The concurrent validity of the Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test for Mexican-American children

The Expressive One-Word, Picutre Vocabulary Test (EOWPVT) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) were administered to 50 bilingual, Mexican-American children in grades 3-5. The students' relative performance on these two vocabulary tests, as well as their error patterns, was examied. The results revealed that the EOWPVT has adequate concurrent validity with the PPVT-R, and that on both tests the students' scores were almost two standard deviations below the normative mean. The outcome indicating that the expressive vocabulary score was higher than the receptive vocabulary score is explained in terms of differences of item content and in the composition of the norm samples for the two tests. Items that generated high error rates are identified to facilitate appropriate interpretation of the EOWPVT when used with Mexican-American children.     

Reliability of the Raven coloured progressive matrices for Anglo and for Mexican-American children

The present study investigated the internal consistency reliability estimates of the Raven Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM) for Anglo and Mexican-American third-grade boys from low socioeconomic status background. The results showed that the reliability estimates of the CPM for the two ethnic groups were acceptably high and extremely similar in magnitude. In light of these findings, plus previous cross-cultural reliability studies of the CPM, it appears that the CPM is a promising nonverbal intelligence measure when used with children of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.     

Bias in content validity on the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts for White and Mexican-American children

Item bias on Forms A and B of the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts was examined for a sample of White and Mexican-American kindergarten children. The method employed to detect biased items, as defined by an items-by-group interaction, was a two-way analysis of variance with followup being conducted with a Bonferroni-type procedure. Bias-in-item difficulty occurred for both groups, which does not conform to the current popular press view that bias is against ethnic minorities and not against the White majority. The finding that on some items the Mexican-American group out-performed the White group indicates the need to examine carefully the question of bias and to reconsider popular conceptualizations of the many issues of bias in educational and psychological testing.     

Internal consistency of the PIAT with Mexican-American children

The Peabody Individual Achievement Test was administered to matched samples of 30 Mexican-American and 30 Anglo-American children. Split-half reliabilities for both groups were similar to stability reliabilities found in standardization. Indices of internal consistency and standard errors of measurement were generally equivalent for groups. It was concluded that the PIAT is as reliabel with Mexican-American children as with their Anglo counterparts.     

Relationship between WISC-R and WRAT in children referred for learning difficulties

Correlations between the WISC-R Full, Verbal, Performance, and Freedom from Distractibility Scale IQs, WISC-R subtest scaled scores, and Wide Range Achievement Test Reading, Spelling, and Arithmetic standard scores were computed for a sample of 114 children (64 boys, 50 girls), aged 6 to 16 years, who were referred for psychological evaluation because of academic or learning difficulties. The Full Scale IQ, Verbal Scale IQ, and Freedom from Distractibility IQ correlated moderately with the three achievement area standard scores (rs of .48 to .59). However, the Performance Scale IQ correlated minimally with reading and spelling scores (rs of .26 and .27), but moderately with arithmetic scores (r = .40). The results support the concurrent validity of the WISC-R.     

Normative achievement assessment of gifted children: Comparing the K-ABC,WRAT, and CAT

The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) purports to assess fluid and crystallized intelligence via processing and achievement subtests, respectively. Eight K-ABC Mental Processing and five K-ABC Achievement subtests were administered to 41 gifted students. Scores were subsequently compared to concurrent achievement measures from the California Achievement Test (CAT), as well as previously obtained mental ability measures (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised [WISC-R], Stanford-Binet [SB], and Wide Range Achievement Test [WRAT] achievement scores). In general, K-ABC mental ability scores were lower than WISC-R and SB IQs. K-ABC achievement scores were consistent with K-ABC mental ability scores, but more highly related to SB and WISC-R VIQ (r = .42 and .40, respectively) than to WISC-R FSIQ (r = .16) and PIQ (r = .09), or to the K-ABC Mental Processing (Composite r = .17), Simultaneous Processing (r = .08), and Sequential Processing scores (r = .20). With the exception of WRAT Word Recognition, WRAT, K-ABC, and CAT achievement scores were similar. The patterns of intercorrelations suggest that the K-ABC achievement scores are more verbally loaded than are the CAT and WRAT achievement measures.     

Relationship between the WRAT and WRAT-R

Level II of the Wide Range Achievement Test and the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised were administered to 45 subjects. The results indicated that the WRAT-R standard scores were significantly lower (8–11 points) than the WRAT Standard scores for Reading, Spelling, and Arithmetic. Correlations between the standard scores of the two tests were .98, .97, and .79 for Reading, Spelling, and Arithmetic, respectively. Reasons for the lower arithmetic correlation are discussed. Vocational and guidance counselors, school psychologists, and other users should consider these findings when using WRAT and WRAT-R scores in making academic/vocational or other placement decisions. The WRAT-R should be used as a screening, not diagnostic, instrument for academic problems.     

英语口语测试的信度与效度分析

英语口语考试的信度和效度受口试形式、评分标准和考官素质等多方面因素的影响。提高英语口试的效度和信度,需坚持英语口试形式与内容的统一,设计出科学、客观并具有可操作性的评分标准。高信度与效度的英语口语测试对教学具有积极的反拨作用。     

Reliability and validity of the Learning Styles Questionnaire

The reliability and predictive validity of a short form of Honey and Mumford's Learning Styles Questionnaire were examined. Students' learning preferences were measured by self-report ratings on their degree of likings for 19 teaching and learning activities commonly used in higher and professional education. Subjects were 381 second-year undergraduates enrolled in accountancy, engineering and communication programmes at the Hong Kong Polytechnic. The alpha coefficients for the four learning styles scales were quite low, ranging from 0.311 for the Pragmatist scale to 0.421 for the Reflector scale. Factor analysis of the items did not reveal any coherent factor structure congruent with the underlying constructs. However, significant though weak correlations were found between the learning styles scores and the learning preferences of the students as hypothesised.     

The relationship between the WISC-III and the WRAT3 in a sample of rural referred children

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between the Wechsler Intelligence Test for Children-III and the Wide Range Achievement Test, 3rd Edition. The study investigated the scores of 37 children in a rural Arkansas school district who were referred for evaluation because of academic difficulties. The children ranged in age from 6 to 16 years and included 35 Whites and 2 Blacks, with 22 males and 15 females. The findings indicated that the WRAT3 correlations with the WISC-III ranged from .42 to .66. These findings are consistent with others on the general correlations between IQ and achievement test scores.     

Predicting academic performance of Anglo and Mexican-American kindergarten children

Sixty-two kindergarten children from three cultural/language backgrounds (Anglo, English-speaking; Mexican-American, English-speaking; and Mexican-American, Spanish-speaking) were screened for school readiness with three techniques: a series of Piagetian-based mathematical tasks, a number proficiency measure, and kindergarten teachers' ratings. One year later, first-grade performance was assessed through standardized tests and teachers' ratings. The predictive accuracy of kindergarten measures varied according to ethnicity and language background of the children. Kindergarten measures were significantly predictive of Anglo English speakers, but were somewhat less accurate for the Mexican-American English-speaking group. Importantly, the kindergarten measures, including the teachers' ratings, were generally nonpredictive for Mexican-American Spanish speakers, although the tests were not language or culture specific. The importance of language as a factor in school screening is underscored. Findings raise serious questions as to the appropriateness of early screening of children from different language and cultural backgrounds.     

Bannatyne patterns of Caucasian and Mexican-American learning disabled children

Investigated the measurement properties and practical utility of Bannatyne's (1974) recategorized WISC-R scores. Reliability coefficients, standard deviations, and standard errors of measurement were calculated for the Spatial, Conceptual, and Sequential recategorized scores. These data were utilized to determine how large a difference between each of these scores was needed by individuals in order to reach statistical significance at the.05 and.25 levels. Analyses of the recategorized scores of Caucasian learning disabled children indicated that, as a group, these students were characterized by the Spatial > Conceptual > Sequential pattern which was predicted by Bannatyne (1974). The same was not found to be true for a group of Mexican-American learning disabled children. When the scores of individual children were analyzed, a large majority of both the Caucasian and Mexican-American groups failed to demonstrate the Spatial > Conceptual > Sequential pattern. Implications for using the Bannatyne pattern as a diagnostic tool with learning disabled children are discussed.     

Reliability and validity of the adult reading history questionnaire

The reliability and validity of a revised version of Finucci's (1982) Reading History Questionnaire was examined in two adult samples. One sample included 84 adults from an ongoing study of familial dyslexia, and a second sample was composed of parents of 107 children from a longitudinal study of reading development. Internal consistency was demonstrated by Cronbach's alphas of .94 and .92 in the two samples. Test-retest reliability was demonstrated by significant correlations (.87 and .84 in the two samples) over several years between an earlier and revised form of the questionnaire. Validity was demonstrated via (a) correlations between the questionnaire score and reading measures (rs = .57-.70), (b) the results of a discriminant function analysis that used questionnaire scores to predict reading disability diagnosis, and (c) the finding that the questionnaire had substantial incremental validity in predicting reading skill in a hierarchical regression analysis that first entered IQ and SES. These results indicated that the questionnaire is both reliable and valid.     

Discriminative validity of the WRAML with ADHD and LD children

The Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning (WRAML; Sheslow & Adams, 1990) is a nationally standardized instrument designed to assess memory and learning skills in children and adolescents. This study assessed the relationship of WRAML scores to WISC-III and WJ-R results in three groups: (a) LD children with reading difficulties, (b) ADHD children, and (c) nonhandicapped referred children. Total sample size was 120. Discriminant function analysis demonstrated that the WRAML provided little distinguishing information for ADHD and LD children. Likewise, the usefulness of the Learning subtests is questionable. It is suggested that inclusion of working memory tasks that require reconfiguration of material, problem solving, and more complexity may be more beneficial in identifying processing weaknesses with suspected ADHD and LD youngsters. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Comparison of behavioral ratings of Anglo-American and Mexican-American gifted children

Behavioral ratings on four subscales of the Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students (SRBCSS) were completed on groups of Anglo-(N=491) and Mexican-American gifted students (N=34). Significant ethnicity differences were found on the Learning and Motivation scales, with Anglos being rated higher. There were no significant differences between groups on the Creativity and Leadership scales. Results are discussed in terms of implications for use of SRBCSS as an identification instrument and as a measure for future research.     

The work sampling system: Reliability and validity of a performance assessment for young children

Performance assessment, an alternative approach to assessing students' achievements in school, refers to assessment methods that allow students to demonstrate their skills, knowledge, behavior, and accomplishments across a wide variety of classroom domains on multiple occasions. This article presents data concerning the reliability and validity of the Work Sampling System with 100 kindergarten-age children. A psychometric design was implemented in which children were enrolled in classrooms where the Work Sampling System was used and were also given individually-administered norm-referenced assessments in the fall and spring; in addition, their teachers completed a behavior rating scale in the spring. Results show that the Work Sampling checklist and summary report have very high internal and moderately high interrater reliability. The Work Sampling System accurately predicts performance on the norm-referenced achievement battery, even when the potential effects of gender, maturation (age), and initial ability are controlled. These data provide empirical support for the reliability and criterion validity of this performance assessment system as a measure of children's overall school achievement in kindergarten. The discussion covers issues raised by the study's design and by the use of performance assessment in general.     

Note on the norms for the WRAT

The performance of the norms group on the Reading and Arithmetic subtests of the WRAT was compared with that of a representative national sampling. Systematic differences were found between the two data sets, and the effects of these differences on the current norms were illustrated. In general, the norms tend to underestimate a subject's level of achievement relative to the general population.     

Reliability and validity evidence for the EARLI literacy probes

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of scores from six early literacy probes developed for use with preschool‐age children. The literacy probes were administered to 84 preschoolers at three time points over a 6‐month period. Also, a criterion measure of early literacy skills was administered to a subset of students. Results indicated that the probes demonstrate adequate reliability for screening decisions, moderate to strong concurrent relationships with a criterion measure, and developmentally appropriate changes in children's early literacy skills over time. These results add to the growing body of evidence supporting the technical adequacy of general outcome measurement for use in monitoring the progress of preschoolers' academic skill development. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Reliability and validity of a Turkish version of the DELES

The primary aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of a Turkish version of the Distance Education Learning Environment Survey (DELES) in post-secondary distance education. The second aim was to investigate empirically the conceptualisation of the distance education learning environment as a singular latent construct, within a second-order factorial structure that consists of six first-order factors. The DELES is a 34-item instrument for assessing social-psychological perceptions among distance education students. The tested hypotheses concerned key antecedents and consequences of the factorial structure of DELES in the Turkish context using confirmatory factor analyses. Principal component analysis of the Turkish data revealed six main factors of interest, which corresponded to the hypothesised constructs in the original DELES. The data suggested good reliability and validity for the Turkish DELES (DELES-TR) relative to the original version. Further, second-order analyses were conducted with two complementary samples to demonstrate the validity of six dimensions of the DELES-TR and their contributions to an overall factorial structure of social-psychological learning environment in distance education. Initial support for the second-order factorial validity of DELES-TR was found. Results indicate that a dimensional model of DELES-TR with the six first-order factors provided a superior fit to the data than first-order DELES-TR with six factors. Additionally, an investigation was conducted regarding associations between the DELES-TR’s psychosocial scales and a student satisfaction scale. This study is unique in its focus on the learning environment in distance education in the Turkish setting.     

Reliability and concurrent validity of the DUSO affectivity assessment device

Forms M and L of The DUSO Affectivity Assessment Device were administered to 23 first-grade children. Alternate form reliability was significant at the .02 level of confidence. Forty-five first-grade children were administered Form L of The DUSO AAD and one week later the California Test of Personality. Concurrent validity correlations were significant for the total group and for subgroups differentiated by sex.