The Relationship of Ethnic Group Membership to the Measurement and Meaning of Attitudes towards Reading: Implications for Validity of Test Score Interpretations

Scores reflecting the attitudes of fourth, fifth, and sixth-grade Mexican-American and Anglo students about reading were compared to assess the relevance and validity of the Estes Reading Attitude Scale for each group. The validity of application of results from the Estes Reading Attitude Scale when administered to students of differing ethnic backgrounds was examined by considering the factorial complexity of the instrument overall for Anglo and Mexican American children, as well as at three grade levels. The comparability of the internal consistency indices and of factorial structure between ethnic groups within grade levels, and the consistency of item interpretation (or lack of item "bias") between ethnic groups within grade level suggested that scores on the scale afforded a valid means for interpretation of attitudes held by elementary school pupils towards reading irrespective of their ethnic status (Anglo or Mexican-American).