Total Battery Score Research Articles

A Brief Cognitive Assessment Tool for Schizophrenia: Construction of a Tool for Clinicians

Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia is often severe, enduring, and contributes significantly to chronic disability. But clinicians have difficulty in assessing cognition due to a lack of brief instruments. We evaluated whether a brief battery of cognitive tests derived from larger batteries could generate a summary score representing global cognitive function. Using data from 3 previously published trials, we calculated the corrected item-total correlations (CITCs) or the correlation of each test with the battery total score. We computed the proportion of variance that each test shares with the global score excluding that test (R(t)(2)=CITC(2)) and the variance explained per minute of administration time for each test (R(t)(2)/min). The 3 tests with the highest R(t)(2)/min were selected for the brief battery. The composite score from the trail making test B, category fluency, and digit symbol correlated .86 with the global score of the larger battery in 2 of the studies and correlated between .73 and .82 with the total battery scores excluding these 3 tests. A Brief Cognitive Assessment Tool for Schizophrenia (B-CATS) using the above 3 tests can be administered in 10-11 min. The full batteries of the larger studies have administration times ranging from 90 to 210 min. Given prior research suggesting that a single factor of global cognition best explains the pattern of cognitive deficit in schizophrenia, an instrument like B-CATS can provide clinicians with meaningful data regarding their patients' cognitive function. It can also serve researchers who want an estimate of global cognitive function without requiring a full neuropsychological battery.

Motor assessment of preschool aged children: A preliminary investigation of the validity of the Bruininks–Oseretsky test of motor proficiency – Short form

The aim of this study was to examine the validity of the Bruininks–Oseretsky test of motor proficiency – short form (BOTMP-SF) [Bruininks, R. (1978). Bruininks–Oseretsky test of motor proficiency: Examiners manual. Circle Pines, MN] for the assessment of preschool aged children. Three-hundred and eighteen children 48–71 months old ( M = 58.97 months, SD = 6.73) participated in the study. For the data analysis both an ANOVA and a MANOVA were applied with the total battery score and the 14 item scores being the dependent variables, respectively. Age was found to have a significant effect on both children’s total battery score ( F(3, 314) = 110.65, p < .001, η 2 = .68) and 13 item scores (minimum F(3, 314) = 8.75, p < .001, minimum η 2 = .145). Although the aforementioned results represent an evidence for the validity of the BOTMP-SF, a closer study on the score of each item revealed a high percentage of zero scores on four items. Task difficulty has caused a floor effect, constituting a threat to the validity of the preschoolers’ motor assessment with the above battery. A modification of the battery items is suggested, so that the BOTMP-SF will give valid results for children 4–6 years old.

The association between vision quality of life and academics as measured by the College of Optometrists in Vision Development Quality of Life questionnaire

Undetected visual problems are one of the causes of academic difficulties in the classroom. An easily administered screening device that identifies children who are likely to do poorly in school because of vision problems would be a valuable tool. The screening should be able to be performed by a classroom teacher or aide. The objective of this study was to determine if there was an association between vision-related quality-of-life factors (19-item College of Optometrists in Vision Development Quality of Life [COVD-QOL] questionnaire checklist) and academic performance. A secondary objective was to determine whether student and parent responses to the questionnaire would be similar. Ninety-one parents or guardians and their children, attending the third, fifth, and seventh grades in a public school participated in this study. Both the parent or guardian and student independently completed the checklist. The scores of both groups were compared with the Stanford IX test scores for total reading, total math, total spelling, and total battery scores of the Stanford IX. The parent or guardian and student scores were compared to evaluate the agreement (intergroup reliability). Parent or guardian and student checklist scores were compared. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank test showed that the mean scores for the parent or guardian were significantly lower than for third grade students and also for the total sample. Visual symptoms were found to be inversely correlated to academic performance; the lower the academic score, the more symptoms were reported. Symptoms reported by third grade students and their parents tended to be more highly correlated with academic scores. In general, symptoms reported by the parent were more highly correlated with academic score than the symptoms reported by the student. The COVD-QOL questionnaire is a cost-effective, quick, and easy tool that may be used in school screening to identify possible visual symptoms that are correlated to academic performance.

An examination of adult onset offending

The onset of offending received much research attention in criminology; however, the majority of research focused on juvenile offenders. As a consequence, little was known about the prevalence of and causes associated with adult onset. Using data from the Philadelphia portion of the National Collaborative Perinatal Project followed through the mid- to late thirties, this study focused on the prevalence of adult onset and the factors related to adult onset. Three key findings emerged from this study. First, females were less likely than males to be adult onset offenders. Second, participants who had mothers that smoked cigarettes during pregnancy were more likely to be adult onset offenders. Third, participants who had higher scores on the total battery score of the California Achievement Test (CAT) were less likely to be adult onset offenders. Limitations and future research directions are outlined.

Factors associated with academic achievement in children with recent-onset seizures

Children with chronic epilepsy are more at risk for achievement problems than either children without seizures or children with other chronic disorders. Factors that lead to such problems in children with epilepsy, however, are not well understood. Exploring these factors is important because academic underachievement can lead to poor social outcomes and contribute to underemployment or unemployment in adulthood. This descriptive, cross-sectional study investigated a group of children who had been diagnosed with seizures approximately 12 months previously, providing the opportunity to describe relationships among family and child characteristics; parent, child, and teacher responses; and child academic achievement at the same point in time across the sample. Seventy-two children had standardized test total battery scores, 101 had a teacher's rating of performance, and 67 had scores for both. Data were analyzed using multivariable regression. Child adaptive competency and seizure severity were associated with higher teacher ratings of academic performance (beta=0.73, p<0.0001 and beta=2.38, p=0.0182, respectively). Child adaptive competency was associated with higher total battery scores (beta=0.73, p<0.0001). Contrary to findings in studies of children with chronic epilepsy, mean academic achievement in this sample of children with recent-onset seizures was in the average range; however, 25% of the children were at or below one standard deviation below the mean on the teacher's rating of performance and 10% on the total battery. It is therefore important for health professionals and educators to regularly assess the child's academic functioning and school performance to identify those at risk for problems. Health professionals and educators need to collaborate on assessment and interventions to help maximize child academic success.

Integrating Computers Into the Elementary School Curriculum

AbstractProject CHILD (Computers Helping Instruction and Learning Development) is a computer-integrated instructional program for the elementary school. It provides for curriculum realignment and a restructured organization for the elementary school to facilitate the integration of technology into the classroom. This paper reports on a longitudinal evaluation of the effects of the program on student achievement. The effect was positive and statistically significant, across grades and schools, for the three areas measured: reading, mathematics, and total battery scores on standardized tests. The effects were largest for students who had been in the program more than one year, as well as for students from schools with larger minority and free-lunch populations.

Black and White Students' Perceptions of Teacher Treatment

Abstract This study explored Black and White fifth-grade students' perceptions of teachers' treatment. Black and White fifth graders of similar achievement levels were selected from 10 schools in a large Mid-Atlantic public school system. The students were administered the Teacher Treatment Inventory (TTI) (Weinstein, 1984). Analysis of variance, with achievement (as measured by the California Achievement Test) as the covariate revealed that there were no significant differences reported on the TTI between the whole group of Black students and the whole group of White students on the total battery score of the TTI, nor on any of the three sub-scales. Additionally, an item analysis using t tests indicated no significant differences between Black students and White students on any of the 30 items of the TTI for the total group of students. When the data were analyzed by sex, however, we found differences on individual items and subscales between Black males and the other subgroups of White males, Black fema...

Factor analysis of the metropolitan readiness test on first-grade children

The factor composition of the Metropolitan Readiness Test was investigated, using 1st-grade subjects in a suburban school district. In this analysis, a total battery score was supported, as well as a second factor believed to represent a language dimension of the test. None of the MRT's other content areas (auditory, visual, or quantitative abilities) or a distinct prereading measure were identified for this sample.

Redundancy in the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills

The Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) Form S consists of 11 subtests, eight of which are combined to yield three subtotal scores and one Total Battery score. As part of the long term evalua tion of an early childhood preschool program, the CTBS was ad ministered to one sample of beginning fourth grade pupils and one sample of beginning sixth grade pupils. A factor analysis was per formed for the fourth grade sample on Level 1 and for the sixth grade sample on Level 2 of the CTBS. Results of both analyses showed but one common factor, with scant evidence for the useful ness of the eight different subtest or three subtotal scores produced by the CTBS.

Further Evidence on the Redundancy of the Stanford Achievement Test

The latest revision of the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT), Primary Battery I, consists of seven subtests combined to yield three subtotal scores and one Total Battery score. As part of the ongoing evaluation of an early childhood preschool program, the SAT was administered to second-grade children. It was noted that the results appeared to be similar regardless of which SAT scores were used. After it had been determined that an older version of the SAT, Advanced, had been factor analyzed and found to be highly redundant, a factor analysis was performed on the SAT, I scores of 927 beginning second grade pupils. Results of the analysis showed one common factor with no evidence for the differential utility of the seven subtest or three subtotal scores generated by the SAT.