Technical Analysis of the Slosson Phonics and Structural Analysis Test

Abstract

Technical characteristics of Slosson Phonics and Structural Analysis Test (SP-SAT) scores were studied using three independent samples of boys and girls aged 6 years, 6 months, through 9 years, 11 months. A decision efficiency study (n = 100) resulted in a total predictive value of .86 (sensitivity = .95, specificity = .77, positive predictive power = .80, negative predictive power = .94). Item difficulty was .65 (median), and item discrimination was .52 (median). Interitem consistency was r = .93, .93, and .96 for scores on the Phonics Index, Structural Analysis Index, and SP-SAT total standard score, respectively (n = 375), whereas 2-week test-retest reliability was r = .90, .88, and .90 for scores on the same scales, respectively (n = 165). The SP-SAT yielded moderate to high concurrent validity coefficients when compared with the Wide-Range Achievement Test-Third Edition Reading subtest; Woodcock-Johnson: Tests of Achievement-Third Edition Letter-Word Identification, Word Attack, Passage Comprehension, and Writing Samples subtests; and Woodcock-Johnson: Tests of Achievement-Revised Dictation subtest. Practice and research implications are discussed.

Keywords

reading phonics assessment structural analysis

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