Childhood Autism

Rating Scale
Second Edition
ASHLEY FAJKUS
SPED 311
Purpose of Test
The Childhood Autism Rating Scale- Second Edition (CARS2) is created
with the intent of identifying and diagnosing children 2 years of age
and older with Autism.
The CARS2 consists of two versions:
o The CARS2- Standard Version (CARS2- ST)
o The Standard Version of the CARS2 is used for children who are 6 years of age or younger and those with
difficulties communicating or with IQ levels 79 or below.
o CARS2- High Frequency Version (CARS2- HF)
o The High Functioning Version of the CARS2 is used for children who are 6 years of age and older, with fluent
verbal skills, and at or above IQ scores of 80.
o Administration of the test takes between 5 and 10 minutes
o Paper- pencil format
Norms
The CARS2 was normed on a total sample of 3,500 individuals with
autism spectrum disorders among the ages of 2 to 57.
Gender Breakdown:
78% male, 22% female
Ethnic Breakdown
Breakdown of individuals matched a fair variation in comparison to the United States population
Regional Breakdown
Northeast- 20%
Midwest- 21%
South- 48%
West- 10%
Reliability
Internal Consistency
Does the test measure for autism or not?
A scoring of .70 is needed for achievement in order to be deemed adequate
CARS2- ST- .93
CARS2- HF .96.

Interrater Reliability
Can multiple people administer test and achieve same results?
CARS2- ST- not reported on
CARS2- HF- .73
Original CARS- .71

Test Retest Reliability

Compared those who were highly trained in the administration of the CARS2 and those who were not
Ie. medical student/ pediatric interns, special educators, school psychologists, speech pathologists, and audiologist
92% scoring correlation of experienced and inexperienced in the autism field and running of the test
Validity
Construct Validity
+ correlation between ratings and clinical diagnosis
Content Validity
+ correlation between 15 items addressed and clinical diagnosis
Concurrent Validity
++ correlation between versions of rating scores used and clinical diagnosis
My Opinion
As a whole I believe that the CARS2 is a valid test for identifying the presence of
autism in children of various ages.
One of the strongest points about this test is that there are two versions that
discriminate among present levels and ages of the child being tested. By having these
two versions, the administrator is able to form a more accurate depiction of the child
since the version being used is already geared towards their ability level.
I would not however use the CARS2 as an end all diagnosing tool for autism. Because
the test is solely based on checking boxes and not observing the child for extended
periods of time and pinpointing strengths/ weaknesses of the child, I believe the CARS2
is lacking largely in the ability to be the end all determination of autism.
I believe that this test should serve a purpose of identifying whether there is a presence
of autism or not in a child; to what extent on the spectrum the child will fall should be
determined elsewhere.