Open Collections

Using a multi-dimensional assessment battery to screen for learning problems : an evaluation study in a sample of Canadian native Indian students

University of British Columbia

This thesis is an analysis of test scores from a multi-dimensional assessment of Canadian Native Indian students attending an elementary school on a reserve in British Columbia. The intention of the assessment was to determine the incidence of learning problems among the students, and the special educational assistance required. The testing instruments used included the Metropolitan Reading Readiness Test; the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration; the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test; the Canadian Test of Basic Skills; and the Canadian Cognitive Abilities Test. Two tests of perceptual acuity were also administered. The single administration of the tests was designed to locate the level of achievement attained by the students and compare this attainment with age and grade placement at time of testing. The intention of the thesis was to determine the appropriateness of the battery of tests for this sample of Native Indian students. Disparities were found between placement and achievement with evidence of increasing spread in the upper grades. The average difference was approximately one year in grade 3, rising to two or more years in grades 5 and 6. The conclusion reached was that the instruments were useful in identifying the areas and extent of difference between the sample and the population. Specifically, vocabulary knowledge was low. Incidence of vision and hearing impairment was high; 40% of the students were found to have vision problems, and 21% were diagnosed as having hearing difficulty, 4 times the national average.

Text

2010-09-16

For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/28481

School Psychology

University of British Columbia

Graduate