Relationships of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities and the Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude

Abstract

A correlational study of the Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude and the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities was conducted. In this sample of 111 children with a mean age of 5 yr. 8 mo., specific subtests or scales of each instrument were compared and analyzed. General ability or skill measures of both instruments represented the highest levels of correlation and shared, or common, variance. The only specific learning abilities assessed by both instruments and demonstrating common variance were determined in the motor and/or perceptual areas. Few relationships were determined for verbal or quantitative abilities as assessed by either instrument.

THE McCARTHY SCALES OF CHILDREN'S ABILITIES: A NORMATIVE STUDY ON ENGLISH 4‐YEAR‐OLDS

“…The correlations between the McCarthy General Cognitive Index and ITPA and the Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language were both 0.48, and between the General Cognitive Index and the WISC-R full-scale, verbal and performance IQs 0.75, 0.65 and 0.62 respectively. In addition, comparisons have been made between the McCarthy General Cognitive Index and the Columbia Maturity Scale (r = 0*71), and the WPPSI full scale, verbal and performance IQs, r = 0.63, 0.75 and 0.59 respectively (Phillips et al, 1978), and the Detroit Test of Learning Abilities, r = 0.82 (Wiebe and Harrison, 1978). With the exception of Harrison and Wiebe's (1 977) work, where r = 0.45, correlations between the MSCA and other tests, especially with the Stanford-Binet, are moderate to high.…”