Description

The Athena Test – Assessment of Learning Difficulties [AT-330] is a clinical and diagnostic instrument designed to systematically assess functions related to school learning. It consists of 330 questions and tasks, organized across 5 age levels, and includes 14 main scales and one supplementary scale. These scales assess linguistic, perceptual, cognitive, and neurological functions and aim to identify difficulties that may affect a child’s learning within the school context.

Aim

The main aim of the Athena Test is to assess the child’s motor, perceptual, cognitive, and psycholinguistic functions. It is intended to identify possible learning difficulties and to detect areas that may require further evaluation or targeted educational and therapeutic intervention.

Its multidimensional structure allows the development of a broader developmental profile that can highlight both areas of difficulty and areas of relative strength.

Analysis and Use of Data

The standardization of the instrument was conducted on a sample of 500 kindergarten and primary school students from Grades 1 to 4 attending schools in Attica. In addition, a qualitative assessment was carried out with children who had known developmental difficulties.

The results can be used both for diagnostic assessment and for the development of individualized intervention programs based on the child’s developmental profile and specific educational needs.

Scoring

The scoring procedure differs across the individual scales. For the first 11 scales, the child’s developmental level is expressed through two indicators: a developmental quotient, reported in IQ units, and developmental age, expressed in years and months. The final three scales are evaluated using qualitative and categorical classifications. Scores on each scale are interpreted according to age-based reference tables.

Interpretation should take into account the child’s developmental history, school performance, and additional information obtained through the broader assessment process.

Validity and Reliability

During the standardization process, teachers completed an additional questionnaire concerning each child’s individual characteristics and school performance. Factorial and cross-validation analyses indicated satisfactory psychometric and clinical validity.

Internal consistency coefficients are reported to range from approximately 0.80 in younger age groups to above 0.90 in intermediate age groups, indicating very good reliability across the scales.

References

Paraskevopoulos, I. N., Kalantzi-Azizi, A., & Giannitsas, N. D. (1999). Athena Test for the Diagnosis of Learning Difficulties. Athens: Ellinika Grammata.