Working Memory Rating Scale (WMRS)

Dr T Packiam Alloway, S Gathercole & H Kirkwood

The Working Memory Rating Scale (WMRS) is a behavioural rating scale developed for teachers to facilitate easy identification of children with working memory deficits.

Currently, teachers rarely identify memory as a source of difficulty in children with working memory problems, despite their poor classroom functioning. Instead, children with memory problems are typically described as inattentive. The WMRS will increase the chances of the detection and subsequent effective support in school for children with deficits of working memory.

The WMRS was developed on the basis of interviews with teachers and consists of 22 items. It provides a quick and efficient way for early identification of working memory problems that will impair learning.