The Children’s PsychologicalProcesses Scale (CPPS)

Dr. Milton J. Dehn

Children’s Psychological Processes Scale (CPPS) Brief Overview

1. Standardized teacher rating scale2. Ages 5-0-0 to 12-11-303. 121 items across 11 subscales4. Entirely online, internet-web based5. Online administration time of 15 minutes6. Online scoring and report7. Author: Milton Dehn; published by Schoolhouse

Educational Services, 20128. Measurement Consultant: Kevin McGrew

The Needs for the CPPS

1. IDEA definition of LD “disorder…..basic psychological processes”

2. Several states mandate a processing component for LD identification

3. Neuropsych interest4. Even with RTI, some practitioners evaluate it5. The previous processing rating scale (PPC)

has limitations

Uses of the CPPS

1. LD Evaluations (Primary Purpose)1. Identify psych processing deficits2. Pattern of strengths and weaknesses3. Planning further assessment

2. Screening1. Identifies need for intervention2. Predicts academic skills development3. Useful in planning comprehensive assessment

3. Measure progress during interventions1. Through the use of change-sensitive W-scores

What is psychological processing?

1. Brain processes, operations, functions2. Any time mental contents are operated on3. When information is perceived, transformed,

manipulated, stored, retrieved, expressed4. Whenever we think, reason, problem-solve5. Basic and higher level processes6. Can’t learn and perform without processing7. Learning depends on these processes8. Doesn’t include knowledge or academic skills

What is a Processing Disorder?

1. A group of symptoms involving abnormal behaviors

2. A within child, brain-based deficit3. That impairs academic learning4. Not many official processing disorders

1. E.g. CAPD, aphasia, amnesia, dyspraxia

Evidence for a Processing Disorderand SLD Diagnosis

1. It’s not specific to one environment2. A normative weakness (below average score)3. Intra-individual: score is significantly weaker than

predicted from discrepancy analysis4. Best if it’s an intra-individual weakness and a

normative weakness (this is a deficit; these are rare)5. It’s impacting academic learning6. The low psychological processes and low academics

have research-based links7. The linked process and academic skills both have low

scores (consistency approach)

Processes and Academic Learning

1. Psychological processes are like “aptitudes”2. Relations established through research

1. Flanagan et al., & McGrew’s review of research2. Swanson, Geary, and others

3. The influence of processes varies by age4. Look for academic area and related

psychological processes to both be low

Characteristics of CPPS Processes

1. Brain-based2. Interrelated3. Necessary for academic learning4. They underlie academic performance5. They are broad processes6. Observable in classroom7. Processes can be validly assessed through

ratings; similar to BRIEF

Psychological Processes Measured by the CPPS

1. Attention2. Auditory Processing3. Executive Functions4. Fine Motor5. Fluid Reasoning6. Long-Term Recall7. Oral Language8. Phonological Processing9. Processing Speed10. Visual-Spatial Processing11. Working Memory 12. General Processing Ability (Composite)

Attention1. In classroom: Necessary for learning2. Attention deficits part of LD; not necessarily ADHD3. Types: Selective, focused, divided, sustained4. The problem is attentional control & lack of

inhibition5. On CPPS, links to Executive Functions and Working

Memory

Auditory Processing

1. Ability to perceive, analyze, synthesize, and discriminate auditory stimuli, mainly speech

2. In classroom: Perceiving and comprehending instruction; being able to understand words with background noise

Executive Functions1. Management of cognitive functions and

psychological processes2. Effectiveness depends on self-monitoring, self-

regulation, and metacognition3. Has a longer course of development4. More to do with classroom performance than

learning of academic skills

Fine Motor

1. Hits developmental plateau by age 72. On CPPS, has weaker relations with cognitive

processes in general but has strong relations with academics

3. On CPPS, pairs up with visual-spatial process.

Fluid Reasoning

1. Deductive, inductive reasoning, especially with novel materials

2. Has a longer course of development3. More important for applied academics

Long-Term Recall

1. Close connection with other processes and with academic learning in general

2. Includes encoding, consolidation, storage, and retrieval

3. Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN) is part of

Oral Language

1. Not the content (vocabulary) or receptive language but the oral expression processes

Phonological Processing

1. Processing of phonemes, e.g. blending2. Phonemic awareness is part of

Processing Speed

1. How quickly information flows through the processing system; a matter of efficiency

2. Too slow: info. lost, process not completed

Visual-Spatial Processing

1. The ability to perceive, analyze, synthesize, manipulate and think with visual patterns

2. A strength in most LD cases3. Weak relations with all academics; more of a

“threshold” process

Working Memory

1. Processing while retaining information2. On CPPS includes short-term memory3. Both verbal and visual

General Processing Ability (GPA)

1. GPA score is the average of all process scores2. Emerges from factor analysis; similar to

concept of general intelligence3. Processes function in an inter-related fashion4. Most processes contribute to any given

behavior, task5. On CPPS defined as “the underlying efficiency

of processing automaticity”

CPPS Items

• For report, grouped by subscale• In developmental (ability) order from lowest

item to highest item

CPPS Development

1. Initial pilot study with 75 items and 10 scales1. Result: More range needed

2. Item tryout with 147 items3. 11 scales in standardization version4. Items reduced to 1215. Rasch item analysis used throughout 6. W-scale used throughout7. Exploratory factor analysis

CPPS Standardization

1. 1,121 students rated by 278 teachers2. 128 communities in 30 states3. All data collected online4. Demographics match U.S. Census well5. Scores were weighted6. Included children with disabilities 7. Demographics details

Reverse Scoring

1. Relative to achievement & cognitive tests2. High scores mean high difficulty and low

ability3. All items stated negatively4. 0 = Never; 1 = Sometimes; 2 = Often; 3 =

Almost Always5. Inconsistent ratings when positively stated

items were tried during item tryout

Norms and Scores

1. 4 age groups (5-6; 7-8; 9-10; 11-12)2. T-scores derived from linear transformation

of actual standardization distribution3. T-Scores, W-Scores, confidence intervals, and

conversion to standard scores

Sex Differences

1. Boys have more processing problems2. No sign. Sex differences in fluid reasoning,

phonological, and visual-spatial3. Norms not divided by sex 4. Combined sex norms better for identification

CPPS Administration

1. Online rating scale 12-15 minutes for teachers to complete1. Can print free paper copy and enter later 2. Must answer all items (but can save incomplete)

2. Responses: Never, Sometimes, Often, Almost Always

3. This file is stored, and then accessed for report

CPPS Report

1. Brief narrative, graph, and a table of scores2. Change-sensitive W-scores3. T-scores; percentiles; confidence intervals4. Intra-individual strengths and weakness

discrepancy table5. T-score to standard score converter6. Can be re-run with different options (without

a charge)

Item Printout

1. Teacher ratings can be viewed and printed, even before report generated

2. Numerical values will be shown3. Grouped by subscale4. Arranged in developmental/difficulty

sequence from low to high

Discrepancy Analysis

1. Use discrepancy table to determine pattern of strengths and weaknesses1. Predicted score based on mean of other 102. Regression toward the mean included 3. +/- 1.00 to 2.00 SD of SEE discrepancy options4. Strengths and Weakness labeling is opposite of

discrepancy, e.g. “-” value = a strength5. Non LD also have a pattern

Reliability

1. Internal consistency subscale reliability ranges from .88 to .98 Link

2. .99 on Total Score3. Inter-rater reliability

1. Range of .21 to .902. Median coefficient of 76.5

Validity Evidence

• Content Validity• Developmental Evidence• WJ III Achievement• WJ III Cognitive• BRIEF• LD• Diagnostic Accuracy

Validity: Developmental Evidence

1. Skewed distributions because1. Very few children have processing problems2. Fewer processing problems in older children3. Most processes fully develop early4. Teachers rate relative to that grade level

2. Dev. changes observed in younger children3. Changes observed in upper half of problem

distribution 4. W values used to arrange items in order

Factor and Cluster Analysis

1. A general factor; all subtests load on1. General processing ability (GPA) may reflect

processing efficiency or automaticity 2. More GPA presence with younger children

2. Second factor is Attention, EF, sometimes WM: Self-Regulatory Processes

3. Third factor is Fine Motor and Visual-Spatial: Visual-Motor processes

4. Results fairly consistent across age groups