Symptoms of inattention (IA), hyperactivity, and impulsivity present in school-aged children are important indications of developmental problems. The assessment of these symptoms largely relies on questionnaires completed by parents, teachers, and the children themselves. However, inherent perceptual biases may lead to inaccuracies in these…

Performance on figure copying tasks is empirically linked to the school readiness, learning, cognition, and neuropsychological functioning. These nonverbal tasks are frequently used to evaluate children from diverse backgrounds to minimize bias due to factors such as language, ethnicity, culture, or socioeconomic status on test performance. The…

There have been significant changes in the racial/ethnic and linguistic background of students attending public schools in the United States. The number of public-school students who are English language learners (ELLs) participating in programs of language assistance has more than doubled over the past two decades. In 1993-1994, 5.1% of…

The present study investigated the psychometric properties of the "Scales for Assessing Emotional Disturbance -- Third Edition: Rating Scale" (SAED-3 RS), which is designed for use in identifying students with emotional disturbance for special education services. The purposes of this study were to evaluate (a) the measurement invariance…

Schools present a unique environment in which to conduct universal screenings for youth depression. The present study examines the efficiency of a multiple-stage assessment procedure assessing youth depression in the schools by calculating hit rates and establishing diagnostic accuracy for the measures used. Girls (N = 3318) aged 8 to 13,…

Administered form A of the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (BTBC) to kindergartners (N=180). Neither mean scores nor standard deviations differed significantly, and boys and girls had identical score distributions. Internal criteria for bias yielded totally negative results, showing no evidence of sex differences or sex bias. (Author/WAS)

Adapted the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test to facilitate administration to low-functioning autistic children who do not have a pointing response. Autistic (N=10) and preschool-aged children (N=20) were given the standard form and the adapted form. Results supported the use of the published norms for the adapted version. (Author/RC)

Applied an internal criteria for the detection of bias to standardization data for the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts. Despite sizable social class differences in mean scores, differences in rank orders of item difficulties were negligible. There was little evidence of test bias. (Author)

Investigates how the performance of Mexican-American children residing in the southwest U.S.A. compares with Koppitz's normative group on the Bender Gestalt Test for Young Children. (Author)

Revised Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test was administered to 410 Australian children to determine if significant cultural differences were apparent on Form L or M of revised test. Data indicated that there were differences that, while statistically nonsignificant, could lead to inaccurate clinical classification if all American items and norms were…

Presents a rationale for the use of local norms and a procedure, illustrated with an example, for updating a norm group's test score mean and variance. Local norms can be more recent, relevant, and representative for local groups. (Author)

Explores the relationship between socioeconomic status and the school readiness of kindergarten children as measured by four frequently used readiness tests. Results indicate that low-socioeconomic status children, regardless of sex, score significantly less well than middle socioeconomic status children. (Author)

After considering how an estimate of learning potential (ELP) is derived from the System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment, shows that most of the characteristics of ELP deemed to be important are generated by statistical artifacts. Notes that the fundamental assumption underlying ELP is without supportive evidence. (Author)

Investigated possible bias of Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) with 76 White and 90 Mexican-American fifth- and sixth-graders. Criterion variable was Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS). Results showed considerable evidence of bias in differential predictive validity, indicating global cognitive score of K-ABC was less…

The majority of the differences favor the males. The abilities measured by the coding subtest are present to a greater extent in females, regardless of the level of intelligence. Gifted boys manifest a higher level of verbal intelligence than do gifted girls. (Author)