Dissertation Dish: CHC prediction of third grade state reading

Use of Cattell-Horn-Carroll specific cognitive abilities to enhance prediction of reading on the third grade Pennsylvania System of State Assessment by Nicholson, Kathleen J., D.Ed., Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2009, 86 pages; AAT 3352434





Abstract

This correlational study examines three models of prediction with regard to 69 kindergarten and first grade students' later reading achievement on a third grade state assessment.

The first model of prediction analyzed sex, age and maternal level of education as predictors of reading performance on the third grade Pennsylvania System of State Assessment (PSSA). The second model of prediction examined the ability of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF) measure to predict reading achievement on the PSSA. The third model analyzed the use of Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) specific cognitive abilities to enhance the prediction of PSF of reading achievement.

The results from the analysis (Kendall's Tau B) showed no significant correlation between the baseline predictor variables (sex, age, and maternal level of education) and student performance on the PSSA. Similarly, in the second model, student performance on the PSF measure of the DIBELS revealed no relationship with later reading achievement. In the third model, CHC specific cognitive abilities did not enhance the prediction of reading performance. Although there was one correlation of significance between fluid intelligence (Gf) and PSSA scores, the sample size was too low to allow for generalizability. Additionally, Gf is not one of the CHC factors linked to reading achievement in the literature.

Restriction of ranges may have affected the results in that the majority of the students were in special education, and half of the sample was not proficient on the PSSA.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, education, CHC, Cattell-Horn-Carroll, PSSA, DIBELS, dissertation dish, IQs Corner