Relation between achievements on Acadia test of developmental abilities and intelligence in younger school children

Abstract

Academic success depends on numerous factors: intelligence, motivation, developmental level of basic and more complex cognitive functions, personality traits, etc. In special education, Acadia test of developmental abilities is most frequently used to assess the abilities necessary for acquiring academic knowledge and skills, with the aim to detect the children who have, or might have, learning disabilities. In Serbia, psychometric characteristics of the test have not been determined so far. Thus, the aim of this paper is to determine the relation between the achievements on this test and intelligence in a sample of younger school children who attend regular schools in Belgrade. The sample consisted of 784 children of both genders (51% of girls and 49% of boys), aged between 8 and 12 (AM=9.71; SD=0.65). Acadia test, which consists of 13 subtests for assessing attention and short-term memory, perceptive, visual-constructive, conceptual, and speech-language abilities, was used in this research. Intelligence was assessed by means of the standard version of Raven’s progressive matrices (AM=37.03; SD=10.51), and the examinees were organized in four groups on the basis of percentile ranks of the raw score (3 sections). By analyzing the results, statistically significant positive correlation was determined between all the subtests of Acadia test and intelligence, which ranges from 0.27 to 0.63. Age has a low (r=0.08-0.26), but also statistically significant correlation with the achievements on the subtests of Acadia test (p lt 0.05), except in the domain of Visual memory (p>0.05). By applying multivariate analysis of covariance, with controlling the influence of age, it was determined that intelligence is a significant factor of achievement on Acadia test (Wilks’ λ=0.502; F(39)=14.926; p≤0.000, ηp2 =0.205), and on all the subtests separately (p≤0.000), accounting for 7 to 35% of the results variability.

Školski uspeh zavisi od niza faktora: inteligencije, motivacije, nivoa razvijenosti bazičnih i viših kognitivnih funkcija, crta ličnosti, itd. U defektološkoj praksi se, za procenu sposobnosti neophodnih za usvajanje školskih znanja i veština, najčešće koristi Akadija test razvojnih sposobnosti, sa ciljem da se detektuju ona deca koja imaju ili bi mogla ispoljiti smetnje u učenju. Do sada, u Srbiji, nisu utvrđivane njegove psihometrijske karakteristike, te je cilj ovog rada da se utvrdi odnos između uspeha na ovom testu i inteligencije na uzorku dece mlađeg školskog uzrasta koja pohađaju redovne škole na teritoriji grada Beo­grada. Uzorkom je obuhvaćeno 784-oro dece, oba pola (51% devojčica i 49% dečaka), uzrasta između 8 i 12 godina (AS=9,71; SD=0,65). U istraživanju je primenjen Akadija test koji se sastoji od 13 subtestova namenjenih proceni pažnje i kratkoročnog pamćenja, perceptivnih, vizuokonstruktivnih, konceptualnih i govorno-jezičkih sposobnosti. Inteligencija je procenjena primenom standardne verzije Ravenovih progresivnih matrica (AS=37,03; SD=10,51), a na osnovu percentilnih rangova sirovog skora (tri preseka), ispitanici su grupisani u 4 grupe. Analizom rezultata utvrđena je statistički značajna pozitivna korelacija između svih subtestova Akadija testa i inteligencije, koja se kreće u rangu od 0,27 do 0,63. Uzrast je nisko (r=0,08-0,26), ali takođe statistički značajno povezan sa uspehom na subtestovima Akadija testa (p lt 0,05), izuzev u domenu Vizuelnog pamćenja (p>0,05). Primenom multivarijatne analize kovarijanse, uz kontrolu uticaja uzrasta, utvrđeno je da je inteligencija značajan činilac postignuća na Akadija testu (Wilks’ λ=0,502; F(39)=14,926; p≤0,000, ηp2 =0,205), kao i na svim subtestovima pojedinačno (p≤0,000), objašnjavajući iz­među 7% i 35% varijabilnosti rezultata.