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Determining validity and reliability of an online learning disabilities screening battery for use on adults
DISSERTATION

, University of Kansas, United States

University of Kansas . Awarded

Abstract

Assessing and identifying individuals with learning disabilities is a complex and controversial task. Many adults who have managed to make their way through the school system without being identified rely on self-referral or referral from an adult agency such as social rehabilitative services or adult basic education in order to be assessed and identified. These various adult agencies often use different definitions and criterion for determining whether or not a person has an LD and are often under-staffed with available staff lacking the necessary training to adequately identify adults as having an LD. Given all these factors the assessment and identification process can be quite cumbersome and expensive for adults. What is needed is a screening battery that can be used to efficiently and effectively identify those adults who are most likely to be diagnosed with an LD. This battery should be easy to administer and score and shown to be reliable and valid based on results of extensive field tests. Although few such screening batteries exist, one, the Adult Learning Disabilities Screening Battery (ALDS) (Mellard, 1999) has been validated and a paper-pencil version is currently in use.

The purpose of this project was to develop and validate an online version of the ALDS (e-ALDS). First, with input from test administrators, participants, and design literature, the e-ALDS was created. Participants completed both versions of the ALDS, and results were compared. Based on these results, the e-ALDS appears to be a valid and reliable battery for screening adults for learning disabilities.

Citation

Lancaster, S.J.C. Determining validity and reliability of an online learning disabilities screening battery for use on adults. Ph.D. thesis, University of Kansas. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from .

This record was imported from ProQuest on October 23, 2013. [Original Record]

Citation reproduced with permission of ProQuest LLC.

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Keywords