Utility of kindergarten teacher judgments in identifying early learning problems

Detecting reading difficulties in Spanish in older elementary students in the context of the Response to Intervention model

Detecting students with reading difficulties (RD) is particularly important in the context of the Response to Intervention (RTI) model, in terms of both research and professional practice. However, there is no unanimous agreement on the best procedure to carry it out. In addition, most of the research in this field has been carried out in the English language, and there is little evidence on how these measures behave in other languages. This study focuses on identifying the best procedure for detecting RD in Spanish in older elementary students, comparing the validity, accuracy and goodness of fit of three different universal screening assessment approaches-the Psychometric Assessment Approach, the Curriculum-Based Assessment Approach and the Teacher Detection Approach-using RTI as a criterion to determine the goodness of fit of the different approaches. A total of 154 fifth-year primary students participated in this study. The results reveal that the multivariate inclusion of the evaluation approaches used is the best means of ensuring an efficient, valid assessment when attempting to identify RD among fifth graders. This finding has practical implications for the implementation of the RTI model in the field of RD.

Comparing Informants for Mental Health Screening at the Preschool Level

Universal screening for mental health in preschools provides the opportunity for early identification and early intervention, but guidance regarding which informants to use is needed. Preschoolers' (N = 535) parent and teacher reports across two screening forms were analyzed to determine similarities and discrepancies for classification results and screener scores. The analyses also examined if an additional rater provided incrementally valid information to the prediction of longitudinal kindergarten outcomes. Parents' and teachers' screening scores were significantly correlated across forms by rater and across raters. However, categorical classification results indicated that teachers were more likely than parents to rate preschoolers in at-risk ranges across forms. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses revealed teacher ratings were predictive of kindergarten social-emotional, cognitive, and academic outcomes, and that the addition of parent ratings did not significantly improve prediction of outcomes. Implications are discussed in the context of multiple raters within multiple-gating screening procedures.

Investigating the Structure of the Pediatric Symptoms Checklist in the Preschool Setting

When using educational/psychological instruments, psychometric investigations should be conducted before adopting to new environments to ensure that an instrument measures the same constructs. Exploratory structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis methods were used to examine the utility of the short form of the Pediatric Symptoms Checklist (PSC-17) in the school setting. Using a sample of 836 preschool children rated by teachers, three factors were identified across both techniques, with factors matching the hypothesized structure of the instrument. The PSC-17 may be an option for use in preschool settings when conducting behavioral and emotional screening.

Prediction and stability of reading problems in middle childhood

The longitudinal prediction of reading problems from fourth grade to sixth grade was investigated with a sample of 173 students. Reading problems at the end of sixth grade were defined by significantly below average performance (≤ 15th percentile) on reading factors defining word reading, fluency, and reading comprehension. Sixth grade poor reader status was predicted by fall of fourth grade passage reading fluency, spelling fluency, and the number of reading problems identified by teachers. Reading fluency and spelling fluency were significant predictors in logistic regression equation that combined to yield a screening battery with an area under the curve of .91. These results suggest that brief assessments of reading and spelling fluency in fourth grade may be able to identify students in middle childhood who have a reading problem or who are at risk for experiencing reading problems in sixth grade.

Characterizing early detection of language difficulties in children born preterm

BACKGROUND

The optimal age for assessing language difficulties in premature children remains unclear.

AIMS

To determine the most predictive and earliest screening tool for later language difficulties on children born preterm.

STUDY DESIGN

A prospective population-based study in the Loire Infant Follow-up Team LIFT SUBJECTS: All children born <35weeks of gestation between 2003 and 2005 were assessed at corrected ages by four screening tools: the Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) communication scale at 18 and 24months, the language items of Brunet Lezine test at 24months, and the "Epreuves de Repérage des Troubles du Langage" (ERTL) at 4years.

OUTCOME MEASURES

After 5years, the kindergarten teacher evaluated the vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation capacities of the child in comparison with the classroom performances.

RESULTS

Among 1957 infants enrolled at discharge, 947 were assessed by their teacher with 12.2% (n=116) of language difficulties. Full data at all time points were available for 426 infants. The area under curve of the receiver operator characteristic curve obtained for the ASQ communication scale at 18months was significantly lower (0.65±0.09) than that obtained at 24months (0.77±0.08) and the languages items of Brunet Lezine test at 24months (0.77±0.08), and the ERTL at 4years (0.76±0.09). The optimal cut-off value for ASQ communication at 24months is ≤45 [sensitivity of 0.79 (95%CI: 0.70-0.86); specificity of 0.63 (95%CI: 0.59-0.66)].

CONCLUSIONS

The Ages & Stages Questionnaire communication scale at 24 corrected months appears as an acceptable test at an early time point to identify preterm children at risk of later language difficulties.

Developmental and health services in head start preschools: a tiered approach to early intervention

OBJECTIVE

To describe a tiered approach to identifying and addressing developmental and health concerns among low-income preschool children in Head Start.

METHODS

Analytic sample consisted of 3- to 5-year-old Head Start students (n = 1171) from 14 centers in Los Angeles County serving predominantly Latino families during 2008-2009. All Head Start students were screened for developmental and health concerns and assigned to 1 of 3 tiers of intervention need: Tier 1 children needed only the usual Head Start curriculum, Tier 2 children needed targeted interventions (excluding special education), and Tier 3 students received special education services. Logistic regressions were used to analyze predictors of each tier, with screening results and sociodemographic variables as covariates.

RESULTS

Sixty-nine percent of children were in Tier 1, 25% in Tier 2, and 6% in Tier 3. Tier 2 children most commonly needed mental health services and were less likely than those in Tier 1 to be from primarily English-speaking homes (odds ratio = 0.6, P < .01). Tier 3 children were significantly less likely to be female than Tier 2 children (odds ratio = 0.4, P < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

More than one-quarter of low-income children not in special education may need targeted interventions, particularly mental health services. Although Head Start agencies are required to identify and address these needs, many other early education and clinical settings do not. Establishing screening and intervention guidelines for this intermediate-risk group represents a key policy gap for the child health and education systems.

Learning problems in kindergarten students with extremely preterm birth

OBJECTIVES

To assess learning problems among kindergarten students with extremely preterm birth and to identify risk factors.

DESIGN

Cohort study.

SETTING

Children's hospital.

PARTICIPANTS

A cohort of 148 children born between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2003, with extremely preterm birth, defined as less than 28 weeks' gestation or having a birth weight of less than 1000 g, and 111 classmate control individuals born at term with normal birth weight.

INTERVENTIONS

The children were enrolled in the study during their first year in kindergarten and were assessed on measures of learning progress.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Achievement testing, teacher ratings of learning progress, and individual educational assistance.

RESULTS

Children with extremely preterm birth had lower mean standard scores than controls on achievement tests of spelling (8.52; 95% confidence interval, 4.58-12.46) and applied mathematics (11.02; 6.76-15.28). They had higher rates of substandard learning progress by teacher report in written language (odds ratio, 4.23; 95% CI, 2.32-7.73) and mathematics (7.08; 2.79-17.95). Group differences in mathematics achievement and in teacher ratings of learning progress were statistically significant even in children without neurosensory deficits or low global cognitive ability. Neonatal risk factors, early childhood neurodevelopmental impairment, and socioeconomic status predicted learning problems in children with extremely preterm birth; however, many children with problems were not enrolled in a special education program.

CONCLUSIONS

Learning problems in children with extremely preterm birth are evident in kindergarten and are associated with neonatal and early childhood risk factors. Our findings support efforts to provide more extensive monitoring and interventions before and during the first year of school.

IDENTIFICATION OF READING PROBLEMS IN FIRST GRADE WITHIN A RESPONSE-TO-INTERVENTION FRAMEWORK

Models of Response to Intervention (RTI) include parameters of assessment and instruction. This study focuses on assessment with the purpose of developing a screening battery that validly and efficiently identifies first-grade children at risk for reading problems. In an RTI model, these children would be candidates for early intervention. We examined accuracy, fluency, growth, and teacher rating measures as predictors of child status (at risk, not at risk) at the end of the school year based on an unselected sample of 243 children. The prediction model that best fit our selection criteria included 2-word fluency measures and a teacher rating of reading problems. Word-fluency growth was an equally plausible choice statistically, but, because the measure would require an additional data point, it was not the most efficient choice. The receiver-operator characteristic curve analysis yielded an area-under-the-curve index of .96, which indicates the selected 3-variable model is highly accurate.

Working memory and cognitive styles in adolescents' attainment

BACKGROUND

Working memory, the ability to store and process information, is strongly related to learning outcomes.

AIMS

The aim of the present study is to extend previous research on early learning and investigate the relationship between working memory, cognitive styles, and attainment in adolescents using both national curriculum tests and teacher-based assessments.

SAMPLE

A group of 164 13-year-olds from a school in England were recruited.

METHODS

They took tests of working memory and cognitive styles. The school provided the attainment scores.

RESULTS

Working memory was found to be the predictor of learning outcomes in English, Maths, and Science, as well as all teacher assessments. There was also a significant interplay between working memory, styles, and attainment. For students with high working memory, their style preference does not impact attainment. Students most at risk were analytics with low working memory as they performed worse in the most subjects.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that the interplay between working memory and cognitive styles can be useful in developing suitable interventions to support students.

The role of the teacher in identifying learning disabilities: a study using the McCarney Learning Disability Evaluation Scale (LDES)

The purpose of the study was to examine whether the Greek translation of the Learning Disability Evaluation Scale (LDES) can be used in the identification of learning disabilities. The LDES was completed by 165 teachers for one of their students, aged 5 to 14 years. The LDES was significantly correlated to students' grades in Math and Greek Language and to the Reading Ability Test. Scores on LDES from the above randomly selected sample were significantly different from scores on LDES for another sample of 47 students, who were manifesting learning disabilities, indicating that the LDES can distinguish between the two samples. The exploratory factor analysis revealed that the LDES maintains the original factor structure and the reliability values supported its internal consistency. Results and limitations are discussed.

A comparison of executive function in very preterm and term infants at 8 months corrected age

BACKGROUND

Executive function (EF) emerges in infancy and continues to develop throughout childhood. Executive dysfunction is believed to contribute to learning and attention problems in children at school age. Children born very preterm are more prone to these problems than their full-term peers.

AIM

To compare EF in very preterm and full-term infants at 8 months after expected date of delivery.

SUBJECTS

37 very preterm infants without identified disabilities, and 74 gender and age matched healthy full-term infants. The very preterm infants were all </=32 weeks gestation and <1250 g birthweight.

OUTCOME MEASURES

EF tasks which measured working memory, inhibition of distraction, and planning at 8 months after expected date of delivery.

RESULTS

The very preterm infants performed significantly more poorly than the full-term infants on all measures of executive function. No significant differences were found between very preterm and full-term infants on any of potentially confounding variables of, infant temperament, maternal education, family income and maternal psychological wellbeing. Very preterm infants had significantly lower scores on the Mental Development Index (MDI) and Psychomotor Development Index (PDI) on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID II), however when this was partialled out the differences in EF scores remained. Medical complications, lower birthweight and lower gestation age were all found to adversely affect the performance of very preterm infants on executive function tasks.

CONCLUSION

Very preterm infants performed more poorly than full-term infants on measures of EF. Further follow up studies are required to investigate whether EF measures in infancy can predict learning and attention outcome at school age.

Kindergarten risk factors, cognitive factors, and teacher judgments as predictors of early reading in Dutch

This study focused on the predictive value of risk factors, cognitive factors, and teachers' judgments in a sample of 462 kindergartners for their early reading skills and reading failure at the beginning of Grade 1. With respect to risk factors, enrollment in speech-language therapy, history of dyslexia or speech-language problems in the family, and the role of gender were considered. None of these risk factors were significantly related to reading performance. Cognitive factors in this study included letter knowledge, rapid naming ability, and nonword repetition skills. Of these skills, letter knowledge seemed to have the highest correlation with reading. Kindergarten teachers' judgments, including a task assignment scale and teachers' predictions, demonstrated a significant relationship with reading. Finally, to judge whether these predictors could identify reading disabilities, the discriminatory power of all predictors was assessed and appeared to be insufficient. Implications for screening purposes are discussed.

Predicting Improvement After First-Grade Reading Difficulties: The Effects of Oral Language, Emergent Literacy, and Behavior Skills

This study investigated the role of early literacy and behavioral skills in predicting the improvement of children who have experienced reading difficulties in 1st grade. The progress of 146 low-income children whose reading scores in 1st grade were below the 30th percentile was examined to determine (a) how the poorest readers in 1st grade progressed in reading achievement through 4th grade and (b) which emergent literacy and behavioral skills measured in kindergarten predicted differential 4th grade outcomes. Results indicated that the divergence between children who improved and those who did not was established by the end of 2nd grade. Further, individual linguistic skills and behavioral attributes measured in kindergarten contributed substantively to this difference. Implications for intervention timing and educational policy are discussed.

The utility of kindergarten teacher ratings for predicting low academic achievement in first grade

The purpose of this study was to assess the predictive value of kindergarten teachers' ratings of pupils for later first-grade academic achievement. Kindergarten students were rated by their teachers on a variety of variables, including math and reading performance, teacher concerns, and amount of learning relative to peers. These variables were then analyzed with respect to outcome measures for math and reading ability administered in the first grade. The teachers' ratings of academic performance were significantly correlated with scores on the outcome measures. Analyses were also carried out to determine sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of the different teacher ratings. The results indicated high overall accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value for the ratings. Positive predictive value tended to be lower. A recommendation to follow from these results is that teacher ratings of this sort be used to determine which children should receive cognitive screening measures to further enhance identification of children at risk for learning disability. However, this recommendation is limited by the lack of empirically supported screening measures for math disability versus well-supported screening tools for reading disability.