6
Executive function domains screened in one session
18
Mini-tests, all digitally administered with millisecond timing
90s
From last item to full clinical report
65%
Less time on scoring and write-up per learner
When you run EEF on a learner this week
Three things happen the same session. Not after the next team meeting. Not once the parent has approved a referral.
01
A full EF profile in 45 to 55 minutes
Six domains, eighteen mini-tests, real-time scoring. Millisecond-precise reaction times captured at hardware event level, not after the browser catches up. Adaptive stopping ends what the child has clearly mastered.
02
The EF pattern is named
EEF maps the score profile against known executive function patterns. Inhibition-dominant, working memory dominant, sustained attention lapse, slow processing speed. The report calls the pattern, not just the percentile.
03
The intervention plan is in the report
Metacognitive strategies, working memory scaffolds, self-monitoring routines, environmental accommodations, and referral guidance. Each recommendation tied to the specific subtest that flagged it.
Executive dysfunction shapes a child’s day. Standard tests barely see it.
Executive function is the traffic control system. When it lags, the child can read well and still not finish a task. Can do the math and still lose the homework. Can pass a spelling test and still forget the assignment was due.
Behavior rating scales like BRIEF-2 tell you what parents observe. What they cannot tell you is which cognitive system is causing the observation. Inhibition? Working memory? Set-shifting? The intervention lives in that answer.
EEF sits between the rating scale and the two-day neuropsych battery. Deep enough to name the pattern. Short enough to run in a single session.
Sources: Diamond 2013 executive function review; Willcutt et al. 2005 meta-analysis; Diamond & Ling 2016 EF training meta-analysis.
Rating scales tell you the child struggles. They cannot tell you why.
The BRIEF-2 gives you a T-score. The Conners gives you an index. Neither tells you whether the bottleneck is inhibition or working memory or set-shifting. Each of those points to a different intervention.
Six domains. Eighteen mini-tests.
Grounded in the Miyake and
Diamond frameworks.
The architecture follows the unity and diversity model of executive function (Miyake et al. 2000) and the three-core-EF framework (Diamond 2013). Each domain links to specific intervention approaches in the report.
Working Memory
5 mini-testsHolding and manipulating short-term information under load. The verbal and visuospatial storage systems and the central executive that reverses them.
- N-Back 1-back
- N-Back 2-back
- Digit Span forward
- Digit Span backward
- Spatial Span (Corsi)
Inhibitory Control
3 mini-testsSuppressing prepotent responses, filtering distractors, resisting the automatic answer. Where impulsivity lives before it becomes a rating-scale item.
- Stroop interference
- Flanker task
- Go / No-Go
Cognitive Flexibility
3 mini-testsShifting between rules, tasks, and mental sets. The system that lets a child stop, reorient, and try a different approach when the first one fails.
- Task Switching
- Card Sort (DCCS)
- Trail Making B
Sustained Attention
2 mini-testsHolding focus across a boring, low-event window. The construct rating scales approximate and vigilance batteries measure directly.
- Continuous Performance Test (CPT-AX)
- Slow-event Vigilance
Planning & Problem-Solving
2 mini-testsMulti-step look-ahead and goal-directed sequencing. Time-to-first-move is often the single most diagnostic metric on this page.
- Maze planning
- Tower of London
Processing Speed
3 mini-testsPerceptual, decision, and visual scanning speed. The tempo underneath every other domain. Slow processing looks like everything else until it is measured directly.
- Simple Reaction Time
- Symbol Search
- Choice Reaction Time
Executive function is 12 skills. Six can be measured with millisecond precision. EEF measures those six.
Research on executive function converges on roughly a dozen distinct skills. Some can be quantified directly with a performance task and a stopwatch. Others live in observable behavior over weeks and months. EEF is honest about the difference.
Response Inhibition
EEFStopping an automatic action, resisting impulse, thinking before responding.
Stroop · Flanker · Go/No-Go
Working Memory
EEFHolding information in mind while using it, especially under load or reversal.
Digit Span · N-Back · Spatial Span
Response Inhibition
EEFShifting between rules, tasks, or perspectives when the situation changes.
Task Switching · DCCS · Trail Making B
Sustained Attention
EEFMaintaining focus across a long, low-event window without lapsing.
CPT-AX · Slow-event Vigilance
Planning & Prioritization
EEFMulti-step look-ahead, sequencing actions, choosing the efficient path.
Maze planning · Tower of London
Processing Speed
EEFThe tempo of perception, decision, and motor output that underlies every domain.
Simple RT · Choice RT · Symbol Search
Processing Speed
Rating scaleThe tempo of perception, decision, and motor output that underlies every domain.
Simple RT · Choice RT · Symbol Search
Task Initiation
ObservationStarting a task without procrastinating, especially when it feels effortful or unpleasant.
Best captured by behavioral observation & parent report
Organization
ObservationArranging materials, information, and physical space so they can be found and used.
Best captured by classroom observation & work samples
Time Management
Rating scaleEstimating how long a task will take, staying inside deadlines, using time efficiently.
Best captured by BRIEF-2, teacher report, task-completion logs
Processing Speed
LongitudinalSticking with a goal despite obstacles, distractions, and competing rewards.
Best captured by longitudinal observation across weeks
Metacognition
Self-reportThinking about one’s own thinking. Self-monitoring, self-evaluation, self-correction.
Best captured by BRIEF-2 Metacognition Index & interview
The complete workflow. Run EEF for the six cognitive-performance domains where milliseconds matter. Pair with a validated behavior-rating scale for the six real-world skills where weeks of observation matter. Together they give you the full profile. Rating scales alone leave you guessing which cognitive system is behind the behavior. EEF alone leaves you blind to how it plays out in a classroom.
Four EF patterns. Four different intervention paths.
“Executive dysfunction” is a category. Inside it sit clinically distinct profiles that respond to different approaches. EEF maps the score profile to the pattern, so the intervention is the right one.
Inhibition-dominant profile
The response-suppression pattern
Commission errors climb on Go/No-Go. Stroop interference is high. The child answers before the question ends. Often paired with an ADHD combined or hyperactive-impulsive presentation.
EEF flags via · high commission errors on Go/No-Go, elevated Stroop interference, fast-then-wrong response profile on Flanker incongruent trials.
Working memory dominant profile
The holding-and-manipulating pattern
Forward span is intact. Backward span collapses. Two-back accuracy sits well below one-back. The child understands the instruction but cannot keep it while executing the task. Homework starts strong and drifts.
EEF flags via · large forward-backward digit span gap, low 2-back d′, weak spatial span with intact simple RT.
Sustained attention lapse profile
The time-on-task pattern
Early trials look typical. Late trials collapse. CPT shows a decrement across blocks. Vigilance hit rate slides after minute three. Consistent with ADHD inattentive presentation and the mind-wandering literature.
EEF flags via · block-position decrement on CPT-AX, elevated RT variability, missed dim-events on slow-event vigilance.
Slow processing speed profile
The tempo pattern
Accuracy is often intact. Speed is not. Simple RT is elevated, Choice RT is disproportionately worse. Symbol Search completed items sit below age-band. Frequently misread as anxiety or perfectionism.
EEF flags via · median Simple RT and Choice RT well above age norms, low Symbol Search item count, large Hick effect (Choice minus Simple RT).
Marcus, Grade 6, 11 years old
Bright. Verbal. Reading comprehension at grade level. And an executive profile his teacher had been calling “just needs to try harder” for two years.
Marcus T.
Grade 6 · Age 11 · Screened Feb 2026
Working memory (below age band)
Inhibitory control (needs support)
Sustained attention (on track)
Processing speed (typical)
Marcus’s sustained attention was on track. His processing speed was age-typical. His verbal reasoning is strong. A BRIEF-2 alone would have shown elevated behavior regulation and metacognition indices without telling anyone which cognitive system was actually the bottleneck.
EEF found it in the working memory and inhibition profile. Backward Digit Span sat two standard deviations below forward span, a large gap that says the storage buffer is fine but the executive that reverses it is overloaded. Two-back d′ collapsed. Go/No-Go commission errors ran at 28 percent, well above the age-band ceiling of 8 percent.
Stroop interference hit 240 milliseconds. Flanker effect was elevated. The pattern maps to a combined inhibition and working memory presentation, consistent with ADHD combined type and the executive dysfunction that shows up in the classroom as “impulsive, forgets instructions, cannot finish.”
Behavioral observations the report captured:
- Reached for the response button before the stimulus fully appeared on three practice trials
- Verbal rehearsal audible during Digit Span backward, indicating compensation
- Motor restlessness increased during the CPT block, yet accuracy stayed intact
- Self-corrected after commission errors, then re-committed the same error
EEF named the pattern as inhibition and working memory driven executive dysfunction, consistent with ADHD combined presentation. The intervention plan started the following week with working memory scaffolds (chunked instructions, written checklists), inhibition training (Stop-Think-Go routines, self-monitoring), classroom accommodations (extended time, movement breaks), and a referral for a formal ADHD evaluation with the pediatrician.
EEF gave us the cognitive map the BR
EEF gave us the cognitive map the BRIEF could not. We stopped guessing and started the right intervention the following Monday. The pediatrician had a clean data package for the ADHD evaluation, which arrived six weeks earlier than it would have otherwise.
— Educational Psychologist, partner clinic
Three steps. One session.
From learner intake to a clinical report you can hand a parent the same afternoon.
1
Add the learner
Name, grade, country. Note any prior diagnoses, rating scale scores, or accommodations. EEF picks the age-appropriate battery automatically.
About 15 seconds
2
Run the mini-tests
Eighteen tasks across six domains. Instructions animate, practice trials gate the scored block, and the validity engine watches for fast-guessing, drift, and disengagement in the background.
45 to 55 minutes
3
Get the report
Domain profile, pattern match, behavioral observations, clinical interpretation, intervention plan, accommodations, and referral guidance. Parent-ready and school-ready.
About 90 seconds
Miyake & Diamond framework aligned
GDPR compliant
FERPA aligned
HIPAA-aligned data handling
MTSS / RTI ready
WCAG 2.2 AA
Millisecond-precise timing
Before you sign up
Practitioners on MyMemoryMentor
Executive Function Assessment · EEF
Individual dashboard
The response-suppression pattern
Domain profile
Six-domain performance view
Clinical report
Pattern match and interpretation
Intervention plan
Subtest-linked recommendations
Child screen
Test administration view
Progress tracking
Session-over-session trajectory
See the full EEF flow on real learners in your practice.
No card. No commitment. Then decide if EEF earns its place.
Are you a parent looking to book a single EEF evaluation for your child? Book directly here →