NOTES

Question 1

Adaptive Behavior

Answer 1

the effectiveness with which an individual meets the standards of personal independence and social responsibility expected for his/her age and cultural group.

Question 2

Flynn Effect

Answer 2

Impacts who is classified as having an Intellectual Disability and who gets services.
● I.Q. scores have been rising. (likely due to improved nutrition, health and education.)
● I.Q. test norms become obsolete.
● I.Q. tests are periodically re-normed, making them harder
● If an individual is tested on an older test, he/she will score higher.
● If an individual is tested on a re-normed test, he/she will score lower.
● Individuals with I.Q. scores in the Borderline and Extremely Low range have lost an average of 5.6 points when re-tested on a re-normed test and are more likely to be classified as having an Intellectual Disability when compared to peers re-tested on the same test.
● The Flynn Effect impacts who is classified as having an Intellectual Disability and who receives services: more people will be classified with an Intellectual Disability.

Question 3

Impact of Flynn effect in 4 areas

Answer 3

1. Special education placement and services
2. Financial implications (social security services)
3. Eligibility for military
4. Death penalty (whether can apply)

Question 4

COMPONENTS OF AN EARLY CHILDHOOD EVALUATION

Answer 4

● Parent Interview/Social History
● Play Observation/Classroom Observation for Preschoolers
● Measure of Adaptive Behavior (i.e., Vineland Scales of Adaptive Behavior)
● Measure of Social/Emotional Functioning- (May use the Socialization Domain of the Vineland or the Social-Emotional Scale of the Bayley Scales. Over 2, may use the BASC-3 or the Child Behavior Checklist. All are based on parent interview.)
● For Preschooler: Separate Measure of Fine-motor/Visual-motor Integration (i.e., Beery)
● Measure of Cognitive and Motor Skills:
– 2.6+ -WPPSI-IV or 3+ Stanford Binet-IV
– 0-3.6 –Bayley Scales of Infant Development- Third Edition

Question 5

WHY ARE YOUNG CHILDREN CHALLENGING TO ASSESS?

Answer 5

● Infants (particularly from 6 months old to 18 months/2 years old) are often distressed by unfamiliar adults.
● Toddlers and preschoolers may be very active, distractible, inattentive, or not interested in doing what you ask of them.
● Young children in general perform inconsistently, especially in unfamiliar situations.

Question 6

FORMS OF ASSESSMENT

Answer 6

1. Test administration 

2. Behavioral observation 

3. Interview of child 

4. Interview of caregiver 

5. Interview of teacher 

6. Record review 

7. Checklists/scales 

8. Assessment of environment 


Question 7

Norm Referenced

Answer 7

Norm referenced tests: Compare the individual’s performance to peers.

Question 8

Criterion Referenced

Answer 8

Criterion referenced tests: Assesses skills in terms of absolute mastery of content.

Question 9

Test-Retest Reliability

Answer 9

(consistency across time)

Question 10

Inter-Rater Reliability

Answer 10

(consistency across raters or scorers)

Question 11

Internal Consistency Reliability or Alternate Form Reliability

Answer 11

(consistency across items)


Question 12

FACTORS AFFECTING RELIABILITY

Answer 12

1. Test length
2. Time between tests (Test-Retest)
3. Constriction or Extension of Range
4. Guessing
5. Variation within testing situations

Question 13

STANDARD ERROR OF MEASUREMENT (SEM)

Answer 13

The band of error which surrounds a test score

The higher the SEM, the less reliable the score→ inverse relationship

Question 14

VALIDITY

Answer 14

• The extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure.
• It is the most important consideration in test evaluation.

Question 15

Content Validity

Answer 15

Looks at how well the test samples the domain about which inferences are made.
● This is done judgmentally by examining:
○ The appropriateness of the item sample
○ The completeness of the item sample (different kinds of questions)
○ How the items are assessed (i.e., recall, recognition)
*Content validity is especially important in achievement testing.

Question 16

Criterion-Related Validity

Answer 16

– Concurrent Validity
● Effectiveness in predicting criteria in the present. Example:
○ A mechanical aptitude test used to predict current job performance
– Predictive Validity
● Effectiveness in predicting a criteria in the future Example:
○ SAT scores used to predict grades in freshman year.
– Examines the relationship between the test score and some external measure.
– Specifically looks at how accurately a test score can be used to estimate a person’s score on a criterion measure

Question 17

Construct Validity

Answer 17

Extent to which a test may be said to measure a theoretical construct or trait (i.e., intelligence, neuroticism)

Question 18

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY

Answer 18

● In order to have validity, a test must be reliable.

● A test can be reliable, but not valid. No unreliable test can be valid.

Question 19

NORMS

Answer 19

● in norm-referenced assessment, an individual’s performance is evaluated in terms of the performance of people in the normative sample.
● Norm sample = a subset of the population assessed to estimate characteristics of the population.

Question 20

SCREENING
 VS. DIAGNOSTIC ASSESSMENT

Answer 20

● Screening= Identifying children for whom further assessment is necessary (usually in multiple skills areas) ex. Beery

● Diagnostic = Pinpointing specific skill strengths and weaknesses (more dense in content and usually focused on a specific area) ex. Key math, woodcock reading mastery

Question 21

GRADE NORMS AND ACADEMIC TESTS

Answer 21

● Grade norms are always used with academic tests. Why?
● When reporting scores, you must give the grade-appropriate test. You cannot report scores, if there are no children in the norm group who are in the same grade as the testee.

Question 22

APPROACHES TO READING INSTRUCTION

Answer 22

● Phonemic or Phonics Approach: Major attention directed towards learning the sounds of vowels and consonants and blending them and to constructing phonemic families. Basal readers are used.

● Whole Language or Experiential Approach: Criticizes phonics approach as too mechanistic and not focused enough on meaning. Substitutes true speech (child’s own writing) for basal readers.

Question 23

SUBSKILLS OF READING

Answer 23

1. Decoding/Phonics Skills: Includes letter-sound association, blending, and syllabication. Measured through finding words that begin or end with certain sounds, finding rhyming words, and reading non-meaningful words.
2. Sight Vocabulary/Word Recognition: Looks at words that are memorized or rote. Measured through reading words in a list quickly.
3. Comprehension Skills: Looks at understanding of written material and ability to use context to make meaning. Measured through literal, factual, and inferential questions after reading passages and/or through the cloze technique.
4. Oral Reading Skills: Looks at accuracy and fluency (speed) of reading. Measured through child reading aloud. Errors such as mispronunciation, omission, repetition, and substitution of words as well as hesitation, attention to punctuation, and words read per minute are recorded.

Question 24

Dyslexia/Specific Reading Disability:

Answer 24

● Exhibits deficient decoding, but adequate listening comprehension. Associated with poor knowledge of sound-letter correspondence, inaccurate spelling, slow reading speed, inaccuracy in oral reading, but errors make sense semantically. Strong reliance on guessing from context when reading unfamiliar words. Reading comprehension may be adequate or may be compromised due to poor decoding.