IDL - International Digital Library Of Management & Research Volume 1, Issue 3, Mar 2017
Available at: www.dbpublications.org
International e-Journal For Management And Research-2017
Concurrent Validity and Stability of the Maze Task in a Sample of College Students James M. Kuterbach Dept. of Human Development and Family Studies Penn State DuBois DuBois, PA, USA jmk110@psu.edu
Abstract:
This paper examines the concurrent validity and test-retest reliability of the maze task in a sample of college students. The maze task is a form of Curriculum Based Measurement that is typically used to assess reading comprehension in elementary and secondary students, but has not been used with college students. Three visions of the maze task (one-, two-, and three-minute probes) were created and compared to student scores on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT), student’s self-report of GPA, and scores on the SAT-Reading, -Math, and –Writing tests. The one-minute probe was found to have the best psychometric properties, with high correlations with the NDRT, GPA, and SAT-Reading, as well as divergent validity with the SAT-Writing test. Implications for use with college students is discussed. Keywords: Reading assessment, maze task, college students, learning disabilities 1.
INTRODUCTION
With the large influx of students with a learning disability into colleges and universities, administrators and evaluators need tools that will aid them in determining the need for special accommodations for student populations. While current assessments do a good job, they are generally lengthy and may be a deterrent to students seeking out assistance. What is needed is a brief screening tool that is both a valid and reliable measure of a student’s academic skills. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the reliability and validity of the maze task, a commonly used reading
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comprehension curriculum-based assessment tool, in a sample of college students. The disability category with the largest proportion of students continuing on for a postsecondary education is students with a learning disability (Horn, Berktold, & Bobbitt, 1999). Students with a learning disability also make up the fastest growing population of college students with a disability (Henderson, 2001), with more than twenty-seven percent of high school students diagnosed as having a specific learning disability continuing on for postsecondary education (Wagner, Newman, Cameto, Garza, & Levine, 2005). This increase in students with a learning disability at the postsecondary level is creating new challenges for educators, evaluators, and administrators. College disability services administrators report that students with a learning disability tend to want the same accommodations at the postsecondary level that they received in high school (e.g., oral essay exams, no foreign language, extended time on tests), even when the documentation of their disability maybe shaky, at best (McGuire, 2000). One author reports that the number of overall requests for specific accommodations had risen by more than 160% between the years 2000 and 2001 (Ofiesh, Mather, & Russell, 2005). The required type and comprehensiveness of assessments at the secondary and postsecondary levels, as well as the documentation needed to demonstrate a history of services varies greatly from institution to institution (Gregg, Coleman, Davis, Lindstrom, & Hartwig, 2006). Some students are required to produce documentation on 1|P a g e
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