Revision and Validation of a Test for Assessing the Spatial Conceptual Abilities of Visually Impaired Children

Abstract

The purpose of the investigation described in this article was to revise Hill's test for assessing the development of spatial concepts among visually impaired children, “Concepts Involved in Body Position and Space,” establish the test's validity and reliability, and collect normative data. Orientation and mobility specialists administered the revised instrument to 273 visually impaired children ages 6 through 10 from 48 different educational programs in 23 states. Normative data were then collected in the form of percentiles by age; percentage passing each item by age and by reading modes; and indexes for the difficulty and discriminatory power of each item as well as the proportion of correct answers. According to the results, the revised instrument is valid and reliable enough to use with visually impaired children in the age groups studied.