Frequently Asked Questions
Can I assess a student below 7 years old?
If the student being assessed is younger than age 7:0, then Recall will use the norms for the age range 7:0 – 7:5 when analysing results, and this will almost certainly lead to an underestimation of their performance as chronological age generally has a major impact on performance in childhood.
It is also important to be aware that the tests in Recall were not designed for children under the age of 7; such children may find the tests too difficult, scoring at, or close to, what is called the ‘floor’ making results at lower levels more difficult to discriminate.
On the other hand, if a child under 7 is believed to be ahead of his or her peers in cognitive development, Recall may be useful in revealing how advanced their development is. Further information can be found in section 3.2.4 of the administrators manual. Consequently, use of Recall with students under the age of 7 is not recommended except under special circumstances as outlined above.
Can I assess a student older than 16:11?
Provided that assessors interpret results with care, Recall can be used with students older than 16:11*.
Students older than age 16:11 may occasionally create test ceiling issues - where students obtain the maximum raw score for a subtest (further information specific to subtests can be found in section 2.3.2 of the administrators manual). However, if the focus of interest are those students whose working memory is well below that of their peers, the lack of discriminatory power is not a serious concern.
If the student is older than 16:11 then the program will use the norms for age 16:6–16:11 when analysing scores. For this reason, when assessing students over age 16:11, age equivalents are the preferred form of scores. For further information see Section 3.2.4 of the administrators manual.
*Some regulations (e.g. JCQ regulations for exam access arrangements) insist that students being assessed are within the normed age range for the test.
Can I retest using Recall?
It is often desirable to retest a student after the initial assessment, either to monitor progress or because the first assessment was unreliable for some reason.
Please see Retesting with Recall in When to test with Recall for more information.