| The primary purpose of this study was to assess certain aspects of the internal structure of the DISCOVER assessment checklist to determine its construct validity. A secondary purpose was to assess gender differences in identifying giftedness using the assessment.;The sample of this study consisted of 368 participants from kindergarten, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade levels divided into three subsamples. Participants were from two culturally diverse populations: Navajo Indians and Mexican-Americans.;The methodology consisted of correlational analyses and chi-square tests. Separate, but identical analyses were conducted on each subsample. Three questions guided this study: (a) What is the relationship between observers' ratings of participants' problem-solving ability in one activity and their rating of participants in the other activities? (b) What items characterize each of the four rating categories? and (c) What are the gender differences occurring when using the assessment?;The results of this study showed low and non significant inter-rating correlations, indicating high discriminant validity of the checklist. Significant, but low to moderately high inter-rating correlations were found between the Storytelling and Storywriting activities across subsamples. R-squared analyses revealed low percentages of variance accounted for, indicating low convergent validity of the checklist. Moreover, a pattern of higher percentages of item checks was found for higher ratings, indicating that observers checked items at a higher frequency rate for participants given higher ratings. Only items characterizing the "Definitely" category were possible to identify because all items represent superior problem-solving skills, thus were mostly checked for participants who demonstrated superior problem-solving processes or products. Items with zero frequencies were identified as well.;Chi-square tests for gender by activity revealed significant gender differences in two activities. In Pablo°ler, a significantly higher number of sixth grade boys were rated "Definitely" and in Storytelling, a significantly higher number of fourth and fifth grade girls were rated "Definitely". No significant gender differences were found for any other activity across subsamples. Similarly, no significant overall gender differences were found across subsamples for gifted participants, indicating that equal proportions of males and females are identified through the use of the DISCOVER assessment. |
