Validity of the Rey Visual Design Learning Test in Primary and Secondary School Children

Abstract

The Rey Visual Design Learning Test (Rey, 1964, cited in Spreen & Strauss, 1991, Wilhelm, 2004) assesses immediate memory span, new learning, delayed recall and recognition for nonverbal material. Two studies are presented that focused on the construct validity of the RVDLT in primary and secondary school children. In the first study, primary school children performed the RVDLT and the Biber Figural Learning Test, as well as the WISC-R Block design Test, Boston Naming Test, and the Trailmaking Test, to assess discriminant validity. In the second study, the age range was expanded and the subtest Visual Reproductions of the Wechsler Memory Scale with a Delayed recall phase was used to assess the construct validity. A test for visual-motor integration and a test for attention, concentration, and speed of information processing were also added to complete the test battery for assessing discriminant validity. Moderate to high correlations were found between scores on the RVDLT and the tests used to assess construct validity. The correlational pattern of RVDLT scores and the scores on the discriminant tests is discussed.

Keywords:

• visual memory
• design memory
• construct validity

Acknowledgments

The authors like to express their gratitude to Daniela Smirni, Jenny Wassenaar, Menno Oosterhof, Dina Bouwhuis, Lida Hoogendoorn, Heleen van Muijlwijk, Kim Wolterink, Susanne van Aardenne, Baukje Koers, Annemieke van Drunen, Myrthe Boon, and Willem van Bergen for their contributions to this paper.

Notes

¹We used the original WMS instead of the WMS-R (Wechsler, 1987) because it seems a better measure of memory than the WMS-R, which seems more strongly associated with spatial ability (Larrabee & Curtis, 1995). Previously conducted studies by Invinskis, Allen, and Shaw (1971), Curry, Logue, and Butler (1986), and Ardila and Rosselli (1994) provide empirical evidence and normative data to support the use of the WMS with school-aged children (see also Paniak, Murphy, Miller, & Lee, 1998).