Test construction, analysis and trial of the Heidelberg Sound Discrimination Test for measuring auditory-kinesthetic perceptual discrimination acuity

Abstract

The provisional trial was carried out in a sample of 133 second- and 139 fourth-graders from the Heidelberg area. The HD-LT was subjected to an item selection, test criteria were ascertained and temporary percentile norms for the second and fourth grades were established. High item difficulty resulted for both grades, i.e. the test was relatively easy. Test criteria were generally satisfactory. Significant correlations were found in both grades between the HD-LT and the children's spelling ability. The HD-LT accounted for 30% of the spelling variance among second-graders as compared to 10% of that among fourth-graders. This reflects the specific significance of phonetic discrimination ability in the first years of elementary school. Children with spelling difficulties were compared to those with good spelling abilities in respect to their ability to discriminate sound. Spelling-impaired children in both grades exhibited a significantly lower overall HD-LT score. No significant sex differences were found with regard to the auditory and kinesthetic phonetic discrimination ability. Since the HD-LT turns out to be well-suited to indicate a phonetic discrimination disability during the initial phases of acquisition of written language, its further development and extension of its application to the pre-school level are recommended.