Reliability of performance on the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL) by an adolescent learning disability sample

Abstract

The Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL) is a recent comprehensive memory battery offered to neuropsychologists and standardized on a national sample of children ages 5 years through 19 years. The TOMAL Manual reports very high coefficient alpha internal consistency reliability coefficients for the standardization sample of "normal" children. In the current study, 99 adolescents (ages 12 to 18 years) diagnosed with various learning disabilities in the public schools were administered the TOMAL, and Cronbach's alpha was calculated based on the responses of these 99 adolescents. A matched sample was drawn from the standardization sample and alpha computed for this group. Alpha values in the two groups were highly similar across all 14 subtests. Although adolescents with learning disabilities often have memory deficits, their performance on the TOMAL tends to be as reliable as that of adolescents without learning disabilities.