The Minnesota Executive Function Scale

The MEFS (Reflection Sciences, Inc.) is a tablet-based sorting task modeled on the DCCS (Zelazo, 2006), a widely used test of executive function for preschool children (see Figure 3). Performance on the DCCS (and MEFS) provides an index of the cognitive flexibility component of executive function, but also draws on working memory and inhibition components. In the standard version of the DCCS, children sort a series of bivalent test cards (e.g., blue trucks, red flowers) into boxes, first according to one dimension (e.g., color), and then according to the other (e.g., shape). Most 3-year-olds perseverate during the post-switch phase on the standard task, continuing to sort by the initial dimension. By 5 years, most children switch sorting dimensions when instructed to do so. In the MEFS, bivalent stimuli are presented on a tablet screen and children sort virtual cards into virtual boxes with a finger, first according to one dimension (e.g., color) and then the other (e.g., shape). The task has seven levels of difficulty and takes 4–5 min. If the child cannot drag and drop successfully, but can otherwise indicate the correct box, credit is given for the choice. The reliability and validity of the MEFS for children ages 2–13 years have been reported (Carlson, 2017). The MEFS software algorithm scores and summarizes the data from children’s responses and provides a global measure of executive functioning.

A 3-year-old boy completes a version of the Minnesota Executive Function Scale. Images show the Minnesota Executive Function Scale by Carlson and Zelazo (2014), Saint Paul, MN: Reflection Sciences, LLC. Copyright 2014 by Reflection Sciences, LLC. Reprinted with permission.