FOSNER TESTS OF AUDITORY & VISUAL ANALYSIS SKILLS - THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO CHILDREN'S WORD RECOGNITION ABILITY IN GRADES 1 & 2 c x y ANNE COOK B.A., Open University, England, 1972 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the department of Special Education We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September 1981 (8) M e Cook, 1981 In presenting t h i s thesis i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the Library s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of t h i s thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It i s understood that copying or p u b l i c a t i o n of t h i s thesis for f i n a n c i a l gain s h a l l not be allowed without my written permission. Department o The University of B r i t i s h Columbia 2075 Wesbrook Place Vancouver, Canada V6T 1W5 Da te NOV 17** I W l DE-6 (2/79) i i /ABSTRACT A wide variety of screening instruments are currently available for identifying students who are 'at risk' in learning to read. Many involve considerable administration time and many do not provide information on developing specific programs for children with special needs. Priorities in devising such screening instruments must include ease and speed of adrrunistration, together with the development of valid instruments that w i l l lead to specific programming information. The Rosner Test of Visual Analysis Skills and the Rosner Test of Auditory Analysis Skills are JLmmediately appealing as screening instru-ments because of their simplicity and the availability of specific prcgrarrming materials that can be used within the regular classroom. This study examines the relationship of the T.A.A.S. and T.V.A.S. to word recc>gnition (as measured by the W.R.A.T. reading subtest) at the grade 1 and grade 2 levels. The P.P.V.T. was given to the subjects as a measure of verbal intelligence. A sample of 60 students was drawn randomly from grade 1 and grade 2 classes in 5 city elementary schools in Dawson Creek, B. C. These subjects had no known sensory defects and a l l had English as their f i r s t language. Intelligence and achievement were found to be reason-ably representative of the general school population (from examination of school records.) Tests were administered using standard procedures. Some modifi-cation of scoring procedures was used on the W.R.A.T., but standard procedures were otherwise used. Using raw scores, Pearson Product Moment correlations were calculated and their significances were estimated, using the two-tailed 't' test. The pairs of variables correlated were: P.P.V.T. and W.R.A.T. T.A.A.S. and W.R.A.T. T^V.A.S. and W.R.A.T. T.A.A.S. and P.P.V.T. T.V.A.S. and P.P.V.T. The results revealed that scores were approximately normally distributed, although there was an indication of negative skew on the T • A«A • S • The correlations of the T.A.A.S. with the W.R.A.T. (reading subtest) were positive and were significant at the 1% level. Correlations of the T.V.A.S. with the W.R.A.T. (reading subtest) were positive but iv were not significant at the grade 1 level or the grade 2 level. When grade 1 and 2 scores were combined, however, there was a posi-tive significant relationship at the 5% level. This study has revealed a strong, positive relationship at the grade 1 and grade 2 levels, between the T.A.A.S. and word recognition as measured by the W.R.A.T. reading subtest. The initiation of a pilot project to develop the Rosner Auditory Training Program would therefore seem appropriate. This could be developed with the intention of providing data on the transfer of training of auditory analysis skills to word recognition skills at the grade 1 and grade 2 levels. Further studies of the T.V.A.S. are recommended before initiating training sessions in the development of Visual Analysis Skills. V TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I INTROLXJCTION & STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 1 II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 9 Relationship of Visual Perceptual Skills to Reading Ability 9 Relationship of Auditory Perceptual Skills to Reading Ability 13 III DESCRIPTION & TASK ANALYSIS OF THE ROSNER TESTS 18 The Rosner Test of Visual Analysis Skills 18 The Rosner Test of Auditory Analysis Skills 21 Validity & Reliability of the T.V.A.S. & T.A.A.S 23 - IV METHOD 26 Subjects 26 Instruments 27 Procedure 29 Statistical Treatment 31 V RESULTS 32 VI DISCUSSION & SUGGESTIONS 46 REFERENCES 50 v i APPENDICES PAGE A. SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS USED 55 B. (1) RAW SCORES FOR 30 GRADE 1 SUBJECTS 56 (2) RAW SCORES FOR 30 GRADE 2 SUBJECTS 57 C. (1) MEDIANS, MEANS, STANDARD DEVIATIONS & DISTRIBUTION OF RAW SCORES FOR P.P.V.T 58 (2) MEDIANS, MEANS, STANDARD DEVIATIONS & DISTRIBUTION OF RAW SCORES FOR V7.R.A.T 58 (3) MEDIANS, MEANS, STANDARD DEVIATIONS & DISTRIBUTION OF RAW SCORES FOR T.A.A.S.. 59 (4) MEDIANS, MEANS, STANDARD DEVIATIONS & DISTRIBUTION OF RAW SCOPES FOR T.V.A.S .59 nm ^ I X I C T I O N & STATEMENT OF H E PROBLEM Chapter I INTRODUCTION & STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The correlates of reading d i s a b i l i t i e s are varied and complex. One factor alone i s seldom responsible for d i f f i c u l t y i n learning to read. Administrators, Learning Assistance Teachers and classroom teachers are becoming more aware of the necessity to identify children who are l i k e l y to experience d i f f i c u l t y i n learning to read, and more specifically, to provide special programs for these children to develop the prerequisite s k i l l s . The earlier a high risk c h i l d i s identified, the sooner educational strategies can be developed to help prevent learning problems from occurring (Keogh & Smith, 1970; Lerner, 1976). Z e i t l i n (1976), mentions that there are over one thousand instru-ments that are available for screening and diagnosis of young children. New techniques appear regularly i n the literature and include pub-lished tests, teacher observation instruments, parent surveys, information gathering questionnaires and informally devised tests. There i s wide evidence from the literature on reading development to make tentative associations between the various aspects of language, sensory, cognitive, perceptual and physical processes, and competence i n learning to read (Sprighe & Lanier, 1967; de Hirsch, Jansky & Langford, 1966; I l g & Amos, 1964; Slingerland 1964). 2 Many inventories, profiles and predictive indices contain these ele-ments, but, although each instrument has i t s strengths, i t also has its limitations. Many are impractical to use in the regular class-room situation and most do not provide prescriptive programming. Examination of the literature shows a lack of common agreement on what are the most important areas to assess in a screening program. Factors identified by de Hirsch and Jansky (1966) associated the following with later achievement in reading: presence or absence of hyperactive, distractible, uninhibited behavior; fine motor control; graphomotor ability; human figure drawing; visual-motor integration; receptive language; visual perception; ego strength and work attitude. Satz (1974), in a long range study of the most valid predictor variables, found that the Finger Localization Test was the highest ranking correlational factor, followed by recognition discrimination and ability to recite the alphabet. The predictors involve environmental, physiological and psycho-logical factors, many of which are outside the direct influence of the regular classroom teacher or the Learning /Assistance Teacher. It may be interesting to the teacher to know, for instance, that a child has difficulty with finger localization, but i t is of l i t t l e practical use for program planning, as this s k i l l has not been shown to respond 3 to training and is likely to be an indication of a more deep-rooted neuropsychological disorder. Many correlates of reading disability are also unlikely to be directly transferable to the process of learning to read, even though they may be possible to train, for example, ability to recite the alphabet and ability to draw a human figure. With many of the published screening tests, l i t t l e guidance is given to the teacher on setting up a suitable program based on the results. A 'slower' program is often initiated, but specific pro-grams based on the results of the tests are rare and programs tend, too often, to become generalized. Much time and money are spent on initiating screening programs, but follow up is often quite haphazard. In many school districts, screening tests, such as the Jansky, are used to identify children who are likely to be 'at risk' in learn-ing to read. Accuracy is often disappointingly low. Results tend to include a disturbing level of both false positives and false negatives. The whole philosophy of screening can then be called into question. Only at the extremes, where there is very poor performance or very good performance, do the test scores provide consistently predictive indicators. Results are often found to be less satisfactory than teacher prediction. 4 In 1974, Hunt and Kirk outlined an experimental paradigm of criterion referenced tests for school readiness. This approach tends to be more meaningful to the classroom teacher as the results are directly interpretable. They are directly linked to attainment of the individual child, emphasize short term needs and therefore give direction for developing teaching strategies. O'Connor (1980) looked at screening practices in North /America and expressed concern about the state of the art. She considered many existing screening procedures to be neither educationally nor economi-cally valid. She also suggested that a developmental, criterion referenced approach might be more meaningful. In 1975, Jerome Rosner published his book 'Helping Children Overcome Learning Difficulties'. The book introduced two perceptual tests (auditory and visual), which purport to measure abilities that are important prerequisites to learning to read. The tests are administered quickly and easily with the minimum of training. Special programs are outlined in detail in Rosner's book, to help children who find difficulty with the tests. These programs are clearly laid out, sequential in nature, are simply taught, require a minimum of materials and have the advantage of being suitable for use by cross age tutors or volunteers in the regular classroom. 5 It has long been recognized that adequate perceptual skills are important for successful acquisition of reading skills. A wide range of perceptual tests are available. The Rosner tests, however, are unusual in that results of testing serve to define goals for instructional programs. The underlying processes are specifically taught in these programs. The Rosner tests are irtttiediately appealing to the teacher because of their simplicity and the availability of specific programming materials. Use of the Rosner tests together with the Rosner programs, by the author and other teachers in School District #59, suggested that they may be useful instruments for helping children with reading difficulties. The tests are now published and are available commercial-ly. Rosner and Simon (1971) offer evidence of the relationship of these instruments to reading at the primary level. Validation, however, was undertaken in a middle class suburban population only. It was felt to be important to provide additional validation of these tests in terms of relationship to reading ability, before organizing longi-tudinal predictive validation studies. The School District in which the researcher is employed is concerned with developing a screening battery for children who may be 'at risk' in learning to read - not with the intention of labelling, but to foster the use of specific s k i l l development programs. Practicability and effectiveness are key factors in developing such a screening battery. Priorities in developing such a screening battery are: 6. 1. To include v a l i d c r i t e r i o n referenced instruments that w i l l lead to specific programming information. 2. To recognize the importance of ease and speed of administration. The Rosner tests appear to offer the p o s s i b i l i t y of meeting both of these requirements. This study looks at the relationship, at the Grade 1 and Grade 2 levels, between reading (word recognition) and the a b i l i t y to perform on the Rosner Visual and Auditory Analysis Tests, with a view to developing the Rosner screening and training programs on a larger scale. 7 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Although there appears to be a confirmed relationship between certain visual and auditory s k i l l s and reading a b i l i t y i n the early grades, the usefulness of specific.tests and instructional procedures remain controversial. I t would seem important to isolate specific perceptual s k i l l s that are not only related to school success, but that are also susceptible to specific training - preferably within the context of the classroom. One of the f i r s t steps i n devising specific programs for children who are 'at risk', i s to look at the relationship between specific measurable a b i l i t i e s and specific classroom behaviors. The Rosner Tests purport to measure two important sub-skills required for success i n reading. It i s the purpose of this study to investigate, among f i r s t grade and second grade students, the relationship of the Rosner Test of Auditory Analysis S k i l l s and the Rosner Test of Visual Analysis S k i l l s to a b i l i t y to identify words (as measured by the Wide Range Achievement Test reading subtest). 8 HYPOTHESIS I t i s h y p o t h e s i z e d t h a t r e a s o n a b l y h i g h p o s i t i v e c o r r e l a t i o n s w i l l e x i s t b e t w e e n w o r d r e c o g n i t i o n (as m e a s u r e d b y t h e W i d e R a n g e A c h i e v e m e n t T e s t ) a n d t h e T . V . A . S . a n d t h e T . A . A . S . a t t h e g r a d e 1 a n d g r a d e 2 l e v e l s . S i g n i f i c a n c e l e v e l s e x c e e d i n g 1% w e r e e s t a b l i s h e d i n a d v a n c e a s t h e c r i t e r i o n f o r t h e e d u c a t i o n a l s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e s e m e a s u r e s . REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 9 Chapter II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE The Rosner Test of Auditory Analysis Skills and the Rosner Test of Visual Analysis Skills can be categorized as tests of perceptual s k i l l development. Formal measures of visual and auditory perception are now stand-ard tools used to diagnose and prescribe for children with learning difficulties. Use of such measures is related to the role of perceptu-al deficit theories in the conceptualization of learning problems. These theories hold that school failure in many students can be attrib-uted to perceptual processing deficits. There continues, however, to be controversy about the usefulness of such measures. The Relationship of Visual Perceptual Skills to Reading Ability Since Werner and Strauss (1941) f i r s t described the problem of figure ground confusion, there has been a widespread development of perceptual tests and perceptual motor programs designed to measure and remediate these deficits. Coins (1958) stated that the correlation between visual perceptual skills and Ibeginning reading achievement has consistently been found 10 to be in the low moderate range 0.4 to 0.5 for unselected public school children. Dykstra (1967) pointed out that readiness tests, intelligence tests, perceptual tests, personality tests, number tests and teacher's ratings a l l predict beginning reading achievement about equally well (0.4 to 0.70). He stated that many children with excellent perceptual abilities find learning to read difficult, while others with perceptu-al disabilities, also have disabilities in other areas, any of which, singly or in combination, may contribute to reading difficulty. He pointed out that many children with visual perceptual deficits can often be so proficient in other functions, that they learn to read despite the handicap. Krippner (1971) on the other hand, concluded from a study of 146 poor readers that 'Poor visual perceptual skills were the most common etiological factors in cases of reading disability 1 In 1972, Cruickshank stated that 'learning disabilities are essentially and almost always the result of perceptual problems based on the neurological system' (p. 383). These ideas have also been stated by Kephart (1960), Getman (1962), Barsch (1965), Frostig (1967) and Frostig and Maslow (1973). The work of these educators has had considerable impact in the field of learning disabilities and their 11 remedial programs have been used extensively in educational practice. M l place heavy emphasis on the need to remediate deficient.perceptu-al-motor skills as a prerequisite to academic achievement. However, Shankweiter and Lieberman (1972), stated that current research in the area of reading disability strongly suggested that remedial measures for reading readiness issuing from theories of visual deficit have l i t t l e theoretical foundation and consequently no u t i l i t y for correcting reading problems. The work of Black (1974) and Larsen & Hammill (1975), also reflected some doubts about the usefulness of perceptual tests. Black found that when intelligence was controlled, there were no signifi-cant differences in reading achievement between high and low scores on the Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception for subjects in f i r s t through third grades. In addition, there were no significant correlations between any of the Frostig subtests and reading achieve-ment. In 1975, Larsen & Hammill reviewed 60 studies, examining the relationship of visual perception measures to school achievement in the primary grades. Median coefficients were reported for major academic areas; none exceeded 0.35, the criterion set for useful prediction. The authors concluded that there was not enough of a relationship between measured visual perceptual skills and academic achievement for visual perception to be a useful predictor. 12 Vellutino et al (1975) stated that a visual perceptual disorder is an unlikely cause of reading disability. They cited increasing evidence that reading disorders may be attributable to a variety of linguistic deficits. A large number of studies have evaluated the effects of visual motor training programs on skills and abilities in a variety of areas including reading. In three extensive reviews (Robinson, 1971; Hartman & Hartman, 1973; Hammill, Goodman & Wederholt, 1979), the studies summarized led to the conclusion that visual perceptual motor training has l i t t l e , i f any, relationship to improved academic achievement. Richardson et al (1980) looked at the relationship of specific tests of visual skills to phonic decoding, sightword reading, and comprehension in a sample of 77 poor readers in grades 1-6. Partial correlational analysis (with age and I.Q. as control variables) indicated no significant correlations between reading ability and two tests of visual perception. (The Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception and the Visual Closure subtest from the I.T.P.A.). I.Q. also failed to display a high positive correlation with the read-ing measures. The literature thus provides quite conflicting evidence, both in terms of the usefulness of visual perceptual tests and also the e f f i c i -ency of remedial programs based on the use of these tests. An added 13 difficulty is that there is a wide variety of perceptual tests each of which test a somewhat different aspect of visual perception. The Relationship of Auditory Perceptual Skills to Reading Skills In 1932, Monroe found that among fi r s t grade children, a group of non-readers made significantly more errors on auditory discrimi-nation tasks than did a group of adequate readers. Orton (1937) stated that he had been able to recognize only one factor common to problems of reading, writing and speech. This factor was the inability to rebuild, in order of presentation, sequences of letters,, of sounds or of units of movement. In 1947, Strauss and Lehtinen cited auditory perception as one of the most significant, yet most incompletely explained fields related to reading. In 1960, Vernon analyzed research on auditory perception. He concluded that, although specific defects in discrimination and analysis of speech sounds might be of major importance in cases of reading disability, i t was difficult to analyze the exact nature of the defects and that l i t t l e effort had been made to do so. Wepman (1962) found that 27 percent of 80 f i r s t grade children 14 with inadequate auditory liLscrimination had reading scores below the level of children with adequate auditory discrirrdnation. Thompson (1963) found that auditory discrimination was often in-adequate in children of 6-7 years of age. About a quarter of these children tested at 8 years s t i l l showed poor discriirdnation and half of these children were poor readers. On the other hand Thompson found that the majority of those who became good readers had adequate auditory discrimination. In 1963 Russell and Fea described the contradictory results of different pieces of research in the field of auditory perception and reading. They were of the opinion that the contradictions might be caused by different investigators explaining different elements of auditory discrimination. • Dykstra (1966) reported the relationships between pre-reading measures of auditory cLiscrimnation and reading achievement at the end of f i r s t grade. Data were gathered on 632 pupils in the Minneapolis Public School District. Seven tests of auditory discrimi-nation, selected from reading readiness tests and a group intelligence test, were adirdnistered to the children at the beginning of f i r s t grade. Two tests of reading achievement were given at -the end of the Grade 1 year. Intercorrelations among auditory discriinination measures and subsequent reading achievement were found to be uniformly 15 low. Intelligence was found to be significantly related to reading achievement in this study. Varner (1973) found a predictive relationship between auditory conceptualization and analysis skills of children at the beginning of Grade 1 and their reading achievement at the end of Grade 1. These skills, however, involve more complex auditory processing than simple discrimination. In 1974, Hammill and Larsen reviewed studies using correlational statistical procedures to examine the relationship between reading ability and measures of auditory perception. They concluded that auditory ,skills are not sufficiently related to reading to be useful in school practice. Auditory perceptual measures reviewed included auditory discrimination, auditory memory, blending and auditory-visual integration, but did not include auditory analysis, or auditory conceptualization. In contrast, Flower (1968), studying the evaluation of auditory ability in children with reading problems, concluded that 'auditory processing plays a major role in the mastery of this activity. The reconstruction of a spoken message from a printed page involves the transformation of visual stimuli into auditory stimuli. Graphemes are transformed into phonemes; printed words into spoken words. If a 16 child is unable to receive phonemes clearly, respond to them discrete-ly, retain them in accurate sequence and organize them into linguistic signs, he is likely to encounter formidable difficulties in learning to read 1. Rosner (1972), in his paper outlining the development and valida-tion of his Perceptual Skills Curriculum, stated that training children in auditory discrimination per se did not have any great value in helping the child to learn to read, whereas results of his work in developing auditory analysis skills have indicated improved reading scores. The literature thus provides conflicting evidence of the relation-ship between auditory perceptual skills and beginning" reading ability. However, auditory perception tests often tend to sample quite different behaviors. VJhile some tests are involved with memory of symbolic material, others look at ability to discriirunate between speech sounds and yet others test a child's ability to blend sounds together to make words. Lindamcod and Lindamcod (1974) investigated phonemic analysis as a factor in literacy development. 1,520 third grade students were tested on their abilities to perceive the number, identity and sequence of phonemes in syllables and words and their ability to conceptualize the auditory stimulus with a sequence of colored blocks as measured by 17 the L.A.C. Test. A positive correlation was found between reading performance (as measured by the Cooperative Primary Reading Test) and the L.A.C. Test. Apart from the work of Rosner, and of Lindamood and Lindamood, l i t t l e research has taken place in the specific area of auditory analysis and auditory conceptualization. To date, however, research in this area appears to be productive. 18 Chapter III DESCRIPTION AND TASK ANALYSIS OF THE ROSNER TESTS Rosner (1972) at the Learning Research and Development Centre at the University of Pittsburgh initiated a project which was organized into four goals to determine: 1. Which perceptual skills are related to reading and arithmetic at the primary level 2. Whether such skills can be trained effectively 3. Whether training can be measured in classroom behavior 4. Ways in which the training can be implemented in the classroom It was concluded that perceptual skills can be managed in the class-room by using an organized testing and training program. This project led to development of the Rosner T.V.A.S. and T.A.A.S. The Rosner Test of Visual Analysis Skills Rosner considered that the best way to investigate a child's visual perceptual skills is with a copying test, rather than by the use of discrimination tests. • He emphasized the importance of the child's being able to analyze 19 relatively complex visual patterns into separate parts and to recognize the way those parts f i t together. He felt that poor visual perceptual skills are related to a lack of ability to classify visual information. He emphasized that, when children have difficulty with this test, the underlying processes can be taught and will lead to the child's having better ability to analyze what he sees. In his paper on the development and validation of his individualized perceptual skills ajrriculum, Rosner discussed his research into the transfer of perceptual skills to the process of learning to read. The Test of Visual Analysis Skills involves copying simple-to increasingly more complex designs and involves the analysis and synthe-sis of these designs. Initial designs involve connecting certain dots on a five dot configuration followed by nine dot maps and by 25 dot maps. In the more advanced stages some of the dots are missing. The child-ren must not draw in the dots but are asked to imagine that they are there. Finally a l l the dots are missing. The number of correct items is calculated. The author provides a checklist of scores expected for children from Kindergarten to Grade 3. It is also appropriate for older children who are having difficulties. In certain respects, the Rosner T.V.A.S. is similar to the spatial relationships subtest from the Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception. However, the Rosner test involves a more gradual progression from simple to com-plex and involves fading of visual landmarks. It therefore includes 20 a more visual conceptual component than many other visual perceptual tasks. Although the T.V.A.S. is essentially a copying task, i t incor-porates many visual-motor-perceptual skills. A task analysis of these • skills revealed the following subskills: Visual acuity Visual reception Hand eye coordination Visual-motor association Adequate pencil control Visual motor encoding Spatial relationships Visual (discrimination Visual gestalt formation Directionality Visual alertness Visual analysis and segmentation Part-whole relationships Visual closure Visual differentiation Visual synthesis Figure-ground perception Visual conceptualization and abstraction Visual sustained selective attention 21 Visual-motor vigilance Visual memory (short term) Achievement motivation Reflective versus impulsive learning style Organizational ability Ability to concentrate The Rosner Test of Auditory Analysis Skills Rosner (1978) stated that an auditory perceptual skills deficit usually shews up in the analysis of spoken words into phonemes.- He . pointed out that most auditory perceptual tests involve discrimination between pairs of spoken words. Although he recognized that some relationship has been shown between performance on discrimination tests and reading achievement, he considered that there are flaws in this type of test because i t requires only a discrimination response. Once the child recognizes that the two words differ, he need not analyze them further. He does not have to show that he knows how to analyze the whole spoken word into its phonemes and show that he recognizes how those phonemes are sequenced. The Rosner T.A.A.S. requires the child to analyze spoken words into their individual sounds. It is felt that a child must be able to iso-late the individual sounds within a spoken word before he can under-stand the concept of letters standing for sounds. When a child is able to conceptualize and isolate these sounds, he wil l be able to make 22 generalizations which wil l enable him to break the 'code' in reading and spelling. The T.A.A.S. starts at a relatively simple level and can be used with Kindergarten children. For example a child is asked to analyze a two syllable compound word into syllables. He is told "Say cowboy", then "Now say i t again, but don't say boy". The child has to conceptu-alize the whole word but say only what remains, when one element is taken away. The test then progresses to more complex tasks, e.g. "Say cucumber. Now say i t again but don't say cue (q)". Once the child has shown that he can deal with words at the syllable level, the test progresses to analysis of phonemes. For example, "Say meat. Now say i t again, but don't say 'm'" (the letter is sounded) . The test progresses to dealing with terminal phonemes and finally medial phonemes, for example, "Say stale. Now say i t again, but don't say 't'" (sounded). The test provides indications of adequate performance levels for children from Kindergarten to Grade 3. The author feels that any older child who can achieve at a Grade 3 level on his test has sufficient auditory analysis skills to be able to cope with the auditory perceptual aspects of learning to read. In an analysis of tasks involved in the Rosner Test of Auditory Analysis Skills, the following skills were revealed: Auditory reception Auditory acuity 23 Auditory conceptualization Auditory selective and sustained attention Auditory memory (short term) Auditory sequencing Speech sound discrimination Auditory abstraction Auditory analysis and segmentation Auditory synthesis and blending Auditory association Vocal encoding Auditory closure Auditory vigilance-Achievement motivation-Reflective versus impulsive learning style Organizational ability Auditory-vocal integration Ability to concentrate The T.A.A.S. can be shown to include a wide sampling of auditory per-ceptual behaviors rather than being a discrete auditory perceptual task. Validity and Reliability of the T.V.A.S. and T.A.A.S. Very l i t t l e information is available concerning the validity and reliability levels of the T.V.A.S. and the T.A.A.S. These tests 24 have largely been ignored in the literature, possibly because they were designed to be informal criterion referenced measures rather than standardized norm referenced instruments. Validity and reliability levels of the T.V.A.S. and the T.A.A.S. were requested from Academic Therapy Publications, the suppliers of these tests. They were unable to provide this information and mentioned that the tests have so far been used only as informal instruments. Information was also requested from Dr. Jerome Rosner, developer of these tests at the Learning Centre, University of Pittsburg. Unfortunately, no reply was received. In Rosner's earlier work (1961), test-retest reliability levels of .91 and .94 were reported for grade 1 and grade 2 on the T.A.A.S. At that-time, however, the test was considerably longer than the pub-lished version. Concurrent validity levels for this longer form of the T.A.A.S., when correlated with scores on the C.A.T. reading tests were .61 at the end of grade 1 and .57 at the end of grade 2. Validity and reliability information for the current version of the T.V.A.S. was unavailable. In view of the lack of reliability data for these tests, i t was decided to calculate test-retest reliability levels for the T.V.A.S. and the T.A.A.S. Existing groups of grade 1 and grade 2 children were used (23 grade 1 students and 28 grade 2 students from a city elementary school in School District #59). The sample was felt to be generally 25 representative of the grade 1 and grade 2 school population of the school district. Tests were given four weeks apart in the ninth... and tenth month of the school year. Results: T.V.A.S. grade 1 reliability (test-retest) .89 grade 2 reliability (test-retest) .93 T.A.A.S. grade 1 reliability (test-retest) .98 grade 2 reliability (test-retest) .96 The present study provides indication of the concurrent validity of these tests. METHOD 26 Chapter IV METHOD This chapter includes a description of the subjects, sampling procedures, instruments used, general procedure and statistical treatment of this study. Subjects The study involved children from five city elementary schools in School District #59 (Peace River South). School District #59 covers an area of some 10,000 square miles and serves some 5,000 students. The district is based on a farming economy with the city providing related service industries. The selected schools serve a population of children living within the city itself and also children who are bussed in from the surrounding rural community. Students in these classes came from a cross section of socio-economic groups. The five schools are believed to represent the general school population in the district as closely as possible. Thirty students from grade 1 and thirty students' from grade 2 were randomly selected (using a table of random numbers) from the popu-la t i o n of grade 1 and grade 2 students from these five schools. Students with known sensory defects, English as a Second Language students, children in the E.M.R. and T.M.R. programs and children 27 who were repeating their grades were excluded from the study. Testing. took place in the eighth and ninth months of the school year. The following students took part: 30 grade 1 students/age 6 yr. 5 mo. - 7 yr. 4 mo. (mean, 6 yr. 11 mo.) 12 girls 18 boys 30 grade 2 students/age 7 yr. 6 mo. - 8 yr. 5 mo. (mean, 8 yr. 1 mo.) 11 girls 19 boys Instruments following instruments were used in this study: The Wide Range Achievement Test (Reading subtest) (W.R.A.T.) 1967 Edition The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (P.P.V.T.) 1965 Edition The Rosner Test of Auditory Analysis Skills (T.A.A.S.) 1975 Edition The Rosner Test of Visual Analysis Skills (T.V.A.S.) 1975 Edition The reading subtest from the W.R.A.T. was selected as a quickly administered test of ability to recognize and identify individual words of increasing difficulty. The 1. 2. 3. 4. Reliability levels (split half) for the W.R.A.T. (reading subtest) are stated in the manual to be .98 and .99 for grades 1 and 2 respect-ively. Validity coefficients describing the relationship of the W.R.A.T. 28 (reading subtest) to the Stanford Achievement Test (vocabulary) are quoted as .68 at grade 1 and .79 at grade 2. The P.P.V.T. was selected to provide an estimate of verbal intelligence. This test involves, receptive vocabulary - just one aspect ' of verbal intelligence, but i t has been shown to be moderately to highly correlated to the Wechsler Verbal Scales. The manual quotes validity data ranging from .68 to .84 in the primary age range. Reliability levels (alternate forms) for the P.P.V.T. are stated as .74 at age 7 (equivalent to mean age of grade 1 sample) and .79 for age 8 (equivalent to mean age of qrade 2 sample). The T.A.A.S. (as previously outlined) involves the analysis of spoken words into separate parts. The task involves the child in repeating words and reouires him to omit certain word- parts or phonemes. Reliability and validity measures have been discussed in Chapter III. The T.V.A.S. (as previously outlined) involves copying designs using a series of dot patterns of increasing complexity. Reliability and validity measures have been discussed in Chapter III. 29 Procedure The thirty randomly selected grade 1 students and the thirty randomly selected grade 2 students were given the four tests as put-lined. The sixty students were a l l tested individually in a quiet room in their own schools during afternoon sessions. M l four tests were administered to each child during one session. To avoid introducina error due to multiple experimenters, one examiner collected a l l the data. Testing time for each student was in the range of twenty to . thirtv minutes, depending on speed of response and ability level. The tests were consistently aiven in the following order: P.P.V.T., W.R.A.T., T.A.A.S., T.V.A.S. As subjects entered the room, time was taken to establish rapport and to explain the general procedure as follows: The examiner said: "Hello, I'm a teacher and you are here because you are just the right age to help me. I'm goina to aive you some different thinas to do. Some thinas wil l seem quite easv, but some things are for older child-ren. I don't expect you to know a l l the answers. Just try vour best and we'll see how many thinas you can do. Alrioht?" On the P.P.V.T., each grade 1 student started with plate #40, and each grade 2 student started at plate #49. Standard procedures 30 and scoring were used to provide a raw score for each child. On the W.R.A.T. reading subtest, each child started with the fi r s t printed word on level 1. Otherwise, the test procedure was that given in the manual. A raw score was obtained by counting the actual number of words read accurately. (This differs from the regular scoring procedure.) The T.A.A.S. was given using standard procedures. Raw scores were, obtained by countinq the number of correct responses (not including practice items). The T.V.A.S. was also given using standard procedures. Raw scores were obtained by counting the number of correct responses (not including practice items). The examiner did not indicate the accuracy of the children's responses, but encouraged them as appropriate with neutral comments such as "Fine", "You're working hard". If the subject gave more than one response, the subject's final response was then scored, even i f a previous one was correct. Subjects who were hesitant or reluctant were encouraqed to guess. When items became too difficult the examiner encouraged the children by saying "You'll know that one when you're older." 31 Statistical Treatment Using raw scores, Pearson Product Moment correlations were calculated in order to examine the relationship between several combi-nations of variables. The significance of the obtained correlations • was estimated using the two-tailed *t' test. The following pairs of variables were correlated. 1. P.P.V.T. with W.R.A.T. 2. T.A.A.S. with W.R.A.T. 3. T.V.A.S. with W.R.A.T. 4 . T.A.A.S. with P.P.V.T. 5. T.V.A.S. with P.P.V.T. For each of the above pairs of variables, correlations were obtained for the following categories. 1. Grade 1 subjects 2. Grade 2 subjects In view of the small numbers of girls and boys at each grade level, separate correlations for boys and for girls were considered to be inappropriate. RESULTS 32 Chapter V RESULTS This chapter includes details of descriptive statistics for the P.P.V.T., W.R.A.T., T.A.A.S. and the T.V.A.S.; comparisons of means and standard deviations with those reported for the normative groups, and correlations between P.P.V.T. and W.R.A.T., T.A.A.S. and W.R.A.T., T.V.A.S. and W.R.A.T., T.A.A.S. and P.P.V.T. and T.V.A.S. and P.P.V.T. at each grade level. Descriptive statistics for the P.P.V.T., W.R.A.T., T.A.A.S. and the R.V.A.S. are recorded in Tables la, lb, Ic and Id. Predictably, a l l mean raw scores for grade 2 are higher than for grade 1. Grade 1 raw scores for the P.P.V.T. ranged from 51 to 85 with a mean of 61.16 and a standard deviation of 6.54. Inspection of Appendix C reveals fairly normal distribution above the mean. Grade 2 raw scores for the P.P.V.T. ranged from 58 to 103 with a mean of 72.13 and a standard deviation of 9.66. Again, the frequency distribution is approximately normal. (See Appendix C) 33 Table Ia Descriptive Statistics for P.P.V.T. Grade 1 Grade 2 Grades 1 i < 2 N Mdn. X S.D. R N Mdn. X S.D. R N Mdn. X S.D. R o vo o ro o - r o rH - p i n rH vo o vo o • • m • • VD • as o rH • - f o o CN r- o - r VO co VO VO VD ro ro ro VD vo VD as -r Grade 1 raw scores (number of words read) on the W.R.A.T. ranged from 6 to 34 with a mean of 25.13 and a standard deviation of 7 .04. Inspection of the frequency' distributions (Appendix C) revealed that those scores were somewhat negatively skewed. Grade 2 raw scores on the W.R.A.T. ranged from 21 to 52 with a mean of 35.86 and a standard deviation of 7 .83. In the grade 2 sample, inspection of Appendix C revealed that scores were fairly normally distributed about the mean. Table lb Descriptive Statistics for W.R.A.T. Grade 1 Grade 2 Grades 1 & 2 N Mdn. X S.D. R N Mdn. X S.D. R N Mdn. X S.D. R o ro 27.00 25.13 7.04 CO CN o ro 35.00 35.86 7.83 rH ro o vo 32.00 38.44 9.18 vo 34 Raw scores on the T.A.A.S. in the grade 1 sample ranged from.4 to 13 (from a possible range of 1 - 13), with a mean of 10.13 and a standard deviation of 2.40. Scores tended to be very closely grouped about the mean at both grade 1 and grade 2 levels. Raw scores on the T.A.A.S. in the grade 2 sample ranged from 7 - 1 3 (from a possible range of 1 - 13) with a mean of 10.63 and a standard deviation of 1.77. Raw scores on the T.A.A.S. at both grade 1 and grade 2 levels indicated a negative skew which i s likely to be related to a ceiling effect. Table Ic Descriptive Statistics for T.A.A.S. Grade 1 Grade 2 Grades 1 & 2 N Mdn. V S.D. R N Mdn. X S.D. R N ytdn. X S.D. R o ro o ro o 00 o rH o o vo o ro ro • • . • rH o rH o • o rH o . o rH o • ro 0.1 30 0.26 >0.1 60 0.45 (0.001 40 This study indicates high positive relationships between auditory analysis skills (as measured by the Rosner T.A.A.S.) and word recog-nition (as measured by the W.R.A.T. reading subtest). Significance at both the grade 1 and grade 2 levels exceeds the 0.1% confidence level. See table 11 lb. Table n i b Correlations: T.A.A.S. with W.R.A.T. Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 1 & 2 N "r p N r p N r p 30 0.79 <0.001 30 0.70 <0.001 60 0.66 <0.001 41 At both the grade 1 and grade 2 levels, results indicate a low but insignificant relationship between visual analysis skills (as measured by the Rosner T.V.A.S.) and work recognition (as meansured by the W.R.A.T. reading subtest) . See table IIIc. Table IIIc Correlations: T.V.A.S. with W.R.A.T. Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 1 & 2 N r p N . r p N r p 30 0.27 >0.10 30 0.12 >0.10 60 0.26 <0.05 42 When scores at the grade 1 and 2 levels were oornbined, positive significant relationships were revealed between both the T.A.A.S. and the T.V.A.S. and the W.R.A.T. results. In this study, the Test of Visual Analysis Skills was found to be somewhat more closely related to verbal intelligence (as measured by the P.P.V.T.) than to the Test of Auditory Analysis Skills. Correlations between the T.A.A.S. and the P.P.V.T. were very low and insignificant at both the grade 1 and grade 2 levels, suggesting that there is l i t t l e common variance shared by verbal intelligence, as tested by the P.P.V.T. and auditory analysis skills (as tested by the T.A.A.S.) . See Table Hid. Table H i d Correlations: ' T.A.A.S. with P.P.V.T. Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade .1 & 2 N r p -> N r p N r p 30 0.02 >0.10 30 0.18 >0.10 60 0.15 >0.10 43 Correlations between the T.V.A.S. and the P.P.V.T. were found to be low and insignificant at the grade 1 level. At the grade 2 level, and the combined grade 1 and grade 2 levels, the correlations were significant at the 0.1 and the .01 level respectively. See Table Hie. Table H i e Correlations: T.V.A.S. with P.P.V.T. Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 1 & 2 N r p N r p N r p 30 0.19 >0.10 30 0.36 <0.10 60 0.41 <0.01 44 Table IV provides a sumrrary of results, including significance levels. Table IV Summary of Results Grade 1 ir P P.P.V.T. vs W.R.A.T. 0.05 >0.1 T.A.A.S. vs W.R.A.T. 0.79 <0.001 T.V.A.S. vs W.R.A.T. 0.27 >0.1 T • .A • .A» S • vs P.P.V.T. 0.02 >0.1 T.V.A.S. vs P.P.V.T. 0.19 >0.1 Grade 2 P.P.V.T. vs W.R.A.T. 0.26 >0.1 T.A.A.S. vs W.R.A.T.. 0.70 <0.001 T.V.A.S. vs W.R.A.T. 0.12 >0.1 T.A.A.S. vs P.P.V.T. 0.18 >0.1 T.V.A.S. vs P.P.V.T. 0.36 <0.1 Grades 1 & 2 P.P.V.T. vs W.R.A.T. 0.45 <0.001 T • • J\, • S • vs W.R.A.T. 0.66 <0.001 T.V.A.S. vs W.R.A.T. 0.26 <0.05 vs P.P.V.T. 0.15 >0.1 T.V.A.S. vs P.P.V.T. 0.41 <0.01 DISCUSSION & SUGGESTIONS 4 6 Chapter VT DISCUSSION & SUGGESTIONS The results of this study indicate that a positive statistically significant relationship exists, at the grade 1 and 2 levels, between auditory analysis, as measured by the Rosner Test of Auditory Analysis, and word recognition, as measured by the W.R.A.T. (reading subtest). It is interesting to note that a l l grade 1 students with T.A.A.S. scores below 7 had low scores on the W.R.A.T. (reading subtest) . Teachers confirmed that these particular students were also experi-encing considerable difficulties in learning to read in the classroom situation. A l l grade 2 children with T.A.A.S. scores below 8 also had low scores on the W.R.A.T. (reading subtest). Teachers at the grade 2 level expressed concerns that these students with low T.A.A.S. scores were also experiencing particular difficulties with learning phonics skills. Rosner (1975), believed that auditory analysis skills could be trained by using a sequential auditory analysis program involving the conceptualization and sequencing of phonemes within words. Results of the present correlational study appear promising and lend credence to the initiation of a pilot project to develop the Rosner Auditory 47 Training Program for children who have difficulty with the T.A.A.S. In this way a study can be made of the transfer of training to word recognition skills. A low positive, but insignificant correlation between the T.V.A.S. and the W.R.A.T. (reading subtest) at the grade 1 and grade 2 levels suggest that the relationship between visual analysis skills (as tested by the T.V.A.S.) and word recognition (as tested by the W.R.A.T.). is more tenuous. However, when scores at the grade 1 and grade 2 levels are combined, the correlation becomes significant at the 5% level. Inspection of the raw scores on the T.V.A.S. at the grade 1 level reveals a tendency for children who scored below 8 to have low scores on the W.R.A.T. (reading subtest) unless they also had compensatory strengths on the T.A.A.S. This tendency was not in evidence at the grade 2 level. It is interesting to note that in the total sample there were no extremely low scores on the T.V.A.S. or W.R.A.T. A l l children were able to complete at least 6 designs and could recognize at least 6 words. Replication of this study with a sample including more 'low achievers' may reveal a closer relationship between the T.V.A.S. and the W.R.A.T. (reading subtest). From results of the present study, however, there appears to be insufficient evidence to suggest that the initiation of the Rosner Visual Analysis program would be effective in developing pre-requisite word recogni-tion skills. Further evaluation of the relationship Between the T.V.A.S. 48 and word recognition is recommended. It is important to remember that this study is concerned with the extent to which word recognition is related to the skills of auditory and visual analysis as measured by the Rosner tests and not to auditory analysis and visual analysis constructs per se. SUGGESTIONS In view of the promising results derived from the present study in terms of the relationship between auditory analysis (T.A.A.S.) and word recognition (W.R.A.T. reading) the following recommendations for further research are proposed: 1. Predictive validity studies of the T.A.A.S. could be made by testing students towards the end of the Kindergarten year and correlating results with word recognition ability 1 year and 2 years later. 2 . Effectiveness of the T.A.A.S. training programs could be studied using matched groups. Transfer of train-ing to word recognition/phonics skills could be studied at a variety of grade levels. 3. The relationship between the T.A.A.S. and word recogn-nition/phonics ability at the intermediate and high school levels could be studied. Initial work in this 49 area has suggested a relationship between the T.A.A.S. and word recognition even at these levels. The results of the present study can be seen as a premising beginning in the development of a criterion referenced instrument for possible inclusion in a district-wide screening program. The speed of testing with the T.A.A.S. (less than 5 minutes per child), is immediately appealing. The ready availability of prograimung and resource material for remediation is also likely to be welcomed by the busy teacher. Ready prepared lessons can be tailored to f i t the individual needs of the child during very short periods each . day (approximately 10 minutes per group). However, i t is suggested that considerable work is s t i l l required, as outlined above, before the T.A.A.S. and its follow-up remedial procedures should be promoted on a large scale. REFERENCES 50 REFERENCES Barsch, R. H. A Movigenic (Curriculum. Madison, Wise: State Dept. of Public Instruc., 1965, 25. Black, F. W. Achievement Test Performance of High and Low Perceiv-ing Learning Disabled Children. Journal of Iiearning Disabilities, 1974, 7 (3), 178-182. Chalfant, J. and Scheffelin, M. Central Processing Dysfunctions in Children: A Review of Research. U.S. Dept. of Health, Education and welfare, 1966. Cruickshank, W. M. Some Issues facing the Field of Learnxng Dis-ability. 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Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 1941, 36, 236-248. Zeitlin, S. Kindergarten Screening: Early Identification of Poten-t i a l High-Risk Learners. Springfield Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, 1976. APPENDICES 55 Appendix A . SYMBOLS and ABBREVIATIONS USED W.R.A.T. Wide Range Achievement Test (Jastak & Jastak 1967) P.P.V.T. Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (L. M. Dunn 1965) T.A.A.S. Rosner Test of Auditory Analysis Skills (J. Rosner 1975) T.V.A.S. Rosner Test of Visual Analysis Skills (J. Rosner 1975) T.S. Total Sample S. No. Subject Number R.S. Raw Score Mdn. Median R - Range 56 Appendix B (.1) Raw Scores for 30 Grade JL Subjects Subject Number W.R.A.T. P.P.V.T. T.V.A.S. 1 13 59 8 7 2 30 62. 11 8 3 15 63 8 9 4 16 54 4 8 5 30 55 11 12 6 15 61 5 8 7 27 51 11 8 8 29 55 11 12 9 21 63 8 8 10 32 55 12 8 11 26 63 12 10 12 15 55 7 6 13 34 59 11 11 14 32 76 11 12 15 23 - 59 13 11 16 27 56 9 8 17 19 67 10 11 18 27 62 11 8 19 30 64 11 11 20 28 56 13 11 21 27 60 12 11 22 6 61 5 11 23 24 66 11 8 24 34 65 12 9 25 32 61 12 6 26 25 85 12 11 27 29 57 13 9 28 31 59 11 15 29 33 63 11 10 30 24 63 8 6 57 Appendix B (2). Raw Scores for 30 Grade 2 Subjects Subject W.R.A.T. P.P.V.T. T.A.A.S. T.V.A.S. j Number 1 34 67 11 10 2 28 64 11 10 3 33 68 9 6 4 33 80 9 14 5 35 60 10 11 6 39 79 13 13 7 49 79 13 11 8 34 71 11 8 9 21 73 11 11 10 43 77 13 12 11 37 76 10 12 12 52 95 13 15 13 40 64 12 9 14 33 58 13 12 15 . 39 ' 70 11 12 16 24 69 8 11 17 34 103 12 14 18 35 71 10 7 19 35 60 11 10 20 49 80 12 9 21 40 73 11 11 22 43 66 11 11 23 45 61 12 14 24 22 70 7 10 25 21 75 6 15 26 35 65 9 14 27 28 70 8 8 28 38 65 11 9 29 34 73 11 11 30 43 82 10 10 Appendix C (1) Medians, Means, Standard Deviations & Distribution of Raw Scores for P.P.V.T. Mdn. X S.D. N 50-55 56-61 62-67 68-73 74-79 80-85 86-91 92-97 98-103 Gr.l 61.00 61.16 6.54 30 6 11 11 0 1 1 0 0 0 Gr.2 70.50 72.13 9.66 30 0 4 6 10 5 3 0 1 1 T.S. 64.00 66.64 9.90 60 6 15 17 10 6 4 0 1 1 Medians, Means, Appendix C (2) Standard Deviations & Distribution of Raw Scores for W.R.A.T Mdn. X S.D. N 4-9 10-15 16-21 22-27 28-33 34-37 38-43 44-49 50-55 Gr.l 27.00 25.13 7.04 30 . 1 2 2 10 10 2 0 0 0 Gr.2 35.00 35.86 7.83 30 0 0 2 2 5 9 8 3 1 T.S. 32.0 38.44 9.18 60 1 3 5 12 15 11 8 3 1 00 Medians, Appendix C (3) Means, Standard Deviations & Distribution of Raw Scores for T.A.A.S. • Mdn. X S.D. N 0-1 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 12-13 Gr.l 11 10.13 2.40 30 0 0 3 1 5 12 9 Gr.2 11 10.63 1.77 30 0 0 0 2 5 14 9 T.S. 11 10.38 2.13 60 0 0 3 3 10 26 18 Medians, Appendix C (4) Means, Standard Deviations & Distribution of Raw Scores for T.V.A.S Mdn. X S.D. N 0-1 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 12-13 14-15 Gr.l 9 9.63 2.09 30 0 0 0 4 12 10 3 1 Gr.2 11 10.93 2.24 30 0 0 0 2 5 13 4 6 T.S. 10 10.28 2.29 60 0 0 0 6 17 23 7 7 vo