Comparative Validity of Two Preschool Screening Tests

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Abstract
Screening tests have the explicit purpose of assigning individuals an initial classification (ie, at risk or not at risk) in a sequential assessment process. Although screening test validity studies generally present correlational validity coefficients based on continuous scores, validity figures based on classificational scores, which summarize the proportion of accurate and inaccurate predictions, are more relevant to the decision-making function of screening tests. Correlational and classificational approaches were compared in a concurrent validity study of 40 preschool children who were given two screening tests (Denver Developmental Screening Test and Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning) and three criterion measures (Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery). Correlations between the two screening tests and between the screening and criterion measures were inconsistent with prediction rates based on classificational screening test scores. On the basis of correlational validity coefficients, relationships between measures in this study would have been overestimated.