Psychometric properties and optimizing of the Bracken School Readiness Assessment
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Psychometric properties and optimizing of the Bracken School Readiness Assessment Denise De Almeida Maia 1 & Steffi Pohl 2 & Paola Matiko Martins Okuda 1 & Ting Liu 3 & Marina Leite Puglisi 4 & George Ploubidis 5 & Michael Eid 2 & Hugo Cogo-Moreira 1,2 Received: 11 August 2020 / Accepted: 13 October 2020/ # Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract The Bracken School Readiness Assessment (BSRA) has been used in large studies such as the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS). Important conclusions might be done regarding its reliability for the prediction of children’s school readiness taking advantage of such large-scale evaluation. Although BSRA has being largely used, few are the studies at item-level under latent approach investigating its psychometric features. Using data from 14,899 2–3-year olds who participated in the MCS, we used Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis to examine multidimensionality of the subtests of the BSRA and their consistencies, specificities, and reliabilities. We found clear indications of multidimensionality. From the 88 items, 10 showed low reliability. Future research may consider excluding these low reliability items to improve the psychometric properties of the BSRA and its use as multidimensional measurement tool. Keywords Confirmatory factor analysis . School readiness . Preschoolers . Bifactor model .
Bayes
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11092-02009339-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
* Denise De Almeida Maia [email protected]
1
Department of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Pedro de Toledo, 669, 3 andar (fundos) Vila Clementino – CEP, São Paulo, SP 04039-032, Brazil
2
Department of Psychology and Education, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
3
Department of Health and Human Performance, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA
4
Department of Communication Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
5
Centre for Longitudinal Studies, University College London, London, UK
Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability
Early childhood is the optimal time to focus on a child’s development (Heckman et al. 2010). Providing quality education for preschool children is a recognized strategy to promote school readiness and success (Magnuson et al. 2004; Ramey and Ramey 2004). The subject is in the international agenda: to be prepared for the primary school by 2030 is included in the sustainable development goals of the United Nations ( 2015). Early childhood is a period when important fundamental skills are developed, including communication, motor, and social skills. The development of these fundamental skills in early childhood is essential for school success. Preschool children may encounter academic difficulties if these skills are not developed or are developed inadequately (Lee and Ginsburg 2007; Van Hartingsveldt et al. 2015). In this context, “school readiness” refers to the preparation of a child to start
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