ERIC Number: EJ1407739
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0161-1461
EISSN: EISSN-1558-9129
Does Assessor Masking Affect Kindergartners' Performance on Oral Language Measures? A COVID-19 Era Experiment with Children from Diverse Home Language Backgrounds
Sarah Surrain; Michael P. Mesa; Mike A. Assel; Tricia A. Zucker
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, v54 n4 p1323-1332 2023
Purpose: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has prompted changes to child assessment procedures in schools such as the use of face masks by assessors. Research with adults suggests that face masks diminish performance on speech processing and comprehension tasks, yet little is known about how assessor masking affects child performance. Therefore, we asked whether assessor masking impacts children's performance on a widely used, individually administered oral language assessment and if impacts vary by child home language background. Method: A total of 96 kindergartners (5-7 years old, n = 45 with a home language other than English) were administered items from the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Preschool--Second Edition Recalling Sentences subtest under two conditions: with and without the assessor wearing a face mask. Regression analysis was used to determine if children scored significantly lower in the masked condition and if the effect of masking depended on home language background. Results: Contrary to expectations, we found no evidence that students scored systematically differently in the masked condition. Children with a home language other than English scored lower overall, but masking did not increase the gap in scores by language background. Conclusions: Our results suggest that children's performance on oral language measures is not adversely affected by assessor masking and imply that valid measurements of students' language skills may be obtained in masked conditions. While masking might decrease some of the social determinants of communication (e.g., recognition of emotions), masking in this experiment did not appear to detract from children's ability to hear and immediately recall verbal information.
Descriptors: Kindergarten, Young Children, Native Language, Language Tests, Evaluators, COVID-19, Pandemics, Clothing, Oral Language, Scores, Recall (Psychology), Interference (Learning), Comprehension
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: lshss@asha.org; Web site: http://lshss.pubs.asha.org
Related Records: ED637242
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Kindergarten; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals
IES Funded: Yes
Data File: URL: https://osf.io/g3rjk/