Investigates the factor structure of an intelligence scale for White, Mexican American, and African American children. Examined 4541 non-referred children and looked at verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, and freedom from distractibility. Results indicate differences in the intelligence scale's factor structure across groups, raising…

Investigated the utility of the Revised Beta as a screening device for low-functioning minority-group criminal offenders. Mean scores for this sample were correlated only mildly. This finding contradicts prior research and creates the need for caution in using the Beta as a screening device with this population. (Author)

The study compared performance of 135 children of three different ethnic groups (Black, Hispanic, and White) on the Minnesota Percepto-Diagnostic Test-Revised with age and IQ controlled. Results indicated no significant differences for the rotation T-score but significant differences in favor of Whites for the supplementary scores. (Author/DB)

Examined effects of applying the dual-criterion classification system for mental retardation in connection with the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) by using the SOMPA standardization sample as subjects. Discusses the implications for the diagnostic category of mild mental retardation and the further use of the SOMPA.…

The six California Achievement Tests (CAT) subtests were factor analyzed separately for Black males, Black females, Hispanic males, Hispanic females, White males, and White females, in the fifth and seventh grades. the CAT was found to be essentially invariant with regard to race and sex. (Author/BS)

Construct validity of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised using 189 Black, 184 Hispanic, and 187 White 6- to 11-year-olds was investigated. A two-factor solution yielded similar loadings corresponding to verbal comprehension and perceptual organization for all three groups. Three-factor solutions yielded similar loadings for…

The potential usefulness of self-assessment of low-level aptitudes, such as basic or elementary reading, writing, and calculating, was explored in a test validation context, following the model of B. Davey (1980, 1990). Self-assessments were sought to provide criterion-related or construct validities that might otherwise be unobtainable for some…

Confirmatory factor analysis techniques assessed several structural models that have been reported regarding the construct validity of the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. Responses of 885 Black, White, and Hispanic students in grades three-six suggest that the scale's construct validity is a function of content and manner of phrasing.…

Argues in defense of Rubin's CCAI, that Powell and Avila's study did not use adequate controls to assess the instrument's reliability. Asserts that their study simply discovered differences in communication competence among ethnic groups. (MS)

The study investigated use of the AML (an 11-item scale designed to identify young children experiencing early school adjustment problems) for detecting Mexican-American, Black, Asian, and Pacific Island Head Start children "at risk" for later adjustment difficulties. All 38 participating teachers and their aides readily accepted the…

Administered System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) to 700 White, 700 Black, and 700 Hispanic elementary school students. Ten years later, again tested 1,184 of original 2,100 students with SOMPA in high school. Results suggest that some subtests of the SOMPA may have some validity for predicting school achievement for students…

A locally revised measure of self-concept and racial attitudes was used to determine if factor analysis could detect possible item bias. Participants were 2,800 Hispanic Americans, Whites, and Blacks in fifth or eighth grade. A classical factor analysis (using commonality estimates) with Varimax rotation defined the factor structure of all…

The theoretical framework and cross-cultural validation of Tell-Me-A-Story (TEMAS), a projective test developed to measure personality development in ethnic minority children, is presented. The TEMAS test consists of 23 chromatic pictures which incorporate the following characteristics: (1) representation of antithetical concepts which the…

Examines the performance of ethnic minority students on Rubin's CCAI, with a view toward discovering potential cultural biases embedded in the instrument. Concludes that such biases appear to exist. (MS)

This paper reports on the first year's results of a screening procedure used to identify kindergarten and first grade children at risk of developing serious emotional disturbance. The Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD) is a three-stage, multiple-gated procedure for mass screening to determine whether a child should be referred for…