Thesis Abstracts 1991

In this investigation, we have studied the Multiple Grade Inventory for Teachers (MIT), a teacher-based instrument which assesses aspects of attention, activity, and academic performance in school-age children. Data used in the study come from a sample of 445 children (210 boys, 235 girls) who are part of the Connecticut Longitudinal Study of Learning Disability (CLS-LD). Factor analysis of MIT data from the sample in grades K through 5 resulted in six scales, labeled Academic, Language, Dexterity, Attention, Activity, and Behavior. Two broadband scales emerged from a second-order factor analysis, labeled Cognitive (Academic, Language, Dexterity) and Behavior (Activity, Behavior), with the Attention scale straddling both broad-band scales across grades. All scales demonstrated strong internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Concurrent and predictive validity were based on correlations between MIT scales and a variety of external criteria from the CLS-LD, including intelligence and achievement batteries, other teacherand parent-based behavioral inventories, and items from the MIT assessing for global academic and behavioral problems. Narrow-band Cognitive MIT scales correlated strongly with cognitive external criteria and not with behavioral criteria, while narrow-band Behavior MIT scales demonstrated the opposite profile. Mean scores were derived for all six scales for boys and girls in grades K through 5. Boys were scored on the MIT as having significantly more academic and behavioral problems in all grades. Children falling one standard deviation above the mean on the Activity and Attention scales were classified with the following diagnostic labels: Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), ADD without Hyperactivity (ADDnH), and ADD with Hyperactivity (ADDH). Children with a diagnostic label demonstrated significantly higher MIT scores than normals on all scales, indicating a higher degree of academic and behavioral impairment. Diagnostically identified children also had significantly higher rates of reading and mathematical learning disability and low achievement.