The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABC) is a clinical tool used to assess mental processing and cognitive development in children. Designed for children between the ages of 2.5 and 12.5, the intelligence test integrates the most recent developments in psychological theory with statistical methodology.
The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, first introduced in 1983, was revised in 2004 as the KABC -II. The second edition widened the scope and age range of the test. The revised edition measures the cognitive and processing abilities of children and adolescents between 3 and 18 years of age.
The clinical test actually consists of a series of subtests developed by Alan S. Kaufman and Nadine L. Kaufman. The American psychologists, a husband-and-wife team, are known for their work in intelligence testing and learning disabilities.
The Kaufman cognitive test is grouped into four or five scales, depending on the child's age and the chosen interpretive model. The battery includes simultaneous, sequential, planning, learning, and knowledge scales.
The simultaneous scale contains the largest number of subtests. Processing and cognitive testing includes triangles, block counting, face recognition, conceptual thinking, pattern reasoning, story completion, rover, and gestalt closure.
The sequential scale uses number recall, word order, and hand movements to assess a child's cognitive abilities. The planning scale of cognitive testing includes pattern reasoning and story completion. The learning scale makes use of Atlantis (nonsense names) and rebus (drawings) to test mental processing. The knowledge scale features an intelligence test using riddles, verbal knowledge, and expressive vocabulary.
The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children identifies a child's strengths and weaknesses in cognitive ability and mental processing. The test provides valuable information and feedback for clinical, educational, and treatment planning as well as placement decisions.
