The Test of Information Processing Skills (TIPS) provides clinicians with quick and reliable measures of how well a person processes information (letter strings) presented visually and auditorily. Short-term and working memory responses show differences between sequenced and non-sequenced retention (a hallmark of those with learning disabilities). Error analyses (Proactive Inhibition and Auditory Intrusion) document the extent to which new information is lost or its retention is inhibited.
Ages: 5 through Adult (90+) Administration: Individual
Although TIPS had its genesis in the Learning Efficiency Test (R. Webster, 1981, 1992, and 1998), it features new items, new subtests (Delayed Recall and Word Fluency), new scoring procedures, and new national norms (N=3,314).
TIPS Performance Relates to:
Executive function
Working memory
Auditory processing and visual processing
Learning/retaining/organizing/using new information
TIPS assesses:
how a person (age 5 through 90+) processes information that is either seen or heard
how much information is retained (short term, working memory and delayed recall)
how it is retained (in the sequence presented or in a scrambled order)
the effects of interference on recall
semantic fluency
TIPS Subtest Descriptions: Visual and Auditory Modalities
Letter Strings are presented and the letters are recalled immediately, then recalled after an interference task (counting), then recalled again after a longer interference task (repeating a sentence)
Scores differentiate sequenced vs non-sequenced recall (letters recalled in the exact sequence as presented vs letters recalled out of sequence);
Error analysis provide measures of Acoustic Intrusion and Proactive Interference effects.
Delayed Recall Subtest (NEW)
Animal or fruits from the interference sentences are recalled
Word Fluency (NEW)
Word lists are generated orally within one-minute spans
Word lists are written within one-minute spans
Administration and Scoring The TIPS can be administered in about 30 minutes. Processing is assessed in two modalities (Visual and Auditory) and three recall conditions using strings of two to nine non-rhyming letters. Sequential and non-sequential scores are obtained; standard scores and percentile ranks are provided.
The Scoring Tutorial (Provided in the Manual) Walks the new user through the scoring procedures and includes a Practice Exercise with an Annotated Key
TEST KIT includes: Manual, Stimulus Card Booklet, 25 Protocols