Normed for ages 2:6 to 17:11 (Usual age range is 3:0 to 7:11; Out of level age ranges are 2:6 to 2:11 and 8:0 to 17:11).

This subtest assesses short-term visual recognition in contrast to visual recall on the Recall of Designs subtest. The child is shown a picture of one or more objects for 5 to 10 seconds and then, when shown a page with the same as well as other distracter pictures, is asked to recognize (by pointing) the objects shown originally. The examiner does not name the objects. Success on this task typically involves the ability to recognize and remember visual images, some of which include discriminating among various details.

The subtest contains a total of 20 items, each scored as 1 or 0. Two starting points are available (age 2:6 to 4:11 start at item 1 while 5:0 to 17:11 start at item 5). Items 1 through 15 are exposed for 5 seconds, while items 16 to 20 have a 10-second exposure time.

The Recognition of Pictures subtest is considered a fair measure of g for ages 2:6 to 3:5 (r = .52) and a poor measure of g for all remaining subtests (mean r = 45). Specificity is ample for all age groups 2:6 to 17:11.

Recognition of Pictures is considered to possess low overall reliability (r = .72), with reliability coefficients ranging from .00 to .80 across all of the age groups It has low correlations with all other subtests (mean r =.28) in the battery.

Gf-Gc classification

In the Broad stratum definition of abilities, Recognition of Pictures is considered to be a logical measure of both Visual Processing (Gv). In the Narrow stratum of abilities, it is considered to be a probable measure of Visual Memory (MV) (McGrew & Flanagan, 1998, p. 116).

The Recognition of Pictures subtest is described on pages 251 to 254 in the DAS Administration and Scoring Manual and discussed on page 69 in the DAS Introductory and Technical Handbook Rather than trying to time each exposure period by starting and stopping the stopwatch, simply keep the watch running and gauge the 5 or 10 second interval with the running time.

For any item on which the child points to a single item but not all of the target figures, examiners should ask the child if there are any more. This query may be done only once per item.

Only the Preschool record form contains a scoring key for this subtest. The key is presented in two ways: how the examiner sees the card and how the child sees the card. Examiners should practice scoring this subtest several times to get acquainted with this scoring key.

Children sometimes fail to anticipate the increasing difficulty of items and miss one or two before they realize that they must study the pictures more carefully. It is noteworthy if a child continues not to use the full exposure time even after failing an item.