Graduation Term

2016

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Department of Psychology

Committee Chair

W. J. Schneider

Abstract

Specific Learning Disorder is a disorder in which deficits in academic skills are caused by specific cognitive deficits. Cross-Battery Assessment (Flanagan, Alfonso, & Ortiz, 2013), is a popular method of diagnosing specific learning disorders. A recent study using data simulation methods claimed that cross-battery assessment was insufficiently accurate for clinical use (Stuebing, Fletcher, Branum-Martin, & Francis, 2012). However, the study used the general population base rate for specific learning disorders, resulting in misleadingly low accuracy estimates. The current study attempted to accurately simulate the cross-battery assessment method with a referred population prevalence to provide a fair analysis of cross-battery assessment’s diagnostic accuracy. Under the assumptions modeled, cross-battery assessment’s positive predictive value for specific learning disorder detection was between 71% and 93%, with negative predictive value between 43% to 80%. In addition, each additional testing phase adds increased diagnostic accuracy with diminishing returns.

Access Type

Thesis-Open Access

DOI

http://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2016.Roman.Z

Share

COinS