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Open Access Thesis

Keywords

Education, Preschool--Iowa; African Americans--Education (Preschool); African American students; Education, Preschool; Iowa Tests of Educational Development; Iowa;

Abstract

In the present study the factor structure of the Iowa Test of Preschool Development (ITPD) was examined separately for black and white children to assess the construct validity of the ITPD scales for each racial group and the degree to which factor structures of the black and white groups were congruent. Since the ITPD is intended to be used as a basis for programs involving individual assessment and remediation of the problem areas identified, it is advantageous that its construct validity be established. Intercorrelations of the scaled scores on the eight level I skill area achievement indexes (ages 2 to 3½) and on the scaled scores of the eleven level II skill areas (ages 3½ to 5) were obtained for black and white groups. The correlation matrices were then subjected to two different factor analytic techniques in order to examine the stability of the obtained solution. The following factor-analytic procedures were used: (1) principal components analysis (l's in the diagonals) with varimax rotation of factors with eigenvalues greater than one; and (2) principal factor analysis (estimates of communality in the diagonals) followed by varimax rotations of 2, 3, and 4 factor solutions. General Cognitive/Language and Motor factors were found for both the whites and blacks on level I of the ITPD. On level II, General Cognitive/Language, Concepts, and Motor factors were found for the black group and Language, Concepts, and Motor factors made up the white solution. While there were a few slight differences between the black and white factor solutions, these were minor in view of the high coefficients of congruence between the comparable black and white factors. Whether the ITPD is administered to a black or white child, the examiner can feel reasonably secure that the same underlying abilities are affecting the performances of each.

Year of Submission

1976

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Education

Department

Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations

First Advisor

Harley E. Erickson

Second Advisor

Ralph Scott

Third Advisor

Gordon Harrington

Comments

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Date Original

1976

Object Description

1 PDF file (51 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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