The Influences of Multiple Informants' Ratings of Inattention on Preschoolers' Emergent Literacy Skills Growth.

There is strong evidence that inattention is a correlate of reading-related skills; however, less research has examined the unique and longitudinal relations between multiple informants' ratings of inattention and the development of early reading skills across the preschool year. This study used latent growth curve analysis to examine whether ratings of inattention, completed by multiple informants, were unique predictors of emergent literacy development in preschoolers. Participants included 284 preschool children. ADHD-rating scales were completed by three different informants (i.e., classroom teachers, project teachers, and examiners) and measures of emergent literacy skills, a measure of working memory, and a measure of non-verbal cognitive ability were completed by the preschoolers. Each informant's rating of inattention uniquely predicted children's initial emergent literacy skills, but only the ratings of inattention made by project teachers were uniquely associated with growth in emergent literacy skills over the course of the preschool year.

Inhibitory Control of Spanish-Speaking Language-Minority Preschool Children: Measurement and Association With Language, Literacy, and Math Skills.

Children's self-regulation, including components of executive function such as inhibitory control, is related concurrently and longitudinally with elementary school children's reading and math abilities. Although several recent studies have examined links between preschool children's self-regulation or executive function and their academic skill development, few included large numbers of Spanish-speaking language-minority children. Among the fastest growing segments of the U.S. school-age population, many of these children are at significant risk of academic difficulties. We examined the relations between inhibitory control and academic skills in a sample containing a large number of Spanish-speaking preschoolers. Overall, the children demonstrated substantial academic risk based on preschool-entry vocabulary scores in the below-average range. Children completed assessments of language, literacy, and math skills in English and Spanish, when appropriate, at the start and end of their preschool year, along with a measure of inhibitory control, the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task, which was administered at the start of the preschool year in the child's dominant conversational language. Scores on this last measure were lower for children for whom it was administered in Spanish. For both English and Spanish outcomes, those scores were significantly and uniquely associated with higher scores on measures of phonological awareness and math skills but not vocabulary or print knowledge skills.

Executive function of Spanish-speaking language-minority preschoolers: Structure and relations with early literacy skills and behavioral outcomes.

Young children's executive function (EF) is increasingly recognized as an important construct associated with development in cognitive and socioemotional domains. To date, however, few studies have examined EF in populations of language-minority children. In this study, 241 Spanish-speaking language-minority preschoolers who ranged in age from 38 to 69 months (M=54.23 months, SD=6.17) completed three tasks designed to measure inhibitory control (IC) and four tasks designed to measure working memory (WM). Children completed assessments of their vocabulary skills, early literacy skills, and behavioral self-regulation in both English and Spanish, and their classroom teachers completed three behavior rating measures. Children were classified as more proficient in English or Spanish based on their scores on the vocabulary measures, and all IC and WM measures were administered in the children's more proficient language. Results of confirmatory factor analyses supported a two-factor model of EF for both groups of children as well as strong measurement and structural invariance across groups. Children's EF was substantially related to the language, early literacy, and behavioral self-regulation measures as well as teacher ratings of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. For children with more proficient English, EF was associated with skills in both English and Spanish; however, for children with more proficient Spanish, EF was associated primarily with skills in Spanish. These results provide evidence of strong correspondence for EF measured in Spanish-speaking language-minority preschoolers and monolingual preschoolers, and they identify a potential key factor that can enhance understanding of development in this population of children.

Examining the measurement precision and invariance of the revised get ready to read!

Children's emergent literacy skills are highly predictive of later reading abilities. To determine which children have weaker emergent literacy skills and are in need of intervention, it is necessary to assess emergent literacy skills accurately and reliably. In this study, 1,351 children were administered the Revised Get Ready to Read! (GRTR-R), and an item response theory analysis was used to evaluate the item-level reliability of the measure. Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses were conducted to examine whether items function similarly between subpopulations of children. The GRTR-R had acceptable reliability for children whose ability level was just below the mean. DIF for a small number of items was present for only two comparisons-children who were older versus younger and children who were White versus African American. These results demonstrate that the GRTR-R has acceptable reliability and limited DIF, enabling the screener to identify those at risk for developing reading problems.

Relations between inhibitory control and the development of academic skills in preschool and kindergarten: a meta-analysis.

Although there is evidence that young children's inhibitory control (IC) is related to their academic skills, the nature of this relation and the role of potential moderators of it are not well understood. In this meta-analytic study, we summarized results from 75 peer-reviewed studies of preschool and kindergarten children (14,424 children; 32-80 months old [M = 54.71 months; SD = 9.70]) across a wide range of socioeconomic status. The mean effect size (r) across studies was .27 (95% confidence interval [.24, .29]), indicating a moderate and statistically significant association between self-regulation and academic skills. The association between IC and academic skills was moderated by type of IC behavior task (i.e., hot vs. cool behavior task), by method of assessing IC (i.e., behavior task vs. parent report), and by academic subject (i.e., literacy vs. math), but not by other methods of assessing IC (i.e., behavior task vs. teacher report, parent report vs. teacher report) or by grade (i.e., preschool vs. kindergarten). The results of this meta-analysis suggest that there are preferred methods for assessing IC (i.e., cool behavior tasks, teacher reports) that should be considered when examining the relations between IC and academic skills in young children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).