctly. | Higher is better |
| Corsi Block-Tapping Test | Order Errors | Trials where the entered block order did not match the expected sequence. | Lower is better |
| Digit Span Test | Forward Span (primary) | Longest digit sequence correctly recalled in forward order. Primary capacity measure. | Higher is better |
| Digit Span Test | Backward Span | Longest digit sequence correctly recalled in reverse order. Null if backward phase not included. | Higher is better |
| Digit Span Test | Total Score | Forward span + backward span. Composite working memory measure. | Higher is better |
| Digit Span Test | Longest Forward | Same as forward span. Maximum sequence length achieved. | Higher is better |
| Digit Span Test | Longest Backward | Same as backward span. Maximum reverse sequence length achieved. | Higher is better |
| 1-Back Task | Overall Accuracy (proportion) | Proportion of all trials (targets + non-targets) correctly classified. | Higher is better |
| 1-Back Task | Hits | Number of targets correctly identified (pressed spacebar on match). | Higher is better |
| 1-Back Task | Misses | Number of targets missed (failed to press on match). | Lower is better |
| 1-Back Task | False Alarms | Responses to non-target stimuli (pressed spacebar on non-match). | Lower is better |
| 1-Back Task | Correct Rejections | Non-target stimuli correctly ignored. | Higher is better |
| 1-Back Task | d-Prime (primary) | Signal detection sensitivity: Z(hit rate) - Z(false alarm rate). Primary measure of working memory discriminability. | Higher is better |
| 1-Back Task | Hit RT (ms) | Average reaction time on correct target detections. | Lower is better |
| Tower Planning | Excess Moves (moves, primary) | Moves above the minimum, summed over puzzles. An unsolved puzzle counts as using the full move limit. | Lower is better |
| Tower Planning | Puzzles Solved | Puzzles brought to the goal within the move and time limits. | Higher is better |
| Tower Planning | Solved in Minimum Moves | Puzzles solved with no extra moves. | Higher is better |
| Tower Planning | Planning Time (ms) | Mean time from the puzzle appearing to picking up the first ball. | Informational |
| Tower Planning | Mean Puzzle Time (ms) | Mean time from the puzzle appearing to its end. totalTime gives the sum over puzzles. | Informational |
| Tower Planning | Blocked Moves | Attempts to put a ball on a full peg. The interface refuses these moves. | Lower is better |
| Tower Planning | Timeouts | Puzzles ended by the 2-minute limit. | Lower is better |
| Arithmetic Fluency Task | Correct per Minute (correct/min, primary) | Correct answers divided by the minutes of block time. | Higher is better |
| Arithmetic Fluency Task | Accuracy (proportion) | Share of submitted answers that were correct. | Higher is better |
| Arithmetic Fluency Task | Median Correct RT (ms) | Median time from problem onset to the Enter press, over correct answers. | Lower is faster |
| Arithmetic Fluency Task | Addition per Minute (correct/min) | Correct answers per minute in the addition block. | Higher is better |
| Arithmetic Fluency Task | Subtraction per Minute (correct/min) | Correct answers per minute in the subtraction block. | Higher is better |
| Arithmetic Fluency Task | Multiplication per Minute (correct/min) | Correct answers per minute in the multiplication block. | Higher is better |
| Arithmetic Fluency Task | Addition Accuracy (proportion) | Share of submitted addition answers that were correct. | Higher is better |
| Arithmetic Fluency Task | Subtraction Accuracy (proportion) | Share of submitted subtraction answers that were correct. | Higher is better |
| Arithmetic Fluency Task | Multiplication Accuracy (proportion) | Share of submitted multiplication answers that were correct. | Higher is better |
| Arithmetic Fluency Task | Total Correct | Correct answers across the three blocks. | Higher is better |
| Arithmetic Fluency Task | Errors | Submitted answers that were wrong or came under 100 ms. | Lower is better |
Session quality rules
The app checks every session when it scores it and records one of four states.
An Invalid session stays in the study's results, labelled with its reason, and does not count toward norms.
A session can carry warnings and still be valid. The results list the warnings next to the scores.
| State | What it means |
|---|---|
| Norm-ready | The session passed every check and a norm exists for it, so the app can show a percentile. |
| Raw-only | The scores are usable, but the app shows no percentile. Typical reasons are no norm for the test, changed settings, or a warning that makes a comparison unfair, such as a restart or a screen too short for the display. |
| Invalid technical | The setup broke the timing or the task. Examples are leaving full screen, a browser tab that lost focus during a timed test, and long pauses. |
| Invalid behavioral | The responses suggest the task was not done as asked. Examples are a failed attention check, repeated switching away from the task, and accuracy at or below chance on a choice task. |
Published norms used
No published norm is used for any test in this battery.
ConductCognition also builds norms from its own participants. An age band of a test uses them once it holds at least 50 valid sessions on the same device and input type, run with standard settings and scored with the current scoring version. Sessions from paying customers' studies and from clinical or patient samples do not count.
A report shows a percentile only when the app has stored one for that session. Otherwise it shows the raw scores.
Every reference group covers ages 18 and over. No reference group covers a participant under 18, so their report shows raw scores only, and their sessions do not count toward norms.
How to cite
ConductScience, Inc. School-Age Battery guide, version 1.2.0. ConductCognition. https://conductcognition.com/batteries/school-age/guide
Cite the guide version you used. Name the battery version (1.0.0) and the scoring versions listed in this guide.