THE DIFFERENTIAL VALIDITY OF STANDARDIZED ACHIEVEMENT-TESTS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENT PURPOSES - RESULTS AND IMPLICATIONS OF A ZIMBABWEAN STUDY

The study investigated the validity of three standardized achievement tests (BAS; Burt; WRAT-R) for special educational purposes for a sampl e of Zimbabwe school pupils (N=73) referred for learning difficulties. A means comparison analysis of variance procedure (Hull and Nie, 1984 ) was used to determine differences in achievement by selected demogra phic variables whilst controlling for intellectual ability levels. Sig nificant curriculum bias effects on achievement were obtained for the Burt word reading test and the WRAT-R spelling test. Type of school ef fects were also observed for the BAS and WRAT-R reading tests as well as the WRAT-R spelling test. The findings are discussed with reference to considerations for the use of standardized achievement test for sp ecial educational placement purposes. Suggestions for further research are given.