The purpose of the study was to collect predictive validity data on the cognitive subtests and composite of Early Screening Profiles, a screening instrument that will be published in 1990. Data collection involved 135 children, ages 3-6 through 6-11. The scores on Early Screening Profiles were compared to scores on the Achievement Scale of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R), and, for the 85 children in kindergarten or grade one at the time of follow-up testing, a teacher rating scale, Teacher Rating of Academic Performance (TRAP). Time between testing ranged from 5 $1\over2$ to 8 months. For the population studied, statistically significant, strong correlations of.75,.73, and.70 were found between the composite of Early Screening Profiles and K-ABC Achievement, PPVT-R, and TRAP (p $<$.01). Strong or moderate correlations, all significant at the.01 level, resulted when Early Screening Profiles cognitive subtests were compared to criterion subtests. High agreement rates were found for standard scores of one standard deviation above the mean (82%) and one standard deviation below the mean (84%). Comparison of the Early Screening Profiles cognitive composite score with the total scores of all three criterion measures yielded average specificity and sensitivity rates of.80 and.74, respectively, for scores of 115 or higher. For scores of 85 or lower, the average specificity was high (.97) and the average sensitivity rate was modest (.32). No significant differences emerged based on sex. The older group of children scored higher than the younger on the K-ABC Achievement Scale. Research results indicate that the cognitive subtests and composite of Early Screening Profiles show promise of becoming useful and valid additions to the field of early childhood screening.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-7964 |
| Date | 01 January 1990 |
| Creators | Cohn, Mary-Elizabeth |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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