Measuring Children’s Attention Span: A Microcomputer Assessment Technique

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Abstract
The purpose of this research was to obtain development norms on a microcomputer-based test of attention. The test assessed subjects’ ability to attend to a pictorial signal over a specified period of time. The average interstimulus interval (ISI) and the false alarm rate (responding positively to a nontarget signal) were used as outcome measures in the test. The test was given to 115 boys and 117 girls ranging in grade levels K to 9. To assess performance stability over time, the test was administered to each student twice. Portions of the test were given with and without the presence of pictorial distractors. The relationship of the attention scores to various social and behavioral indices was also assessed. The research indicated that boys had a significantly higher overall false alarm rate than girls. Attentional ability, as defined by the interstimulus interval scores, increased only up through grade 5. Students improved in overall performance from the first to the second test session. Distractors had no clear impact on either of the outcome measures. Both the false alarm rate and the ISI scores were related to behavioral ratings of activity during the test sessions. Scores on an abbreviated Conners checklist measure also correlated significantly with both outcome measures. Implications of the findings are discussed.