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ERIC Number: EJ838187
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Apr
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0161-1461
EISSN: N/A
Validity of Teacher Report for Assessing the Emergent Literacy Skills of At-Risk Preschoolers
Cabell, Sonia Q.; Justice, Laura M.; Zucker, Tricia A.; Kilday, Carolyn R.
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, v40 n2 p161-173 Apr 2009
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the predictive validity of teacher report for assessing the emergent literacy skills of preschool-age children. The aims were twofold: (a) to examine predictive relationships between teacher report and direct behavioral assessment, and (b) to examine the extent to which teacher report accurately differentiates children who are exhibiting low levels of emergent literacy skills relative to their peers. Method: Forty-four preschool teachers completed a rating form reporting the print-related emergent literacy skills of 209 children who were enrolled in their classrooms. Approximately 2 months later, the children completed direct assessments of these skills. Results: Correlations between teacher report and children's performance on direct behavioral assessments were positive, moderate to large in size, and statistically significant. In terms of classifying children into groupings based on risk (e.g., at risk, low risk), global teacher ratings demonstrated a sensitivity of 51.9% and a specificity of 87.9%. Clinical Implications: The present results indicate that teacher report provides a somewhat valid representation of children's skills. However, the diagnostic accuracy of teacher report for identifying children who are at risk is generally low. With this limitation in mind, teacher report can provide an important complement to current assessment approaches that are used in preschool settings.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). 10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Tel: 800-638-8255; Fax: 301-571-0457; e-mail: subscribe@asha.org; Web site: http://lshss.asha.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A