Doris V. Allen

Screening kit of language development: A preschool language screening instrument☆

The Screening Kit of Language Development ( SKOLD ) was designed to meet the following criteria: Validity for 2.5-4 year old children, standardization for speakers of standard and Black English, and appropriateness for paraprofessional screeners . This paper describes the development, content, administration, scoring, reliability, and validity of SKOLD .

A Factor Analytic Study of the Ability to Spell

THURSTONE’S statement (1948) that the “ability to spell seems to be quite independent of most other abilities” seems inconsistent with findings that spelling is correlated with numerous measures : visual perception, auditory acuity and discrimination, pronunciation, attitudes toward spelling, interests, habits, general intelligence, vocabulary, age, and education. Reviews of these studies have been made by Horn (1960), Spache (1941n, 1941b), and Williamson (1933). Other studies have shown that personality or temperament is related to spelling achievement (D’Heurle, Mellinger and Haggard, 1959; IGefer and Sangren, 1925; Schoncll, 1036). Guiler (1929), RIoore (1937) , and Northby (1936) found that the mensure of spelling achievement is dependent upon the format or style of spelling test used. Support of Thurstone’s view was found in a factor analysis of spelling in which a “general spelling ability” factor was identified (Ihoell and Harris, 1952). However, n-eaknesses in this study prevent its findings from being conclusive. All 20 measures which were analyzed mere obtained from only tn-o tests which leads to the possibility of spurious factors (Guilford, 1952). Furthermore, since only spelling measures mere employed, no information was available as to the relationship of spelling to other abilities. The present study was designed with tn-o purposes: to investigate the relationships between spelling ability and other kinds of variables, and to determine whether spelling tests of different formats varied in their factorial composition.

Color-word interference in deaf and hearing children

Demonstrated differences between deaf and hearing Ss in learning and recall of verbal material may reflect differences in the initial apprehension of the Stimuli or in the storage-retrieval process. The Stroop test was used to assess the apprehension of materials with a minimum contribution of memory. Results showed the deaf to be significantly faster on the interference task but slower at naming words alone than were hearing children of the same reading levels.

Concurrent validity of two language screening tests

The importance of ascertaining the validity of clinical instruments used to make decisions about individuals is discussed and the need for additional validation studies is emphasized. Steps that can be taken to confirm the validity for a particular application, setting, or population are described. As an example, the concurrent validity of two language screening instruments, the Fluharty Preschool Screening Test and the Northwestern Syntax Screening Test, and their subtests was examined. Decisions from these screening tests and subtests were compared to a validity criterion of passing or failing the Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development for 182 white middle-class children, ages 36-47 months. The results showed that the screening tests differed in their validity, depending upon the content of the test and each subtest. The consequences of using either screening test are explored, to illustrate how the outcomes of such studies should be interpreted.

Acoustic interference in paired-associate learning as a function of hearing ability

Qualitative differences in coding verbal materials were postulated between normal- and impaired-hearing children. Acoustic similarity was used in two paired-associate lists differing in manner of pairings. The regression of performance upon hearing loss was significant for consistent pairings but not for inconsistent pairings. The results supported the hypothesized qualitative differences.

Association values for selected trigrams with children

Association values, in terms of percentage of S s who responded “Yes,” for selected trigrams were obtained from children in grades 4–6 and from a residential school for the deaf. Correlations of from .83 to .87 were obtained between the values from children and the corresponding adult values from Archer for CVC trigrams, and of .88 between values from Witmer and from the children for a sample of 25 CCC trigrams. Reliability measures from the children were good. Values obtained from deaf children correlated .90 with those obtained from grades 4–5. Independent samples of normal children correlated .93 and .97 with each other, and a test-retest reliability group had an r of .99.

Effect of similarity upon learning in children.

Abstract It was hypothesized that formal intralist similarity would interfere more with paired-associate learning in children than would conceptual similarity. Performance in five experimental and two control conditions was examined for Grades 4–6. Formal similarity interfered more with the learning of items low in meaning while conceptual similarity seemed to interfere more with highly meaningful material. Overall, children respond like adults to the various dimensions of similarity.

Modality of similarity and hearing ability

Paired-associate lists differing in implicit modality of cue (auditory or visual) and in response mode (written or oral) were learned by five groups of children differing in hearing ability (normal to deaf). Overall, visual cues were easier than auditory cues, but cues interacted with hearing ability such that implicit auditory cues (rhymes) contributed less to the performance of Ss with impaired hearing.

Black English responses on selected language tests

Standardized screening and assessment measures for language development do not take into account Black English responses. This study was designed to determine the extent to which normal and language impaired black preschool children respond in Black English and Standard English on selected screening instruments. Developmental differences in the usage of Standard English and Black English were also investigated. The results indicate that black normal and language impaired preschool children are both Standard English and Black English on screening tests. Developmental differences were noted. The results suggest that tests for language development need to be standardized on speakers of Black English and also should include Black English response alternatives.