Copyright © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. Readers should be aware that Internet Web sites offered as citations and/or sources for further information may have changed or disappeared between the time this was written and when it is read.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If legal, accounting, medical, psychological or any other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-956-7739, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3986, or fax 317-572-4002.
Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is Available
9781118589274 (Paperback)
9781118705384 (ePDF)
9781118876640 (epub)
Cover design: Wiley
Cover image: © Greg Kuchik/Getty Images
Printed in the United States of America
FIRST EDITION
I would like to dedicate this book to my wife, Kathleen Kryza, who has greatly helped me take the PASS theory to teachers in a way I could never have achieved on my own. With much appreciation and love. I also dedicate this book to my friend and coauthor of the CAS and CAS2, J. P. Das. His contributions over these 30-plus years have had and continue to have a significant impact on the tests we have published and the many children who have been assessed. A final dedication to my parents and grandparents, especially my mother, who taught me the value of persistence and frequently reminded me that “you can be anything you want if you try hard enough.”
—J. A. N.
There are several people I wish to dedicate this book to. First of all, my sincerest gratitude goes to my good friend and colleague Jack Naglieri for his friendship, continued encouragement, professional mentorship, and trust in my understanding of PASS theory as measured by the CAS2 and how to demonstrate its relevance in the trenches of clinical practice. To my friend and colleague Mary Moreno from the University of Puerto Rico, who throughout the years has worked closely with me in providing a variety of workshops on developing interventions based on PASS and demonstrating the use of the CAS and CAS2 with Hispanic/Latino populations. Mary Moreno, along with many of our colleagues and students, was instrumental in the development of the CAS2, Spanish Edition. To my wife, Bernadette, who understood the importance of this project and the time commitments it required. Her loving support helped me to remain on task in spite of our multiple family and social commitments and my tendency to become easily distracted. To my sons, Tulio and Willy, who even though they are adults, I feel the need to be a good example and a source of pride for them. Last, to my mother, who by example showed us never take no for an answer, to persevere patiently even when you think you can't anymore, and when you fall do your best to minimize any damage.
—T. M. O.
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
—George S. Patton
In the Essentials of Psychological Assessment series, we have attempted to provide the reader with books that will deliver key practical information in the most efficient and accessible style. Many books in the series feature specific instruments in a variety of domains, such as cognition, personality, education, and neuropsychology. Other books, like Essentials of KABC‐II Assessment focus on crucial topics for professionals who conduct assessments—topics such as specific reading disabilities, evidence‐based interventions, or ADHD assessment. For the experienced professional, books in the series offer a concise yet thorough review of a test instrument or a specific area of expertise, including numerous tips for best practices. Students can turn to series books for a clear and concise overview of the important assessment tools, and key topics, in which they must become proficient to practice skillfully, efficiently, and ethically in their chosen fields.
Wherever feasible, visual cues highlighting key points are utilized alongside systematic, step‐by‐step guidelines. Chapters are focused and succinct. Topics are organized for an easy understanding of the essential material related to a particular test or topic. Theory and research are continually woven into the fabric of each book, but always to enhance the practical application of the material, rather than to sidetrack or overwhelm readers. With this series, we aim to challenge and assist readers interested in psychological assessment to aspire to the highest level of competency by arming them with the tools they need for knowledgeable, informed practice. We have long been advocates of “intelligent” testing—the notion that numbers are meaningless unless they are brought to life by the clinical acumen and expertise of examiners. Assessment must be used to make a difference in the child's or adult's life, or why bother to test? All books in the series—whether devoted to specific tests or general topics—are consistent with this credo. We want this series to help our readers, novice and veteran alike, to benefit from the intelligent assessment approaches of the authors of each book.
We are delighted to include Essentials of the CAS2 in our series. This book offers an innovative approach to understanding intelligence as a set of neurocognitive processes. The authors offer a succinct overview of the CAS2 suite of tests, administration and scoring guidelines, its use with Hispanic/Latino English Language Learners and the development of interventions based on PASS theory. The CAS2 is a valuable tool in the detection of specific learning disabilities, ADHD, TBI, intellectual disability, giftedness, and nondiscriminatory assessment of diverse populations.
Alan S. Kaufman, PhD, and Nadeen L. Kaufman, EdD, Series Editors
Yale University School of Medicine
In a 2015 publication entitled, “One Hundred years of intelligence testing: Moving from traditional IQ to second‐generation intelligence tests” (Naglieri, 2015), I suggested that it is time for the field of psychology to embrace a revolutionary step in the assessment of intelligence. This book is designed to help professionals understand why a substantially different approach to defining and measuring ability is so desperately needed and how we can achieve this goal. To illustrate the magnitude of the need we remind the reader that all traditional IQ tests with verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal content are based on the US Army and Beta Tests (Yoakum & Yerkes, 1920) which will be 100 years old in 2017! Cosmetic modifications, extraordinary efforts on the part of the publisher to modernize the test, and extensive methods to reinterpret subtests according to contemporary ideas of intelligence, do not change the fact that the “new” Wechsler (now in its fifth edition) is an antique.
Traditional IQ tests which were originally devised to “aid in segregating and eliminating the mentally incompetent, classify men according to their mental ability, and assist in selecting competent men for responsible positions” (Yoakum, 1921, p. 19) are insufficient for the demands of today for several reasons. First, these tests were not built on any theory of intelligence which is critical for test development and puts undue responsibility on the user to determine what the scores mean. Second, the use of verbal and quantitative tests as measures of ability is hard to justify because the test questions are often virtually indistinguishable from questions on tests of achievement. Third, the fact that these IQ tests demand knowledge of English creates considerable problems for the assessment of those with limited familiarity with English. Fourth, traditional IQ tests also are ineffective for non‐discriminatory assessment and yield inaccurately large racial and ethnic differences. Fifth, these tests have failed to yield profiles for students with specific kinds of learning problems. Finally, IQ test scores continue to have no relevance to instruction. (The evidence for all these limitations is provided in Chapter 1) For years, critics of IQ tests have noted these limitations and argued that measures of intelligence should not be used at all.
Rather than eliminating tests of intelligence in this book we advocate for a revolutionary step in how to conceptualize and measure human cognitive functioning. We will describe an approach that works because it departs considerably from traditional IQ, and rather than rely on a 100‐year‐old concepts, we take a brain‐based approach to defining and measuring essential neurocognitive abilities.
Our neurocognitive approach begins with a theory called PASS, which stands for the following basic psychological processes: Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive (Chapters 1 & 2). These constructs were described by A. R. Luria and have been widely studied, especially within the field of neuropsychology. Instead of building upon the US Army Mental Tests, our conceptualization of intelligence is based on Luria's understanding of actual brain function. In this book, we will clearly define this four‐dimensional theory and how it has been operationalized in the CAS2. We will also address the administration and scoring of the test, a theory based interpretation method, how to use the PASS scores for assessment of individuals with various kinds of learning problems, and finally how to build or select interventions based on a student's PASS profile (Chapter 7).
Having a theory of human cognitive processes provides a tremendous advantage over traditional IQ. First, starting with a well‐grounded theory provides a clear vision of what needs to be measured. In our case, this means the four PASS constructs, which are easy to describe. Importantly, the definitions guided the development of subtests included in the first and second editions of the Cognitive Assessment System (see Chapters 5 & 6). This means that practitioners do not have the responsibility of figuring out what the test scores mean nor do they have to choose from a list of possible abilities measured by every subtest. The responsibility of the test author is to describe and validate what the test scores measure, not the practitioner. Most importantly, the PASS theory as operationalized by the CAS and CAS2 is well supported by empirical research. In this book, we will show how PASS scores (a) are more predictive of achievement test scores than any other ability test; (b) show distinctive profiles for different children with different disabilities; (c) can be used for SLD eligibility determination consistent with Federal Law; (d) offer the most equitable way to measure diverse populations; and (e) can be readily used for instructional planning and interventions. Thus, we start with a theory (PASS) which is operationalized by a test (CAS2) and has been well validated for the most important tasks that tests of ability should have—understanding the basic neurocognitive processes underlying learning and academic difficulties and providing solutions to maximize learning.
Our overarching goal for this book is to help practitioners better assess the neurocognitive abilities of the students they intend to help. For us, this means using the PASS theory as measured by the CAS2 (as part of a comprehensive assessment process). This also means that this book is a call for the field of cognitive assessment to embrace a revolution in the way we define and measure ability. This requires that practitioners embrace a new way of describing human cognitive functioning that is conceptualized as neurocognitive functions so that we can be instrumental in helping children achieve their greatest potential.
Change is not always easy, and in fact, it requires looking at what we have known and done with a fresh perspective. PASS is an innovative way of thinking about ability, and the CAS2 is a new way to measure neurocognitive abilities. This book provides the scientific evidence to support this approach. We suggest that practitioners manage this necessary transition with the assurance that an evolutionary step in our field is most definitely needed given all we have learned in the past 100 years. As one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, noted: “I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws. But laws must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and opinions change, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.” Only though revolutionary change can we improve the evaluation of human cognitive function and better serve children and adolescents with learning needs.
Jack A. Naglieri
Tulio M. Otero
We would like to acknowledge the support that Alan and Nadeen Kaufman showed when they supported the publication of the Essentials of CAS Assessment, and now the Essentials of CAS2 Assessment in the Essentials series. Their recognition of the value of PASS theory as measured by the CAS and CAS2 is a clear endorsement of our efforts to measure neurocognitive processes rather than IQ. We also recognize Andrea F. Lupton for her excellent work with the manuscript, development of the figures and tables, and management of all the other details needed to make this book. The final product was much improved by her expert assistance. We also thank Steve Feifer for his very valuable contribution to the intervention chapter. Special recognition goes to my coauthor Tulio Otero for his outstanding work, excellent insights, and friendship. Finally, we thank all the staff at Wiley for their support and guidance throughout the publication process.