Validity of the Differential Aptitude Test for the Assessment of Immigrant Children

This paper addresses the construct as well as the criterion validity of the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT) for the assessment of secondary school minority group students ( N = 111) as compared to majority group students ( N = 318) in The Netherlands. Comparison of the test dimensions with the structural equation modelling program EQS showed that construct validity was good for both groups. With one exception, the subtests of the DAT measured the cognitive abilities of minority and majority group students equally well. The estimate of g as computed with the DAT showed strong predictive validity with little bias for various school subjects and achievement tests for mathematics and Dutch. Although some criteria revealed prediction bias to the disadvantage of the minority group, these differences concerned very small changes in R 2 . Conversely, the predictive value decreased substantially when an estimate of g was used excluding subtests that measure aspects of crystallised intelligence. Spearman's hypothesis tested with DAT subtest scores and criterion scores showed that g explained most of the group differences. Professional test users can safely draw conclusions from the DAT regardless of the students' ethnicity.     

Sport-specific and non-specific practice of strong and weak responders in junior and senior elite athletics – A matched-pairs analysis

Elite track and field athletes with greater and lesser multi-year performance improvement were compared regarding their developmental sport-specific and non-specific, organised (coach-led) and non-organised (peer-led) sporting activities. Athlete pairs were matched on gender, discipline and baseline performance in competitions (at 13/19 years). Their unequal subsequent performance development during junior (13–17 years; n = 138) and senior (19–23+ years; n = 80) age ranges defined “strong responders” and “weak responders”. Analyses revealed that junior-age strong responders accumulated more organised practice in athletics than weak responders, while the amounts of all other types of activities were indifferent. Senior-age strong responders did not accumulate a greater total sum of all kinds of sport activities or greater amounts of organised practice in athletics or non-organised involvement in athletics or other sports than weak responders. But they engaged in more organised practice and competitions in other sports over more years (9 vs. 2 years) and specialised in athletics at a later age than weak responders (16 vs. 11 years). The results were also robust among senior international medallists vs. national medallists. The findings are reflected relative to the hypotheses of “multiple sampling and functional matching”, “learning transfer as preparation for future learning” and “authenticity of variable learning experiences”.     

A Cross-Linguistic,Longitudinal Study of the Foundations of Decoding and Reading Comprehension Ability

ABSTRACT

The present study investigated the moderating role of orthographic consistency on the development of reading comprehension in four language groups (English, n = 179; Spanish, n = 188; Czech, n = 135; Slovak, n = 194) from kindergarten to Grade 2. In all languages, early variations in phoneme awareness/letter knowledge, rapid automatised naming, and emerging decoding skills, but not oral language, predicted variations in decoding skills at the end of Grade 1; these in turn predicted reading comprehension in Grade 2. For the three consistent orthographies (Spanish, Slovak, and Czech), kindergarten language skills were another significant predictor of Grade 2 reading comprehension. This effect was absent in the English sample, where variations in decoding skills were a more powerful predictor. These results provide the first longitudinal evidence for effects of orthographic consistency on the development of reading comprehension and provide support for the simple view of reading.     

The effectiveness of a universal school-based programme on coping and mental health: a randomised,controlled study of Zippy’s Friends

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Zippy’s Friends, a universal school programme that aims at strengthening children’s coping skills. The sample consisted of 1483 children (aged 7–8?years) from 91 second-grade classes in 35 schools. The schools were matched and randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions. Coping was assessed by the Kidcope checklist for children and an adapted version for parents. Parents and teachers reported mental health outcomes using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Controlling for the hierarchical structure of the data, latent variable regression analysis indicated that the programme had a significant positive effect on coping and on the impact of mental health difficulties in daily life. Subgroup analyses suggested that coping was improved in girls and children from the low socio-economic subgroup, whereas the impact of mental health difficulties was reduced in boys.