Rasch Modeling of Letter Sound Production in Early Childhood

• In Event: 31.065 - Early Childhood Language and Literacy

Abstract

In what order should we teach letter sounds? This study contributes to the understanding of early literacy acquisition by applying Item Response Theory (IRT) methodologies to assess the relative difficulty of different sounds found in written English. We compare the results of a large empirically based field study to the traditional logic-based model of early phoneme-grapheme correspondence and a developmentally based early childhood sequence of sound development. While the empirical and developmental models were found to be similar, significant differences with the logic-based model were uncovered. The implications for the order in which phoneme-grapheme correspondence might be taught is discussed.

Author

• Luke S. Duesbery, San Diego State University