Graduate Program

School Psychology

Degree Name

Specialist in School Psychology

Semester of Degree Completion

Spring 2026

Thesis Director

Gary L. Canivez

Thesis Committee Member

Ayaka Hisanaga-Probst

Thesis Committee Member

Ronan S. Bernas

Abstract

Naglieri et al. (2014) created the Cognitive Assessment System Second Edition: Rating Scale (CAS2: Rating Scale) to assess cognitive functioning of children based on teacher observations for use in Tier I screening purposes. The current study is a replication of Graham (2025) study that assessed the construct validity of the CAS2: Rating Scale by comparing it to the Learning Behaviors Scale (LBS). Based on prior findings from Canivez and Gaboury (2016), this study hypothesized that the Attention and Planning subscales of the CAS2: Rating Scale would be most closely related to the Attention/Persistence and Strategy/Flexibility subscales of the LBS, respectively.

Data were collected from 49 teachers who rated 86 students in grades K–12. Overall, there was a strong positive correlation between the total scores of the CAS2: Rating Scale and LBS (r = .80), suggesting that they are measuring similar overall constructs. As expected, the Attention subscale showed a very strong relationship with LBS Attention/Persistence scale (r = .86), which provided support for convergent validity. However, the relationship between the Planning subscale and LBS Strategy/Flexibility subscale was only moderate (r = .60), which was lower than anticipated.

The findings related to discriminant validity were less consistent. While the Attention scale showed some evidence of measuring a more distinct construct, the Planning scale did not reflect what was hypothesized. The relationship between the CAS2: Rating Scale Planning and LBS Strategy/Flexibility was lower than some correlations with the LBS Attention/Persistence, Attitude Toward Learning, and Competence/Motivation scales. These results suggested that the CAS2: Rating Scale may be more effective at measuring attention-related behaviors than planning.

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