The primary purpose of the present longitudinal study was to determine how well a broad, comprehensive battery of tests administered in kindergarten predicted reading achievement in Grades 1-6. The teat variables were reduced to six predictive factors by factor analysis that, together with the child's sex and the parent's language, had multiple correlations with reading achievement of .58 (Grade 1), .65 (Grade 2), .70 (Grade 3), .66 (Grade 6), and .71 (across all reading achievement tests). Path analysis showed that characteristics measured in kindergarten directly influenced reading in early primary grades and that early reading achievement was the primary determinant of latter reading performance. The use of a two-stage testing procedure, a preliminary screening device followed by the full test battery for selected children, will substantially reduce testing time and resources, but it had almost no effect on the accuracy of predictions in the present study.
Diagnostic reading tests, in contrast to achievement tests, claim to measure specific components of ability hypothesized to be important for diagnosis or remediation. A minimal condition for demonstrating the construct validity of such tests is that they are able to differentiate validly between the reading traits that they claim to measure (e.g., comprehension, sound discrimination, blending). This condition is rarely tested, but multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) designs are ideally suited for this purpose. This is demonstrated in two studies based on the 1966 version of the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test (SDRT). In each study, the application of the Campbell-Fiske guidelines and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to the MTMM data indicated that the SDRT subscales could be explained in terms of a method/halo effect and a general reading factor that was not specific to any of the subscales; this refutes the construct validity of the 1966 version of the SDRT as a diagnostic test. Other diagnostic tests probably suffer the same weakness and should also be evaluated in MTMM studies. Reading achievement tests measure overall reading performance. In contrast, diagnostic tests are designed to analyze specific strengths and weaknesses in particular areas of reading that are hypothesized to be important for diagnosis or remediation. Diagnostic tests result in separate subscale scores, and interpretations are based on differences between subscales or on a profile of the scores. Authors of measurement textbooks (e.g., Anastasi,
The purpose of this study was to determine how well the Sheppard School Entry Screening Test (SSEST), administered in kindergarten, predicts reading performance in Grades 1, 2, and 3 (N = 320 pupils). The three SSEST factors were each significantly correlated with reading achievement in all three grades, even after correcting for initial IQ. Multiple correlations, based on the three SSEST factors and two background variables (pupils' sex and whether or not at least one of their parents spoke English), were .49, .56, and .61 for reading scores in Grades 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Most of the predictable variance could be explained by the SSEST factors. Prediction was much better for pupils with the lowest reading ability, in keeping with the design of the SSEST. A path analysis indicated that the direct impact of the predictor variables was limited primarily to reading* in the first two grades. Poorer reading in the third grade was indirectly related to these variables in that they were related to poorer reading in earlier grades that was carried through to third grade. The findings of this study demonstrate the validity of the SSEST as an early indicator of later reading achievement.
The effectiveness of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for treating trauma symptoms was examined in a postwar/conflict, developing nation, Timor Leste. Participants were 21 Timorese adults with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), assessed as those who scored ≥2 on the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ). Participants were treated with EMDR therapy. Depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed using the Hopkins Symptom Checklist. Symptom changes post-EMDR treatment were compared to a stabilization control intervention period in which participants served as their own waitlist control. Sessions were 60-90 mins. The average number of sessions was 4.15 (SD = 2.06). Despite difficulties providing treatment cross-culturally (i.e., language barriers), EMDR therapy was followed by significant and large reductions in trauma symptoms (Cohen's d = 2.48), depression (d = 2.09), and anxiety (d = 1.77). At posttreatment, 20 (95.2%) participants scored below the HTQ PTSD cutoff of 2. Reliable reductions in trauma symptoms were reported by 18 participants (85.7%) posttreatment and 16 (76.2%) at 3-month follow-up. Symptoms did not improve during the control period. Findings support the use of EMDR therapy for treatment of adults with PTSD in a cross-cultural, postwar/conflict setting, and suggest that structured trauma treatments can be applied in Timor Leste.
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