A stamp, and 120 seconds of bugs

The first task, matching, is a look at visual attention, speed, and accuracy, for children from 4 years 0 months to 7 years 7 months. The child has to find, among options and in a set time, the bug pictures that match a target bug, and to mark them with a stamp.

The table is practical. There is a manual for how the test is to be given, a record sheet, a response sheet the child works on, a stamp, a stopwatch, a scoring stencil, and tissue or a wet wipe for the ink. Before anything is scored, the child practises stamping on the back of the first response sheet, and is told to press lightly. A demonstration item comes next: the examiner points to a sample target and to the options, and says, “find this picture here and stamp it.” Practice items follow, with more explanation and demonstration until the child responds correctly. If the child still does not understand the task, the test is stopped.

Timing starts as soon as the instructions end, and stops when every item is done or 120 seconds have passed. If the time runs out, 120 seconds is recorded; if the child finishes earlier, the exact time is recorded. The examiner starts the scored pages with “please begin,” turns each page as soon as it is finished, and helps the child not to skip an item. The stencil shows the target and the correct pictures. The number correct (C) and the number wrong (I) go on the record sheet; the raw score is C minus I, and is not recorded below zero. If the subtraction would go below zero, zero is written.

A page looked at, then found again

Picture memory looks at visual memory, attention, and accuracy. In the younger band it is given to children from 2 years 6 months to 3 years 11 months. The child looks, for a short time, at a stimulus page with one or more pictures, then finds the remembered pictures among options on a response page. Booklet 2 holds the stimulus and response pages; a stopwatch is used so that the looking time is exact.

Practice items SA through item 6 show the stimulus for three seconds; items SB through 35 show it for five seconds. Younger children start at item 1. On a more complex band, children aged 6 and over start at item 9, after practice SA and SB; if an intellectual difficulty is suspected, they start at item 1. If a child picks more than one picture, the examiner says, “choose only one picture,” and if the child tries to change an answer, the intended choice is confirmed. If the child names a picture instead of pointing, they are asked to point. If they ask whether the pictures must be pointed to in order, they are told that they need not.

A soft extra instruction — “try concentrating a little more” — may be used when the child is struggling or has been wrong several times, but the answer itself is not given.

Blocks, a six-millimetre gap, and two more tasks

In block design, the child uses one- or two-colour blocks to copy, in a time limit, a model or a picture. The materials are a manual, a record sheet, a booklet of models and pictures, a set of blocks, and a stopwatch. In an early set the work starts at item 1, with the words, “try to make this shape with these blocks.” In a later booklet, 4- and 5-year-olds start at item 4, and children aged 6 and over at item 9. The work stops after two consecutive scores of zero. If a child aged 6 or over does not get full marks on the first two items, the examiner goes backward until two items in a row are fully correct.

Scoring is close to the table. A gap or a misalignment of six millimetres or less — about a quarter of a block’s length — can still receive a score. More than six millimetres is treated as wrong.

The same guide also sets out a general-knowledge task, in which a child chooses a picture or answers in words. Picture items 1 to 4 include a prompt such as “point to something you can eat.” That work stops after three consecutive scores of zero, and goes backward if the first two items are not fully correct. A matrix-reasoning task shows an incomplete pattern and asks which picture would fit, so that the child has to analyse what they see and choose among options.

Why the stamp, the page, and the blocks are kept together

The point is not a single number. It is to give each task in the same way, to stop when the child cannot go on, and to let a stamp, a remembered picture, and a small gap in a block be recorded as they were done. The same Korean report, at fuller length, is on CampusDown.

Sources

1. Administration guide for young-child intelligence-test tasks: matching (bug search), picture memory, and block design, with general-knowledge and matrix-reasoning items also set out (Korean source page).
2. Matching: ages 4:0 to 7:7; 120-second limit; raw score as number correct minus number incorrect, not recorded below zero; stamp practice and scoring stencil as described.
3. Picture memory: ages 2:6 to 3:11 in the younger band; stimulus shown for three seconds on items SA through 6, and for five seconds on items SB through 35; older children start at item 9 unless an intellectual difficulty is suspected.
4. Block design: one- or two-colour blocks; discontinue after two consecutive scores of zero; 4- and 5-year-olds start at item 4, children aged 6 and over at item 9, with a reverse rule; a gap or misalignment of six millimetres or less may still score. General-knowledge picture items, including “point to something you can eat,” and matrix reasoning, as set out in the same guide.

Last updated: 14 November 2026