Accuracy-based phonological awareness tasks: Are they reliable, efficient, and sensitive to growth?

This two-experiment study examined the efficiency and sensitivity of five accuracy-based phonological awareness tasks (i.e., Rhyme-Providing, Sound-Providing, Blending, Segmentation, and Deletion) for monitoring the development of these skills in kindergarten and Grade 1 students. The first experiment examined responses to different numbers and types of items included in each phonological awareness task for their correspondence to responses obtained from a larger, more inclusive item pool. Results suggested that an internally consistent and valid measure of each skill included 10 items per task, each representing a different linguistic combination. The second experiment examined the interscorer reliability and concurrent validity of the five measures, and compared their sensitivity to growth. Sensitivity was examined by administering 12 alternate forms of the tasks once per week to 32 kindergarten and 35 Grade 1 students. Mean slopes computed for each task suggested positive growth across all tasks and grades. Mean kindergarten slopes were significantly steeper than mean Grade 1 slopes for each of the five tasks, whereas the most sensitive task for both kindergarten and grade 1 students was Segmentation. The implications of these results are discussed for using accuracy-based measures of phonological awareness skills as part of a comprehensive assessment of young children's reading gains over time.