Frequently Asked Questions about the MEFS App™
Administration time is usually 3-6 minutes. The scale is computer-adaptive, and programmed to figure out the limits of a child’s performance quickly (for most children, only 2-3 levels need to be administered).
Yes. Re-test reliability is consistently very high (greater than .90).
Yes. The MEFS App™ has been validated as a robust measure of age-related changes in Executive Function in young children. The MEFS App™ is highly correlated with other full-length batteries of Executive Function and is predictive of kindergarten readiness measures of math and literacy (independent of IQ). Children known to have Executive Function impairments perform more poorly on the MEFS App ™ assessment.
See Technical Report for details.
No. The MEFS App was designed to provide a brief, comprehensive assessment of emerging Executive Function skills. There is a large body of data showing that Executive Function is a unitary construct in early childhood.
Yes. It is currently offered in the following 16 languages: English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Dutch, German (Swiss), Swedish, Somali, Hmong, French, Arabic, Turkish, Welsh, Cantonese, Czech, Russian and Vietnamese.
Yes. The MEFS App is portable and brief, which is important for field settings.
Yes, the app does require that your tablet has an internet connection. A Wi-Fi “hotspot” is recommended for remote areas.
Yes. The MEFS App has been used successfully with children from a wide range of backgrounds, from very disadvantaged (homeless) to very privileged. The items have been chosen to be familiar and engaging for most children.
Yes. There is a “home” button to start over.
The MEFS App is designed to be administered individually to ensure that young children are fully attentive and that the results give an accurate portrayal of their Executive Function skills.
The MEFS App™ is designed for use across a wide range of ability levels, from very low to very high functioning children. Children must understand the language the MEFS App™ is administered in, and have normal or corrected to normal vision and hearing. Children must also be able to interact with a tablet touchscreen.
The MEFS App is compatible with iOS (Apple) and OS (Android) platforms. For iOS iPads, the requirements include: iOS 9.0 or newer, 2 GB RAM, 4 Core Processor, and 8 GB Internal Memory. MEFS is not compatible with the iPad Mini, as the screen is too small (verified tablet size is 8-11″). For OS Android tablets, the requirements include: Android 5.0 or newer, 2 GB RAM, 4 Core Processor, and 8 GB Internal Memory.
Children as young as 2 years of age find the tablet very engaging and catch on quickly to “touch” and “drag” features. Practice trials are included to give children a chance to learn how to drag the images. For novices, we suggest warming up with a game that involves dragging, such as, “Fruits Drag-and-Drop Shadow Puzzle Game”.
The MEFS App is designed to sensitively capture Executive Function skills in individuals ages 2 to 85+. It can be used with very low functioning and very high functioning individuals within this age range. For older children and adults, there are modifications to the presentation.
No. The MEFS App™ is not intended to be a diagnostic tool, although it provides reliable and valid information about a child’s current level of proficiency and growth in Executive Function. A child’s information can be compared to norms and instructional goals, including state standards.
Yes. Recent analyses of large samples show that females perform slightly better than males on average.
Yes, the MEFS App™ can be used to detect Executive Function difficulties in incoming kindergartners, however, it is not just a screener. It is also sensitive to individual differences and growth in normative and high-functioning children. For these reasons, the MEFS App™ can be used as a formative assessment in combination with Executive Function-focused activities.
No. There has been no evidence of practice effects when the MEFS App is re-administered (different forms) the same day, after several days, or after two weeks.
It is not possible to “memorize” answers. Nonetheless, we recommend using alternate forms of the scale (with different combinations of shapes and colors) when re-administering the MEFS App to the same child.
The colors have been chosen to be discriminable for most forms of color blindness.
Most likely, yes. All items were chosen based on research showing which words for colors and animals children typically learn first. All images and colors are labeled by the Examiner.
Your child’s data is not stored on your device. Instead, you can access your data by going to admin.reflectionsciences.com and entering the login information provided to you after your training was completed. From our admin portal, you can download Individual and Group Reports and see various representations of your organization’s data.
A strong training program ensures that your child’s data and our norms are valid. You will complete a 2+ hour online, self-paced training course followed by personal practice with the MEFS App™.
Frequently Asked Questions about the MEFS App™
Administration time is usually 3-6 minutes. The scale is computer-adaptive, and programmed to figure out the limits of a child’s performance quickly (for most children, only 2-3 levels need to be administered).
Yes. Re-test reliability is consistently very high (greater than .90).
Yes. The MEFS App has been validated as a robust measure of age-related changes in Executive Function in young children, highly correlated with full-length batteries of Executive Function, predictive of kindergarten readiness measures of math and literacy (independent of IQ), and children known to have Executive Function impairments perform more poorly on the MEFS assessment. (See Technical Report for details.)
No. The MEFS App was designed to provide a brief, comprehensive assessment of emerging Executive Function skills. There is a large body of data showing that Executive Function is a unitary construct in early childhood.
Yes. It is currently available in English, Spanish, Dutch, German (Swiss), Swedish, Mandarin Chinese, Somali, Hmong, French, and Arabic. Please contact Reflection Sciences to request additional language versions.
Yes. The MEFS App is portable and brief, which is important for field settings.
Yes, the app does require that your tablet has an internet connection. A Wi-Fi “hotspot” is recommended for remote areas.
Yes. The MEFS App has been used successfully with children from a wide range of backgrounds, from very disadvantaged (homeless) to very privileged. The items have been chosen to be familiar and engaging for most children.
Yes. There is a “home” button to start over.
The MEFS App is designed to be administered individually to ensure that young children are fully attentive and that the results give an accurate portrayal of their Executive Function skills.
The MEFS App is designed for use across a wide range of ability levels, from very low to very high, but children must understand the language of testing, and have normal or corrected to normal vision and hearing. They must also be able to interact with a tablet touchscreen.
The MEFS App is compatible with iOS (Apple) and OS (Android) platforms. For iOS iPads, the requirements include: iOS 8.0 or newer, 2 GB RAM, 4 Core Processor, and 8 GB Internal Memory. We do not recommend using the iPad Mini, as the screen is too small. For OS Android tablets, the requirements include: Android 5.0 or newer, 2 GB RAM, 4 Core Processor, and 8 GB Internal Memory.
Children as young as 2 years of age find the tablet very engaging and catch on quickly to “touch” and “drag” features. Practice trials are included to give children a chance to learn how to drag the images. For novices, we suggest warming up with a game that involves dragging, such as, “Where’s My Water?”
The MEFS App is designed to sensitively capture Executive Function skills in individuals ages 2 to 85+. It can be used with very low functioning and very high functioning individuals within this age range. For older children and adults, there are modifications to the presentation.
No. The MEFS App is not intended to be a diagnostic tool, although it provides reliable and valid information about a child’s current level of proficiency and growth in Executive Function relative to norms and instructional goals, including state standards.
Yes. Recent analyses of large samples show that females perform slightly better than males on average.
Yes, the MEFS App can be used to detect Executive Function difficulties in rising kindergartners, however, it is not just a screener. It is sensitive to individual differences and growth in normative and high-functioning children, and thus also can be used as a formative assessment in combination with Executive Function-focused activities.
No. There has been no evidence of practice effects when the MEFS App is re-administered (different forms) the same day, after several days, or after two weeks.
It is not possible to “memorize” answers. Nonetheless, we recommend using alternate forms of the scale (with different combinations of shapes and colors) when re-administering the MEFS App to the same child.
The colors have been chosen to be discriminable for most forms of color blindness.
Most likely, yes. All items were chosen based on research showing which words for colors and animals children typically learn first. All images and colors are labeled by the Examiner.
Data are not stored on your portable tablet. Instead, you can access your data by going to www.executivefunctionassessment.com and entering the login information provided to you after you had completed training. Here, you can download PDF Individual Reports, as well as an excel Group Report of your group as a whole.
A strong training program ensures that your data and the norms are valid. Brief in-person or online training is followed by personal practice and certification, totaling approximately 3 hours of time.