Auditory and visual perception, sex, and academic aptitude as predictors of achievement for first grade children

No Thumbnail Available
Authors
Sexton, Larry Charles, 1943-
Advisor
Hayes, Robert E.
Issue Date
1976
Keyword
Degree
Thesis (D. Ed.)
Department
Other Identifiers
Abstract

This study explored the relationships among visual and auditory perception, academic aptitude, sex and achievement in reading, language arts and mathematics. The study also sought to determine if scores on visual and/or auditory perception would contribute additional predictive information about achievement beyond that already known through knowledge of sex and academic aptitude scores.Subjects in this study were the entire first grade population of an East Central Indiana rural and suburban public school corporation. The subjects were in the first grade in the school year 1974-1975.The data collected for each subject came from four sources: (1) the Primary Mental Abilities Test K-1 (PMA), (2) the Motor-Free Visual Perception Test (MVPT), (3) the Goldman-Fristoe-Woodcock Test of Auditory Discrimination (GFW), and (4) the Science Research Associates Achievement Series, Level 1-4, Form E.The data were treated by canonical and multiple regression analysis. Separate canonical correlation coefficients were computed for boys and girls. A canonical R of .725 (p <.O1) between the predictor and criterion variables was computed for boys. The greatest association was between the predictor variable MVPT and language arts and to a lesser extent, mathematics. The PMA was also associated with these criterion variables, but to a lesser degree. Results of the study also indicate that visual perception added significantly to prediction of achievement beyond that which is already known through knowledge of a subject's sex and academic aptitude score. Auditory perception when added as a fourth variable did not make a significant contribution to predictive ability in any of the three criterion measures.Within the possible limitations resulting from a delay in the administration of the perceptual measures the following conclusions are drawn from this study. 1. There is a relationship between a set of scores on visual and auditory perception and academic aptitude and a set of scores on achievement in reading, language arts and mathematics.`2. This relationship is different for boys and girls. Girls outperformed boys on all three measures of achievement. For girls, scores on language arts and, to a lesser degree, mathematics tend to be associated with visual perception and academic aptitude. For boys, scores on reading and language arts tend to be associated with academic aptitude.3. Visual perception accounted for variation in the dependent variables of reading, language arts and mathematics beyond that accounted for through knowledge of the subject's sex and academic aptitude score.4. Visual perception had a stronger relationship to later achievement -for girls than either academic aptitude or auditory perception.5. The academic aptitude measure PMA, correlated higher with achievement for boys than it did for girls.6. Academic aptitude was a stronger predictor of later achievement for boys than either visual or auditory perceptual measures.7. Auditory perception was not significantly related to any of the achievement measures and made no significant contribution to the multiple regression equations.