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Documentation · 1947

Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices: Color-coded matrices for children and elderly

The simpler color-coded variant of Raven's Progressive Matrices, designed for children ages 5-11, elderly adults, and individuals with intellectual disability. 36 items in 3 sets of 12. Same logic as the Standard Progressive Matrices but with color cues and easier difficulty gradient.

Read About the Test

About the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices

In 1947 John Raven extended his 1936 Standard Progressive Matrices with a "Coloured" version designed for populations where the standard form was too difficult: young children, elderly adults, and individuals with intellectual disability. The coloured backgrounds made patterns more salient and the difficulty gradient was gentler.

CPM has 36 items in three sets: Set A (12 items, simple pattern completion), Set Ab (12 items, transitional difficulty), and Set B (12 items, similar to easier items of the Standard form). Each item presents a 2x3 matrix with one cell missing; the subject picks the missing piece from 6 options.

CPM remains widely used in pediatric neuropsychology, gerontology, and intellectual disability assessment. Updated norms from 1986 (Court & Raven) and 2000 (Raven, Raven, & Court) extended its useful life. Pearson currently distributes CPM and the newer CPM-Parallel form (1998).

Copyright note: Coloured Progressive Matrices designs are copyrighted (Pearson). We document the test format with illustrative samples.

The 3 subtests

#1
Set A 12 items: simple pattern completion.
Copyrighted
#2
Set Ab 12 items: intermediate analogical reasoning.
Copyrighted
#3
Set B 12 items: more complex analogies.
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Sample Items (Illustrative)

Items are presented as visual puzzles requiring pattern recognition or analogical reasoning. Participants select the correct option from multiple choices. Scoring is based on the number of correct responses.

Sample 1 · Set A
Complete the pattern: A series of four squares is shown, each with a simple geometric shape inside. The first three squares contain a circle, a triangle, and a square, respectively. What shape should be in the fourth square?
Example response: A circle, as the pattern repeats every three shapes.
Sample 2 · Set Ab
Analogical reasoning: A series of three pairs of shapes is shown. The first pair is a small circle and a large circle. The second pair is a small triangle and a large triangle. What should the third pair be?
Example response: A small square and a large square, as the analogy is based on size and shape.
Sample 3 · Set B
Complex analogy: A sequence of three geometric patterns is given, each increasing in complexity. The first pattern is a single dot, the second is a dot with a surrounding circle, and the third is a dot with a surrounding circle and an additional enclosing square. What should the fourth pattern be?
Example response: A dot with a surrounding circle, an enclosing square, and an additional enclosing triangle, as each step adds a new geometric layer.

These are illustrative samples, not actual items from the protected test.

Source

All test materials and historical content on this page are transcribed from:

Raven, J.C. (1947). Coloured Progressive Matrices. London: H.K. Lewis.

Coloured Progressive Matrices was published by H.K. Lewis (later Pearson). The matrices designs themselves are copyrighted. We document the test format.

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