Comparison of static and dynamic assessment procedures and their relation to independent performance.

Abstract

Relationships between pretraining skills, ease of learning, and later posttest performance were assessed in both spatial (i.e., block design) and verbal (i.e., similarities) task domains. Eighty-four preschool children (M = 4 years 11 months, range = 4 years 0 months to 5 years 6 months) were given pretests, training, and posttests on block design and similarities tasks. Two measurement models and four structural models were tested to determine (a) if pretest, learning and posttest performances were domain specific, and (b) if paths from both pretests and learning assessments were needed to predict posttest performance. The measurement model that fit the data maintained separate verbal and spatial domains. The structural model that best fit the data included paths from both pretest and learning assessments to posttest performances within each domain. Thus, L. S. Vygotsky's (1978) claim that pretest and learning assessments together are better indicators of an individual's ability than either measure alone was supported.