| Abstract
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The objective of the study is to validate the CAS Basic Battery for Arabic-speaking children, ages 5.0-7.11 years on a sample population of 49 (21 males, 28 females) Arabic-speaking, Palestinian students, and to cross-validate this with a matched sample of English-speaking, American students (retrieved from the test standardization sample). The Arab participants were recruited randomly from Arab towns and villages in central Israel through a pedagogical center that serves over 3,000 minority Arab students. Data will be analyzed using SPSS 16.0. Cronbach's alpha was used to obtain reliability coefficients for all subscales within the CAS measure, and a dependent t -test was used to examine differences in the means between the standardization (American) and the Arab samples. An independent t -test was also computed to examine if significant differences exist between the two independent samples (Arab sample = 49 vs. the total American standardization sample = 1,200). Finally, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was computed to examine the interaction effect of each of the following variables with the Arab sample: age, gender, and parental education attainment. The validation of CAS provides culturally fair and verbally limited measures of ability for Arabic speaking population. Validated CAS is also an effective measure to identify disorders of basic psychological processes central to the definition of learning disability and to facilitate the identification of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders, Traumatic Brain Injury, Learning Disabilities, Mental Retardation, and Giftedness. The selection of the population as the focus of the research results from the principal investigator's background and of the need for more culturally fair measures to serve the Arab school-aged population. A review of the literature reveals an increasing recognition of the need for the development of these measures, yet it remains an underdeveloped area of research within the Israeli Arab-community (JDC-Brookdale Institute Disability research, 2000). In essence, this study advocates for the new development of culturally fair intellectual measures that are psychological process driven rather than general ability driven to better assess intellectual abilities. Validated in Arabic, the CAS - Arabic Edition will serve as a reliable measure and a resource for mental health professionals serving this community, policy makers, and other key stakeholders. In addition, the findings of this study can serve as a point of departure for interested researchers interested in expanding this work in future research activities. Another priority of this present research is to facilitate the identification of children with special needs to receive correct diagnoses, appropriate placement, and ultimately a proper education.
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