IRT analyses of Arabic letter knowledge in Kindergarten
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IRT analyses of Arabic letter knowledge in Kindergarten Sana Tibi1 · Ashley A. Edwards2 · Christopher Schatschneider2 · Linda J. Lombardino3 · John R. Kirby4 · Soheil H. Salha5
© Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Little research has been conducted on Arabic letter knowledge. This study investigates the nature of Arabic letter knowledge, its dimensionality, and the relative difficulty of letter knowledge items, all within an item response theory (IRT) framework. Three letter knowledge tests were administered to 142 native Arabic-speaking kindergarteners (mean age = 67 months). The letter recognition task was found to be multidimensional, containing two factors, whereas the allograph and syllable tasks were found to be unidimensional. Results showed that a two parameter model fit best for all three tasks, demonstrating that items varied in degree of difficulty and in discrimination. Findings provide a subset of letters that are most useful for quickly and precisely assessing children’s letter knowledge. Results are discussed in the context of orthographic and linguistic features of Arabic. Implications for assessment and instruction are discussed. Keywords Arabic letters · Dimensionality · Item response theory · Letter knowledge Letter knowledge, measured prior to formal instruction, is one of the strongest longitudinal predictors of learning to read (Hammill, 2004; Kirby, Parrila, & Pfeiffer, 2003). Letter knowledge captures two different kinds of knowledge, letter-name and letter-sound knowledge, with each having different developmental patterns and unique predictive ability (Caravolas, Hulme, & Snowling, 2001; McBride-Chang, * Sana Tibi [email protected] 1
School of Communication Science and Disorders, Florida State University, 201 W. Bloxham Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306‑1200, USA
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Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA
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Department of Special Education, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA
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Faculty of Education, Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada
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Faculty of Educational Sciences and Teacher Preparation, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine
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S. Tibi et al.
1999; Wagner, Torgesen, & Rashotte, 1994). However, the majority of research on letter knowledge has been conducted with English-speaking children, and relatively little is known about Arabic letter knowledge. Our focus here is on the nature of Arabic letter knowledge among Arabic-speaking kindergarten children. Specifically, we aim to explore (a) the dimensionality of Arabic letter knowledge, (b) the level of ease/difficulty of Arabic letters, and (c) the difference between three administered letter tasks in the amount of information they provide across the range of ability.
Situating letter knowledge in literacy development A large body of literature on emergent literacy skills demonstrates the importance of three foundational skills as core skills for literacy acquisition: alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, and oral language (Catts, Fey, Zhang, &
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