The letter knowledge assessment tool.

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Linguistics

Background:

• Early literacy skills are crucial for academic success.
• Existing letter knowledge assessment tools are insufficient for Portuguese preschoolers.
• International comparisons require culturally relevant assessment instruments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Prova de Avaliação de Competências de Pré-Literacia (PACPL) for assessing letter knowledge in Portuguese preschoolers.
• To establish the psychometric properties of the PACPL.

Main Methods:

• The PACPL underwent a two-phase development and validation process: a pilot study with expert review and a main study with 216 children aged 5-7.
• Statistical analyses included content validity, internal consistency, reliability (inter-rater and intra-rater agreement), and construct validity.
• A modified Bland-Altman method was used to assess evaluator agreement.

Main Results:

• The PACPL demonstrated excellent inter-rater (96.2% agreement, Cohen's k=0.92) and intra-rater (95.6% agreement, Cohen's k=0.91) reliability.
• High internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.982) and construct validity were confirmed.
• Letter knowledge increased with age, with children performing better at identifying letters than producing their names or sounds.

Conclusions:

• The PACPL is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing letter knowledge in Portuguese children.
• This tool can aid in characterizing early literacy skills and facilitate international comparisons.