Date

9-2015

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Deanna L. Keith, Amanda J. Rockinson-Szapkiw

Keywords

Alternative Assessment Applied Behavior Analysis Assessment of Basic Language and Learning, Skills-Revised, Autism, Spectrum Disorder

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Disability and Equity in Education | Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Methods | Educational Psychology

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the content validity and inter-rater reliability of the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning Skills-Revised (ABLLS-R). Lawshe’s method was used to examine content validity of the assessment based on item analysis of responses from a panel of six experts. The six reviewers were experts in the fields of behavior analysis and autism. Inter-rater reliability was measured using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) based on scoring information from a panel of five experts after watching a video model of the assessment being administered to a student. The five reviewers were experts in the fields of teacher education and medicine; all of which have obtained at least a bachelor’s degree. Validating the ABLLS-R is a step towards meeting the criteria of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to be considered as an alternate assessment in the public school system. Results for content validity for the ABLLS-R were significant, including 395 of 544 items to be retained. Of the 395 items, 304 items were retained because their content validity ratio (CVR) exceeded the critical value cutoff of .800, and 91 items were retained based on the satisfaction of both the alternate accepted CVR cutoff of .33 and having experts’ comments for modifications or notations to add comments in the notes column for the items in the ABLLS-R Protocol manual. The ABLLS-R demonstrated good inter-rater reliability (ICC = .954, p = .05). These preliminary results begin to establish validity and reliability of the ABLLS-R and will likely increase its incorporation in the public school system state testing for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

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