Cognitive flexibility explained

What is cognitive flexibility?

Cognitive flexibility is switching between rules, tasks or ways of thinking, such as matching by colour and then by shape, or trying another approach when the first one stalls. It's an executive function, one of the thinking skills that develop a great deal through childhood. Pupils use it when a lesson moves on to a new activity, when a method isn't working or when plans change.

How our test measures it

Our Colours & Shapes task (Task Switching) shows the pupil a coloured shape and tells them to match it by colour or by shape, switching between the two rules. It's part of the Executive Functioning screener for pupils aged 7 to 16, and the score takes account of both accuracy and speed.

Implications (in class and at home)

In class, a pupil who finds switching harder may keep using a method after it has stopped working, find it hard to move from one activity to the next, or get stuck when a task changes partway through. At home, a change of plan or routine can be harder to manage.

Implications of a low score in our test

A low score on Colours & Shapes suggests the pupil found it harder than most pupils their age to switch between rules on this task. Because the score includes speed, read it alongside the processing speed tasks: low scores in every area, including processing speed, are more consistent with a general learning difficulty than with a specific executive function profile. Scores are also sensitive to sleep, mood and motivation on the day, and the norms are first-generation, from 560 pupils in 13 schools. A screening result is not a diagnosis, so read it alongside what you see in class.