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

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.