A First Look at the Validity of the DIAL-3 Spanish Version

Abstract

To examine the convergent and discriminant validity of the scales on the Spanish version of the Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning—Third Edition (DIAL-3), exploratory factor analysis is performed on data from 648 children who are native speakers of Spanish and who attend Head Start. Three factors, labeled Verbal Ability , Nonverbal Ability, and Achievement, collectively account for 56% of the variance in children's performances. Confirmatory factor analysis evaluate this empirically-derived model and the conceptually-derived model of the authors of the DIAL-3 in a separate sample of 588 Spanish-speaking Head Start children. The empirically-derived model characterized children's performances better than the conceptually-derived model. The discussion highlights potential uses of the new factors, ideas for consideration during revision of the Spanish DIAL-3, and the need for additional validity research on the measure.