Concurrent and Predictive Validity of the Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test – Group Ability Test

Within the framework of a pretest/posttest design, relations among the Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test – Group Ability Test (UNIT-GAT) and two measures of reading achievement: the Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency, Second Edition (TOSWRF-2) and the Test of Silent Word Reading Comprehension, Second Edition (TOSCRF-2) were examined for 140 children between the ages of six and fifteen, enrolled in one of three Boys & Girls Clubs in the eastern United States. Based on a counterbalanced administration at pretest, UNIT-GAT Analogical Reasoning (AR) scores moderately correlated with TOSWRF-2 Form A scores (r = .45, p < 01), TOSWRF-2 Form B scores (r = .41, p < .01), TOSCRF-2 Form A scores (r = .45, p < .01), and TOSCRF-2 Form B scores (r = .49, p < .01). Further, among students who attended at least fifteen tutoring sessions, only one of four correlation coefficients between UNIT-GAT AR scores and the posttest reading change scores was significant, UNIT-GAT AR and TOSWRF-2 Form B; ( p < 01), but this value is essentially meaningless, as it was obtained from only 2 participants. Even though the concurrent validity between the UNIT-GAT AT and the two reading scores is moderately strong, it does not predict change scores after tutoring under the conditions of this study. Implications are discussed.