Counselling internship report including an examination of the Boder test of reading-spelling patterns

Abstract

This report describes a thirteen-week internship programme completed at the Diagnostic and Remedial Unit, Memorial University of Newfoundland to fulfil the requirements for the completion of a Master's Degree in Educational Psychology. The purpose of the internship was to gain experiential knowledge in the area of assessment and counselling of children with learning difficulties. -- General internship goals, the activities carried out to achieve the goals, and conclusions regarding the effectiveness and limitations of the internship are presented in the first section of the report. The second section contains the report of the research aspect of the internship. -- The research component involved an examination of a test commonly used to assess reading disability, The Boder Test of Reading - Spelling Patterns. A concurrent validity study of this test was conducted and a preliminary examination of its construct validity. Thirty-one children referred to the Diagnostic and Remedial Unit during the internship were given the Boder, WRAT-R, and WISC-R. Relationships between these tests were examined. -- A correlation coefficient of 0.89 was obtained between the reading grade levels of The Boder Test of Reading Spelling Patterns and the reading subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test - Revised, thus providing support for the Boder's content validity. However, support for construct validity was limited. -- The research findings are discussed with reference to the use of the test in the local school systems. It was concluded that the test is time- consuming to administer and the information it provides to the user may be obtained in less time by using other tests with better psychometric properties.