1. The Children’s Psychological Processes Scale (CPPS)
Dr. Milton J. Dehn

2. Children’s Psychological Processes Scale (CPPS) Brief Overview
Standardized teacher rating scale
Ages to
121 items across 11 subscales
Entirely online, internet-web based
Online administration time of 15 minutes
Online scoring and report
Author: Milton Dehn; published by Schoolhouse Educational Services, 2012
Measurement Consultant: Kevin McGrew

3. The Needs for the CPPS
IDEA definition of LD “disorder…..basic psychological processes”
Several states mandate a processing component for LD identification
Neuropsych interest
Even with RTI, some practitioners evaluate it
The previous processing rating scale (PPC) has limitations
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4. Uses of the CPPS LD Evaluations (Primary Purpose) Screening
Identify psych processing deficits
Pattern of strengths and weaknesses
Planning further assessment
Screening
Identifies need for intervention
Predicts academic skills development
Useful in planning comprehensive assessment
Measure progress during interventions
Through the use of change-sensitive W-scores

5. What is psychological processing?
Brain processes, operations, functions
Any time mental contents are operated on
When information is perceived, transformed, manipulated, stored, retrieved, expressed
Whenever we think, reason, problem-solve
Basic and higher level processes
Can’t learn and perform without processing
Learning depends on these processes
Doesn’t include knowledge or academic skills

6. What is a Processing Disorder?
A group of symptoms involving abnormal behaviors
A within child, brain-based deficit
That impairs academic learning
Not many official processing disorders
E.g. CAPD, aphasia, amnesia, dyspraxia

7. Evidence for a Processing Disorder and SLD Diagnosis
It’s not specific to one environment
A normative weakness (below average score)
Intra-individual: score is significantly weaker than predicted from discrepancy analysis
Best if it’s an intra-individual weakness and a normative weakness (this is a deficit; these are rare)
It’s impacting academic learning
The low psychological processes and low academics have research-based links
The linked process and academic skills both have low scores (consistency approach)

8. Processes and Academic Learning
Psychological processes are like “aptitudes”
Relations established through research
Flanagan et al., & McGrew’s review of research
Swanson, Geary, and others
The influence of processes varies by age
Look for academic area and related psychological processes to both be low

9. Characteristics of CPPS Processes
Brain-based
Interrelated
Necessary for academic learning
They underlie academic performance
They are broad processes
Observable in classroom
Processes can be validly assessed through ratings; similar to BRIEF

10. Psychological Processes Measured by the CPPS
Attention
Auditory Processing
Executive Functions
Fine Motor
Fluid Reasoning
Long-Term Recall
Oral Language
Phonological Processing
Processing Speed
Visual-Spatial Processing
Working Memory
General Processing Ability (Composite)

11. Attention In classroom: Necessary for learning
Attention deficits part of LD; not necessarily ADHD
Types: Selective, focused, divided, sustained
The problem is attentional control & lack of inhibition
On CPPS, links to Executive Functions and Working Memory

12. Auditory Processing
Ability to perceive, analyze, synthesize, and discriminate auditory stimuli, mainly speech
In classroom: Perceiving and comprehending instruction; being able to understand words with background noise

13. Executive Functions
Management of cognitive functions and psychological processes
Effectiveness depends on self-monitoring, self-regulation, and metacognition
Has a longer course of development
More to do with classroom performance than learning of academic skills

14. Fine Motor Hits developmental plateau by age 7
On CPPS, has weaker relations with cognitive processes in general but has strong relations with academics
On CPPS, pairs up with visual-spatial process.

15. Fluid Reasoning
Deductive, inductive reasoning, especially with novel materials
Has a longer course of development
More important for applied academics

16. Long-Term Recall
Close connection with other processes and with academic learning in general
Includes encoding, consolidation, storage, and retrieval
Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN) is part of

17. Oral Language
Not the content (vocabulary) or receptive language but the oral expression processes

18. Phonological Processing
Processing of phonemes, e.g. blending
Phonemic awareness is part of

19. Processing Speed
How quickly information flows through the processing system; a matter of efficiency
Too slow: info. lost, process not completed

20. Visual-Spatial Processing
The ability to perceive, analyze, synthesize, manipulate and think with visual patterns
A strength in most LD cases
Weak relations with all academics; more of a “threshold” process

21. Working Memory Processing while retaining information
On CPPS includes short-term memory
Both verbal and visual

22. General Processing Ability (GPA)
GPA score is the average of all process scores
Emerges from factor analysis; similar to concept of general intelligence
Processes function in an inter-related fashion
Most processes contribute to any given behavior, task
On CPPS defined as “the underlying efficiency of processing automaticity”

23. CPPS Items For report, grouped by subscale
In developmental (ability) order from lowest item to highest item

24. CPPS Development Initial pilot study with 75 items and 10 scales
Result: More range needed
Item tryout with 147 items
11 scales in standardization version
Items reduced to 121
Rasch item analysis used throughout
W-scale used throughout
Exploratory factor analysis

25. CPPS Standardization 1,121 students rated by 278 teachers
128 communities in 30 states
All data collected online
Demographics match U.S. Census well
Scores were weighted
Included children with disabilities
Demographics details

26. Reverse Scoring Relative to achievement & cognitive tests
High scores mean high difficulty and low ability
All items stated negatively
0 = Never; 1 = Sometimes; 2 = Often; 3 = Almost Always
Inconsistent ratings when positively stated items were tried during item tryout

27. Norms and Scores 4 age groups (5-6; 7-8; 9-10; 11-12)
T-scores derived from linear transformation of actual standardization distribution
T-Scores, W-Scores, confidence intervals, and conversion to standard scores

28. Sex Differences Boys have more processing problems
No sign. Sex differences in fluid reasoning, phonological, and visual-spatial
Norms not divided by sex
Combined sex norms better for identification

29. CPPS Administration
Online rating scale minutes for teachers to complete
Can print free paper copy and enter later
Must answer all items (but can save incomplete)
Responses: Never, Sometimes, Often, Almost Always
This file is stored, and then accessed for report

30. CPPS Report Brief narrative, graph, and a table of scores
Change-sensitive W-scores
T-scores; percentiles; confidence intervals
Intra-individual strengths and weakness discrepancy table
T-score to standard score converter
Can be re-run with different options (without a charge)

31. Item Printout
Teacher ratings can be viewed and printed, even before report generated
Numerical values will be shown
Grouped by subscale
Arranged in developmental/difficulty sequence from low to high

32. Discrepancy Analysis
Use discrepancy table to determine pattern of strengths and weaknesses
Predicted score based on mean of other 10
Regression toward the mean included
+/ to 2.00 SD of SEE discrepancy options
Strengths and Weakness labeling is opposite of discrepancy, e.g. “-” value = a strength
Non LD also have a pattern

33. Reliability
Internal consistency subscale reliability ranges from .88 to Link
.99 on Total Score
Inter-rater reliability
Range of .21 to .90
Median coefficient of 76.5

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

35. Validity: Developmental Evidence
Skewed distributions because
Very few children have processing problems
Fewer processing problems in older children
Most processes fully develop early
Teachers rate relative to that grade level
Dev. changes observed in younger children
Changes observed in upper half of problem distribution
W values used to arrange items in order

36. Factor and Cluster Analysis
A general factor; all subtests load on
General processing ability (GPA) may reflect processing efficiency or automaticity
More GPA presence with younger children
Second factor is Attention, EF, sometimes WM: Self-Regulatory Processes
Third factor is Fine Motor and Visual-Spatial: Visual-Motor processes
Results fairly consistent across age groups