Longitudinal Invariance of Teachers' Observational Ratings of Children's Emergent Literacy Skills

• In Event: 47.062 - Rating Quality Issues in Classroom Observation

Abstract

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the longitudinal measurement invariance (MI) of the Jumpstart School Success Checklist (JSSC), a 15-item observational tool of children’s emergent literacy skills. Data was based on informants’ Fall and Spring ratings of 9,834 (50% female) children in the national Jumpstart program. Competing models supported the scale’s bifactor structure, which met partial longitudinal MI with specific factor loadings and thresholds lacking invariance. The latent mean for Spring was a full point higher (d = 1.06). McDonald’s ωh for Fall and Spring data was 0.93 and 0.92, supporting the internal consistency of the primary Literacy factor, whereas omega hierarchical estimates for the subscales were low (< 0.16). Implications to practice and research are discussed.

Authors

• Thomas J Reece, University of Louisville

• Jason C. Immekus, University of Louisville