NCJ Number
234840
Journal
Journal of Correctional Education Volume: 62 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2011 Pages: 26-50
Date Published
March 2011
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This study explored the relationship between offenders' self-reported reading and writing skills and their actual performance on standardized, measured tests used in Norwegian prisons.
Abstract
The present paper investigates the relationship between the revised Adult Dyslexia Check List (ADCL), and the performance on a standardized battery of reading and spelling tests in adults, when used in an incarcerated population in Norway. The paper reports two sub-studies. Study 1 examined the psychometric attributes of the ADCL by analyzing the internal consistency and factor structure of the questionnaire. Six hundred subjects responded to the ADCL and also rated their self-perceived reading and writing difficulties on 2 simple graded scales. The ADCL yielded acceptable internal consistency and a three-factor solution was identified in the Norwegian version of the ADCL. In study 2 the ADCL was analyzed for its ability to predict objectively measured reading and spelling skills. Ninety-two incarcerated adults completed the test. Their ADCL scores, their response on the self-perception questions, and the three factors were correlated with the subjects' achieved scores on the standardized reading and spelling test. The analyses revealed that participants' ADCL scores and their standardized test scores did not share much variance. However, self-perceived reading and writing difficulties correlated moderately with the standardized test. (Published Abstract)