Development of a Cognitive Ability Assessment Tool for a Pediatric School-aged Population

Objective: The assessment of a child's cognitive health in developing countries poses significant challenges, including the paucity of valid diagnostic tools. We report the development and initial psychometric evaluation of a new eight-item cognitive ability assessment tool (CAAT-8) for use in an African Sub-Saharan school-aged population.

Design: CAAT-8 reliability and validity were assessed in a field trial. Participants (446 children aged 5-17 years) were recruited at multiple clinical sites and schools. Methods and techniques based on Item Response Theory and Structural Equation Modeling were applied for item analysis and selection, reliability, and validity assessments.

Results: CAAT-8 includes eight cognitive tasks and provides a reliable measure of the factor of Knowledge Processing. Knowledge Processing consistently increased over age (simple regression model, R2=0.44). A poorer health status (e.g., due to a neurological or medical condition or chronic exposure to psychosocial stress and deprivation) was associated with lower Knowledge Processing.

Conclusion: CAAT-8 is a viable methodology for cognitive health assessment in a pediatric school-aged population. The results from this study warrant further research to validate its use in healthcare and clinical research settings.