Independent Investigations of Reliability and Validity of Learning Behaviors Scale Scores: Implications for Practitioners and Future Directions

This presentation reports on the results of four independent studies that investigated the reliability and validity of Learning Behaviors Scale (LBS; McDermott, Green, Francis, & Stott, 1999) scores. The LBS is a cost and time effective, nationally normed, and unobtrusive observation measure of key learning behavior variables that influence student learning. Study 1 examined the replication of the short-term (30-day) stability and the internal consistency of LBS scores with an independent sample of 209 students in grades K-8. Stability coefficients were high and statistically significant and mean differences between Time 1 and Time 2 were either not statistically significant or resulted in very small effect sizes. Internal consistency estimates of the LBS at Time 1 and Time 2 were also high and statistically significant and similar to those obtained with the standardization sample. An additional analysis of the LBS was conducted by examining the correlations of LBS subscale and total scores with academic performance measured by an ordinal summary rating of achievement for kindergarten and first grade students and grade point average for second through eighth grade students. Substantial evidence was found for the short-term stability and internal consistency of LBS scores. Construct validity of the LBS was also supported by statistically significant correlations with students ’ grades in school. Study