Section 8 Assessment in Education - Cognitive Ability PDF

(Ignore US data, legislation.) You are all experts in psychological assessment from the perspective of a learner in educational contexts. Use that experience to facilitate your understanding of the concepts in this section. **A.** Let me first make some distinctions among types of tests common in...

(Ignore US data, legislation.) You are all experts in psychological assessment from the perspective of a learner in educational contexts. Use that experience to facilitate your understanding of the concepts in this section. **A.** Let me first make some distinctions among types of tests common in education. Recognize that while the terms make it seem that these types of tests are distinctly different from each other, we'll discover that their characteristics overlap considerably. It's best to think of these key terms as representing a continuum of ability through to achievement. Here are some definitions which emphasize the differences among them, however. 1. Tests of **Achievement**: measure [learning accomplishment] in specific conceptual or skill areas, following a program of instruction in these areas. 2. Tests of **Ability** or **Aptitude**: estimate one's [capacity for learning, usually something specific]. Think "mechanical" or "clerical" aptitude as examples. A newer conceptualization includes a general Cognitive Ability tests for which are not necessarily distinguishable from 3. Tests of **Intelligence**: measure a [more general ability] to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations, thereby reflecting the capacity for goal-directed adaptive behaviour. And here is a figure which shows them along the continuum. *See Figure 11.1 Hogan p. 308* *We can distinguish Intelligence from Ability or Aptitude by its being the most general among them. We'll start at this most general end of the continuum to consider Intelligence.* ***B. Intelligence*** *Let's start with a quick history:* ***Video: Intelligence2 *** **What is intelligence?** 1\. Intelligence has been a focus of interest and study for a very long time. For example, [Galton] (1883) saw intelligence as comprised of one's sensory abilities which might include: speed of mental processing, perceptual speed, and reaction time. Some more recent investigators would say that purely physiological measures like blood glucose consumption and brain size are the marks of intelligence. Alfred [Binet] said this: "Intelligence is the tendency to take and maintain a definite direction, the capacity to make adaptations for the purpose of attaining a desired end and the power of autocriticism." [Wechsler] (1958) defined intelligence as: "the aggregate/ global capacity to act purposefully, think rationally, deal effectively with the environment". And, he said, don't ignore "non-intellective" factors like? (drive, persistence, values) Here is a definition of intelligence from American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald: "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see things are hopeless yet be determined to make them otherwise." What additional cognitive and intellective factors might be implicated in this version of intelligence? 2\. Factor analytic theories Recall from Research Methods class that factor analysis is a statistical operation which identifies the degree to which scores on different measures correlate among themselves. How consistently would you find a high score on Text X and a high score on Test Y? Indeed, we find that scores on multiple tests of ability tend to be similar to a degree. [Spearman] (1927) saw this as evidence of a small general intelligence factor which he named **"g"**. It is indeed more common for someone testing high on one test of some ability or other to test high on others. There remains much of intelligence, though, which is not "g", according to factor analysis. Spearman regarded "g" as a "general mental ability factor which underlies all intelligent behaviour". He thought that there were other specific abilities which he labelled "s" and error, which he labelled "e", making up the remainder of what accounts for how people vary in their intelligence, as measured by intelligence tests. The 2 Factor theory of intelligence was born. Intelligence equals *g + s + e*. Others, like [Thurstone], were more convinced that there was a complex of "primary mental abilities" pointing not to "g" but to a collection of independent "intelligences". [Cattell] (1941, 1971) (gave us the sub-components of *g*: **G~c~** or [crystallized] intelligence, represents well-learned acquired skills and knowledge, and **G~f~** designates [fluid] intelligence: active mental processing like analysis and problem-solving ability which doesn't depend on language and is not the result of specific instruction but typically involves solving novel problems. [Horn] (1989), a colleague of Cattell, identified a number of further distinctions among intellectual abilities. [Carroll] (1997) (Hogan text pp. 260, 261) offered his "three-stratum" theory of cognitive abilities. The top stratum is *g*. the second stratum is comprised of sub-abilities and processes which include G~f~, G~c~, memory and learning, visual/auditory perception, retrieval, and speed. The third stratum involved sub-sub-abilities and processes. *See Figure 8.3 p. 210 of the text.* An integrative attempt has led to the [Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC)] model of cognitive abilities which characterizes the underlying construct of intelligence of the most widely used intelligence tests. 3\. Information processing models Russian neuropsychologist Aleksandr Luria initiated the development of these models. He was less concerned with what information was processed than how it was processed. He postulated: **C. Intelligence Testing** **1. The Stanford-Binet intelligence scales (Hogan text pp. 225 -- 227)** At the turn of the 20th century, Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon were charged with designing a measure of intelligence which would identify those children in the Paris school system who were mentally "disabled", in order to arrange for them remedial education. The test was based on two key concepts: first, that as children become older, they become more capable relative to younger children. This is the [principle of Age Differentiation.] Since Binet considered intelligence to involve attention, judgment and reasoning, he chose tasks for this test which would require these particular cognitive abilities, but his concern was the sum product of these abilities: the [principle of General Mental Ability (g).] *For practice: Converting the years to months, what is this young girl's "ratio IQ"?* *(59 divided by 48 X 100 = 123)* *Compare this to her "deviation IQ" as derived from the normative data in 1972.* *Compare the ratio IQ to her "deviation IQ" as derived from the normative data in 1972.* *See Table 8.8 p. 226 in our text.* i/ Psychometric properties Validity: Content-related evidence for validity was generated by expert analysts and through empirical item analysis. Criterion-related evidence, first of all, concurrent validity evidence, was established by comparing the Stanford-Binet 5th edition with recent Wechsler scales. Predictive validity was established by comparing the Stanford-Binet 5 with the Woodcock-Johnson subsequent achievement tests and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT). Construct validity was established through factor analytic studies. iii/ Scoring and interpretation **[Measured IQ range]{.smallcaps}** **[Category]{.smallcaps}** ------------------------------------- -------------------------------- 145 - 160 very gifted or highly advanced 130 - 144 gifted or very advanced 120 - 129 superior 110 - 119 high average 90 - 109 average 80 - 89 low average 70 - 79 borderline impaired or delayed 55 - 69 mildly impaired or delayed 40 - 54 moderately impaired or delayed **2. The Wechsler tests: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (Hogan text pp. 215 -- 224)** a\. The design of the first Wechsler test was in part a reaction to the limitations of the Stanford-Binet. It was characterized by adequate adult norms, a [point scale] format, and non-verbal performance scale. In a point scale, items tapping the same cognitive domain are grouped together in graduated degrees of difficulty. b\. Until the latest WAIS-IV, the verbal versus the performance portions of the test were scored separately and then combined to generate a full-scale I.Q. From the WAIS-III onward, factor scores were also available for these factors: Verbal Comprehension (VCI) (estimating Cattell's Gc), Perceptual Reasoning (PRI) (estimating Cattell's Gf), Working Memory (WM), and Processing Speed (PSI). The individual sub-tests are shown in *Table 8.5 p. 217 of your text. The factor or index* *scores are generated from the subtests shown in Table 8.4 on the same page.* d\. Psychometric properties A picture containing text Description automatically generated  ***Question:** If we were to use the [contrasting groups] method of seeking validity evidence, what should we find comparing the intellectually gifted and a control group as far as their FSIQs are concerned? What do we see?* Text Description automatically generated  *↑ vs. ↑* e\. Test administration f\. Scoring and interpretation *See again the WAIS-IV facesheet on p. 222 of text* Table Description automatically generated **3. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (text pp. 223,224)** For those of you who expect to work with children, especially in school contexts, you should acquaint yourselves with the latest WISC. There is a Canadian version which was published in 2014 and is normed on a representative Canadian sample of young people aged six years to sixteen years, eleven months. As with the WAIS-IV, it generates FSIQ, VCI, PRI and WMI. The PSI index is now two: Visual Spatial and Fluid Reasoning. It has 21 subtests (up from 13 on the WISC-IV) including other subtest, process, and index scores intended for additional clinical uses.  **4. Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence - IV (WPPSI-IV)** The latest Canadian edition was published in 2012 and allows testing of children from two years, six months to 7 years 7 months. It generates the same IQ and Index scores as the WISC-V plus five additional scale scores tapping different aspects of cognitive ability. **5. Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence II** **(WASI-II)** Note that this short form of the WAIS is suitable for screening only. It includes two sub-scale versions (block design and vocabulary) and a four sub-test version (block design plus vocabulary plus similarities plus matrix reasoning). You're going to see when we get to the Psychoeducational batteries, especially, that comprehensive tests of cognitive ability look ever so much like the Intelligence tests we've been considering. There is indeed a confluence among all of these tests of general cognitive ability as to what comprises this construct. You see how more and more similar the Wechsler scales and the Stanford Binet have become and you'll recognize the same components in the Woodcock-Johnson. **D. Aptitude/Ability tests** Aptitude or Ability tests can be construed in a number of ways but they typically are meant to estimate one's [capacity for learning, usually something specific]. Therefore, they should have good predictive validity. Where does our "aptitude" for something come from? (innate abilities and lifelong learning) We would distinguish aptitude from intelligence by considering aptitude to be more specific than intelligence but not as tied to specific educational content as our achievement tests. 1. Primary School level *Go to [www.ets.org](http://www.ets.org) Select GRE on the menu at the bottom of the page. Then choose Prepare for the GRE General Test. Then choose Free GRE General Test Preparation Materials. In the first paragraph are three choices: Overview of the Verbal Reasoning measure, Overview of the Quantitative Reasoning measure and Overview of the Analytical Writing measure. Choose one and see the types of questions included - choose one and try Sample Questions.* *See Figure 5.7 on p. 142 in your text.* c\. Other aptitude tests *Table 9.10 of text p. 265: Examples of Tests Used for Graduate and Professional School Selection.*