RETEST EFFECTS AND EFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENT AL-CHANGES ON THE CPT-1 SCORE IN TESTING FIRST-GRADE CHILDREN

The evaluation of the effects of cognitive training programs is just o ne of many examples, where tests repeatedly are applied to the same su bjects and conclusions are drawn about changes in subjects' abilities based on the observed increases in test performance. However, increase s in test performance from test to retest are not necessarily the cons equence of true score changes in the related ability, but sometimes ar e solely a function of changes in test specific components. Primarily when testing children increases in test performance from test to retes t may reflect developmental changes in the related abilities. in a stu dy with first grade children hypotheses about possible causes (coachin g vs. testwiseness) and the durability of retest effects on the Cattel l culture fair intelligence test (CFT 1) were tested as well as assump tions about the magnitude of developmental changes of the assessed int ellectual abilities within 6, 18, and 24 weeks. For the total score of the CFT 1 a significant retest effect was shown after 6 weeks with ne ither coaching nor testwiseness unequivocally revealed to be the reaso n for this effect. Significant developmental increases of intellectual ability were found after 24 weeks, where these developmental changes were more pronounced for the subtests 1 and 2 reflecting perceptual ab ilities as compared to the subtests 3, 4, and 5.