Tangible manipulatives are commonly used to teach mathematics and assess the mathematics understanding of young learners. However, manipulatives have drawbacks during assessment. To evaluate the utility and necessity of manipulatives during assessment of mathematical operations, examiners administered addition and subtraction problems with concrete manipulatives or pictorial supports to 2,390 children aged 2.8 to 6.7 years. We compared the impacts of test format (presentation of concrete manipulatives versus pictorial supports) and operation (addition versus subtraction) on test items' abilities to capture young learners' early operations abilities and on items' difficulties. Preliminary findings indicate both test formats and both mathematical operations equally well captured children's latent operations abilities. Students found addition items with pictorial supports easier than addition items presented with manipulatives, and they responded more quickly to test items presented with pictorial supports. Implications for assessment in early mathematics and future research are discussed.

Preventive parent education programs are an increasingly popular means to increase parents' knowledge of child development, improve parenting practices, and foster better social, emotional, and educational outcomes for children. This study examined the extent to which participation in What You Do Matters (WYDM; Parents as Teachers National Center, Inc., 2018) is associated with increases in caregivers' knowledge, improved parenting, and enhanced parental self-efficacy. Naturally occurring site-related differences in implementation were also examined as potential moderators of impact. Ninety-four families attended up to six classes that comprise WYDM. Participants completed caregiver knowledge surveys before and after each class and they completed a caregiver behavior change and self-efficacy survey after completion of the program. Participants demonstrated large increases in knowledge about children's brain development (t = 8.86, p <.0001, d = 0.97), language development (t = 10.69, p <.0001, d = 0.81), and social-emotional development (t = 6.88, p <.0001, d = 0.95). Caregivers also demonstrated moderate increases in knowledge of children's motor development (t = 5.80, p= < 0.0001, d = 0.95) and small increases in knowledge about children's cognitive development (t = 3.45; p = < 0.001; d = 0.24). Most participants reported large increases in effectual parent/child interactions and high parental self-efficacy upon program completion. Significant Time by Site interactions on caregivers' knowledge of child development (Fs = 7.56 to 19.95, ps = < 0.01) suggest that participants' learning gains may be moderated by differences in intensity of implementation, parent educator effectiveness, demographic charac-teristics of participants, and/or the match between language of instruction and language dominance of participants.

The Computer-based Orthographic Processing Assessment (COPA) is a newly developed assessment to measure orthographic processing skills, including rapid perception, access, differentiation, correction, and arrangement. In this study, cognitive diagnostic models were used to test if the dimensionality of the COPA conforms to theoretical expectation, evaluate individual items’ quality, and examine the validity and the learning sequence of each skill. Results showed that the COPA captures five distinctive operating attributes, but some items could be revised to increase their item quality. Correlations with external variables confirmed that performances on the COPA are more strongly related to literacy outcomes than to oral language outcomes but that the COPA also demonstrates discriminant validity relative to even proximal measures of word reading and spelling. The mastery probabilities and best-fitting hierarchical model indicate that four of the five attributes follow a learning progression that is consistent with information processing theory and that was assumed by developers of the COPA.

Construct confusion and measurement challenges have plagued emergent literacy research for decades. Using a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design, this study evaluated the dimensionality of alphabet knowledge and identified the sequence of development of 8 alphabet knowledge skills. Eleven models were evaluated in a sample of 3,692 preschool- and elementary school-age children. Findings supported a unidimensional conceptualization of alphabet knowledge that includes letter name knowledge and letter sound knowledge but not the ability to discriminate letters from nonalphabetic characters. Test information curves and significance tests of model constraints revealed reliable main and interaction effects of test format, capitalization, and component skills on items' discriminations and difficulties. Implications for improving the measurement of alphabet knowledge are discussed in recognition that doing so will support advancement of theory, research, educational practice, and ultimately student achievement.

There is a significant need for kindergarten entry assessments (KEA) that meet state education agency (SEA) requirements and are psychometrically sound measures of a broad range of school readiness domains such as language, literacy, math, science, executive function, and social-emotional skills. Research Findings: In this paper, we describe five phases of development, calibration, and launch of a new KEA for a large state. We developed and tested 14 English subtests. We describe how teacher input and SEA priorities and policies guided development of the test blueprint in phase one. We calibrated the measures across the state in phase two and established initial evidence of reliability and validity in phase three (n = 208). In phase four, we developed our technology platform, scoring, and student grouping tools to improve data utilization. Practice or Policy: We describe in phase five current delivery and implementation practices across the state and future work to improve and expand the measures along with a set of linked activities to help teachers use data to guide instruction. We discuss principles and methods the assessment developers utilized, as these perspectives may inform the development and usage of other KEAs.

The framework and tools used for classroom assessment can have significant impacts on teacher practices and student achievement. Getting assessment right is an important component in creating positive learning experiences and academic success. Recent government reports (e.g., United States, Australia) call for the development of systems that use new technologies to make educational assessment more efficient and useful. The present review discusses factors relevant to assessment in the digital age from the perspectives of assessment for learning (AfL) and assessment of learning (AoL) in the early childhood classroom. Technology offers significant avenues to enhance test administration, test scoring, test reporting and interpretation, and link with curriculum to individualise learning. We highlight unique challenges around issues of developmental appropriateness, item development, psychometric validation, and teacher implementation in the use of future assessment systems. However, success will depend upon close collaboration between educators, students, and policy makers in the design, development, and utilisation of technology-based assessments.

This study evaluated the impact of the Spanish version of the Building Blocks software program and vocabulary on kindergarten mathematics outcomes. Participants included 270 Hispanic dual language learners from low-income communities. Relative to children in the computer assisted instruction (CAI) literacy control group, those in the Building Blocks CAI group evidenced higher posttest scores for Spanish mathematics, but not for English mathematics, after controlling for pretest numeracy. There were also main effects of English vocabulary and Spanish vocabulary predicting posttest mathematics scores in English and Spanish, after controlling for covariates. These findings support the use of the Building Blocks software as a supplemental method for improving the mathematics competencies of Hispanic dual language learners from low-income backgrounds. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Letter-Sound Short Forms (LSSFs) were designed to meet criteria for effective progress monitoring tools by exhibiting strong psychometrics, offering multiple equivalent forms, and being brief and easy to administer and score. The present study expands available psychometric information for the LSSFs by providing an initial examination of their validity in assessing young children's emerging letter-sound knowledge. In a sample of 998 preschool-aged children, the LSSFs were sensitive to change over time, showed strong concurrent validity with established letter-sound knowledge and related emergent literacy measures, and demonstrated predictive validity with emergent literacy measures. The LSSFs also predicted kindergarten readiness scores available for a subsample of children. These findings have implications for using the LSSFs to monitor children's alphabet knowledge acquisition and to support differentiated early alphabet instruction.

This study with dual language learners builds on research within monolingual samples that explore important cross-domain links between mathematics and cognitive and linguistic skills. We use a series of univariate multiple regression models to examine the prediction of end-of-year kindergarten numeracy and applied problem solving from autoregressive numeracy and cognitive and linguistic abilities measured at the beginning of kindergarten (Wave 1). Participants included 270 Hispanic dual language learners. In addition to nonverbal IQ, pretest abilities were assessed at the beginning of kindergarten in English and Spanish, including numeracy, vocabulary, phonological short-term memory (STM), rapid autonomized naming, and phonological awareness. Results provided evidence of strong within language relations; however, English and Spanish Wave labilities were similarly predictive of English numeracy and applied problems solving at the end of kindergarten. From among Wave 1 abilities, autoregressive numeracy, nonverbal IQ phonological STM, and vocabulary were the most consistent and strongest predictors of mathematics at the end of kindergarten. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Early childhood teachers are increasingly encouraged to support children's development of letter-sound abilities. Assessment of letter-sound knowledge is key in planning for effective instruction, yet the letter-sound knowledge assessments currently available and suitable for preschool-age children demonstrate significant limitations. The purpose of the current study was to use item response theory to create short-form letter-sound assessments that are psychometrically sound, quick and easy to administer, and appropriate for researcher and practitioner use. Letter sound knowledge data from 940 children attending preschool centers were analyzed. Item response theory analyses indicated that a two-parameter logistic model best fit the data. Further analyses yielded a series of parallel six and eight-letter forms with adequate test information, reliability, and theta recovery. Implications for assessment and instruction are discussed.

This study evaluated the effects of a mathematics software program, the Building Blocks software suite, on young children's mathematics performance. Participants included 247 Kindergartners from 37 classrooms in 9 schools located in low-income communities. Children within classrooms were randomly assigned to receive 21 weeks of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) in mathematics with Building Blocks or in literacy with Earobics Step 1. Children in the Building Blocks condition evidenced higher posttest scores on tests of numeracy and Applied Problems after controlling for beginning-of-year numeracy scores and classroom nesting. These findings, together with a review of earlier CAI, provide guidance for future work on CAI aiming to improve mathematics performance of children from low-income backgrounds.

This study examined how well nonverbal IQ (or fluid intelligence), vocabulary, phonological awareness (PA), rapid autonomized naming (RAN), and phonological short-term memory (STM) predicted mathematics outcomes. The 208 participating kindergartners were administered tests of fluid intelligence, vocabulary, PA, RAN, STM, and numeracy in the fall of kindergarten, whereas tests of numeracy and applied problems were administered in the spring of kindergarten. Fall numeracy scores accounted for substantial variation in spring outcomes (R2 values = .49 and .32 for numeracy and applied problems, respectively), which underscores the importance of preschool math instruction and screening for mathematics learning difficulties on entry into kindergarten. Fluid intelligence and PA significantly predicted unique variation in spring numeracy scores (ΔR2 = .05) after controlling for autoregressive effects and classroom nesting. Fluid intelligence, PA, and STM significantly predicted unique variation in spring applied problems scores (ΔR2 = .14) after controlling for autoregressive effects and classroom nesting. Although the contributions of fluid intelligence, PA, and STM toward math outcomes were reliable and arguably important, they were small.

This study evaluated Earobics Step 1, a commercial literacy program, and examined whether impact varied with children's school readiness and classroom instruction. Participants included 247 kindergarteners from 37 classrooms in nine Title 1 schools. Children were randomly assigned to receive 21 weeks of computerized instruction with Earobics or Building Blocks, a commercial mathematics program. Tests of phonological awareness (PA), graphophonemic knowledge, word reading, and vocabulary were administered at three points during the year, and standardized reading tests were administered at the end of year. Earobics did not consistently impact any outcome across children. However, it moderately accelerated PA development among children who started kindergarten with poor emergent literacy, and it positively impacted reading outcomes, but not PA, among children with relatively advanced emergent literacy. Earobics accelerated PA, graphophonemic knowledge, and reading development in classrooms where the teacher provided lots of instruction targeting oral language, PA, phonics, and writing. However it had no impact in classrooms where there was relatively little instruction targeting these skills or in classrooms where there was a lot of small group reading instruction.

Research Findings: In an effort toward developing a comprehensive, effective, scalable, and sustainable early childhood education program for at-risk populations, we conducted an experimental evaluation of the value added by 2 family involvement programs to the Texas Early Education Model (TEEM). A total of 91 preschool classrooms that served minority populations of low socioeconomic status were randomly assigned to TEEM, TEEM plus Raising a Reader (RAR), or TEEM plus RAR augmented by Family Nights. Assessments of oral language and print knowledge were completed by more than 500 children at the beginning and end of the school year. Multilevel analyses of covariance controlled for classroom nesting and individual differences in age, ethnicity, and pretest scores. Although RAR alone demonstrated no added value, augmentation of RAR with Family Nights demonstrated significant impacts on measures of oral language (ts=1.81-2.51, .05ps<.01) and print knowledge (t=2.39, p<.01). Practice or Policy: Thus, parent training in shared reading practices appears to be necessary for children to benefit from programs that enrich the home literacy environment. That the combined program particularly benefited children who started preschool lagging behind in school readiness (ts=1.64-2.49, ps<.05) suggests that this comprehensive model offers hope for closing the achievement gap.

This study explored the dimensionality of children's oral language using a fully crossed design, where modality (expressive versus receptive) was crossed with linguistic domain (grammar, semantics and phonology). The present study was also the first of its kind to employ multilevel factor analysis to control confounding classroom effects. Assessments of oral language were completed by 529 children who attended 85 preschool classrooms. The sample was heterogeneous with regard to language ability, ethnicity, sex and SES. Classroom membership was more highly associated with preschoolers' semantics and grammar than with preschoolers' phonological systems. A general language ability was found to drive preschoolers' performances on tests of semantics and grammar, regardless of modality. Furthermore, articulation and speech perception were found separate but correlated abilities. Implications for assessment and diagnosis of oral language impairments are discussed.

This study extends the literature on the component skills involved in oral reading fluency. Dominance analysis was applied to assess the relative importance of seven reading-related component skills in the prediction of the oral reading fluency of 272 adult literacy learners. The best predictors of oral reading fluency when text difficulty was fixed at a single reading level was word reading efficiency. When text difficulty varied based on readers’ comprehension levels, word reading efficiency was also the best predictor with vocabulary and auditory working memory emerging as important predictors as well. Our findings suggest the merit of investigations into whether adults with low literacy may need vocabulary and auditory working memory strategy interventions to improve their reading fluency.