The present contribution aims at presenting an assessment tool (i.e., the TALK-assessment) built to evaluate the language development and school readiness of Italian preschoolers before they enter primary school, and its predictive validity for the children's reading and writing skills at the end of the first year of primary school. The early…

Traditional measures of reading ability designed for younger students typically focus on componential skills (e.g., decoding, vocabulary), and the items are often presented in a discrete and decontextualized format. The current study was designed to explore whether it was feasible to develop a more integrated, scenario-based assessment of…

Traditional measures of reading ability designed for younger students typically focus on componential skills (e.g., decoding, vocabulary) and the items are often presented in a discrete and decontextualized format. The current study was designed to explore whether it was feasible to develop a more integrated, scenario-based assessment of…

This study assessed the effects of sampling breadth on technical features of word identification fluency (WIF), a tool for screening and monitoring the reading development of first graders. From a potential pool of 704 first-grade students, the authors measured both a representative sample (n = 284) and 2 other subgroups: those with low reading…

This study investigated the psychometric properties of a group-administered early literacy measure, the Mountain Shadows Phonemic Awareness Scale (MS-PAS), using a kindergarten sample (N = 213). The MS-PAS was compared to the "Test of Phonological Awareness-Second Edition: Plus" (TOPA-2+). Results indicated excellent internal consistency…

A constructive debate over the classification of child psychopathology can be stimulated by investigating the validity of different classification approaches. We examined and compared the short-term predictive validity of cluster analytic and dimensional classifications of child behavioral adjustment in school using the Behavior Assessment System…

This study evaluated the validity, reliability, and utility of five of the six subtests of Clay's (2002) Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement (OS), including Letter Identification, Word Reading, Writing Vocabulary, Hearing and Recording Sounds in Words, and Text Reading. In addition to a review of studies providing assessment of the…

Used Light's Retention Scale totals, along with measures of achievement, and self-concept to predict academic, emotional, and social status at the end of the repeated first grade. Results suggest that Light's Retention Scale is neither reliable nor valid as a psychometric device. (Author/JAC)

First grade students stratified on the basis of their racial-ethnic and socioeconomic status (SES) were studied to determine factors measured by several readiness (aptitude) tests and to learn whether these factors differed for the children from the various groups. SES was determined by father's occupation, or if absent, mother's occupation; the…

School readiness assessment is a prominent feature of early childhood education. Because the construct of readiness is multifaceted, we examined children's patterns on multiple indicators previously found to be both theoretically and empirically linked to school readiness: social skill, interactions with parents, problem behavior, and performance…