The use of existing measures to test the cognitive functioning of children within the South African context

Abstract

This article explores the various arguments pertaining to the debate surrounding the use of cognitive measures developed and standardised in other countries in the South African context. We argue for both sides of the debate by offering arguments in support of, as well as against the use of existing measures to assess the cognitive ability and functioning of children in South Africa. We conclude that the cognitive testing of children in the South African context serves a useful purpose and that it would be best to make use of existing measures as opposed to developing new measures when assessing the cognitive ability of children. We do however; propose that when administering existing cognitive tests to children in South Africa, the clinical administrator should keep certain guidelines in mind. We briefly discuss some of these guidelines.