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Abstract

Attempts are being made to enhance the validity of aptitude and achievement tests by providing training experiences designed to elevate the scores of naive test takers. One such procedure incorporates "teaching items" that immediately precede parts of individually-administered tests. The potential benefits associated with teaching items are greatest for populations of preschool children who are naturally unaccustomed to testing situations. Preschool children between three and four years of age were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 30) administered standardized teaching items or to a control group (n = 30). Thereafter, all children were given the Vocabulary and Geometric Design subtests of the experimental edition of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R), followed by the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities-Short Form (MSCA-SF) as an external criterion measure. Research hypotheses anticipated relatively higher WPPSI-R ability scores and improved criterion validity for predicting MSCA-SF scores of children exposed to teaching items. However, equivocal support was found for both hypotheses, the most notable consequence being simultaneous decrements and increments in validity for the ability measures. Implications are discussed in the context of ability test theory and current practice.

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Using "Teaching Items" on Ability Tests: A Nice Idea,but Does it Work?

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