ERIC Number: EJ813264
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Jul
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9630
EISSN: N/A
Predicting Curriculum and Test Performance at Age 11 Years from Pupil Background, Baseline Skills and Phonological Awareness at Age 5 Years
Savage, Robert; Carless, Sue; Ferraro, Vittoria
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, v48 n7 p732-739 Jul 2007
Background: Phonological awareness tests are amongst the best predictors of literacy and predict outcomes of Key Stage 1 assessment of the National Curriculum in England at age 7. However, it is unknown whether their ability to predict National Curricular outcomes extends to Key Stage 2 assessments given at age 11, or also whether the predictive power of such tests is independent of letter-knowledge. We explored the unique predictive validity of phonological awareness and early literacy measures, and other pupil background measures taken at age 5 in the prediction of English, Maths, and Science performance at age 11. Method: Three hundred and eighty-two children from 21 primary schools in one Local Educational Authority were assessed at age 5 and followed to age 11 (Key Stage 2 assessment). Teaching assistants (TAs) administered phonological awareness tasks and early literacy measures. Baseline and Key Stage 2 performance measures were collected by teachers. Results: Phonological awareness was a significant unique predictor of all nine outcome measures after baseline assessment and pupil background measures were first controlled in regression analyses, and continued to be a significant predictor of reading, maths, and science performance, and teacher assessments after early literacy skill and letter-knowledge was controlled. Gender predicted performance in writing, the English test, and English teacher assessment, with girls outperforming boys. Conclusions: Phonological awareness is a unique predictor of general curricular attainment independent of pupil background, early reading ability and letter-knowledge. Practically, screening of phonological awareness and basic reading skills by school staff in year 1 significantly enhances the capacity of schools to predict curricular outcomes in year 6.
Descriptors: National Curriculum, Phonological Awareness, Predictive Validity, Foreign Countries, Emergent Literacy, Reading Skills, English Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Educational Assessment, Multiple Regression Analysis, Primary Education, Mathematics Achievement, Science Achievement
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A