Language and Reading Progress of Young Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children.

We examined the language and reading progress of 336 young DHH children in kindergarten, first and second grades. Trained assessors tested children's language, reading, and spoken and fingerspelled phonological awareness in the fall and spring of the school year. Children were divided into groups based on their auditory access and classroom communication: a spoken-only group (n = 101), a sign-only group (n = 131), and a bimodal group (n = 104). Overall, children showed delays in language and reading compared to norms established for hearing children. For language, vocabulary standard scores were higher than for English syntax. Although delayed in language, children made expected gains based on hearing norms from kindergarten to second grade. Reading scores declined from kindergarten to second grade. Spoken-only and bimodal children had similar word reading and reading comprehension abilities and higher scores than sign-only children. Spoken-only children had better spoken phonological awareness and nonword reading skills than the other two groups. The sign-only and bimodal groups made similar and significant gains in ASL syntax and fingerspelling phonological awareness.

Modality and Interrelations Among Language, Reading, Spoken Phonological Awareness, and Fingerspelling.

Better understanding of the mechanisms underlying early reading skills can lead to improved interventions. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine multivariate associations among reading, language, spoken phonological awareness, and fingerspelling abilities for three groups of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) beginning readers: those who were acquiring only spoken English (n = 101), those who were visual learners and acquiring sign (n = 131), and those who were acquiring both (n = 104). Children were enrolled in kindergarten, first, or second grade. Within-group and between-group confirmatory factor analysis showed that there were both similarities and differences in the abilities that underlie reading in these three groups. For all groups, reading abilities related to both language and the ability to manipulate the sublexical features of words. However, the groups differed on whether these constructs were based on visual or spoken language. Our results suggest that there are alternative means to learning to read. Whereas all DHH children learning to read rely on the same fundamental abilities of language and phonological processing, the modality, levels, and relations among these abilities differ.

Developing a Longitudinal Scale for Language: Linking Across Developmentally Different Versions of the Same Test.

Purpose Many language tests use different versions that are not statistically linked or do not have a developmental scaled score. The current article illustrates the problems of scores that are not linked or equated, followed by a statistical model to derive a developmental scaled score. Method Using an accelerated cohort design of 890 students in Grades 1-5, a confirmatory factor model was fit to 6 subtests of the Test of Language Development-Primary and Intermediate: Fourth Edition ( Hammill & Newcomer, 2008a , 2008b ). The model allowed for linking the subtests to a general factor of language and equating their measurement characteristics across grades and cohorts of children. A sequence of models was fit to evaluate the appropriateness of the linking assumptions. Results The models fit well, with reasonable support for the validity of the tests to measure a general factor of language on a longitudinally consistent scale. Conclusion Although total and standard scores were problematic for longitudinal relations, the results of the model suggest that language grows in a relatively linear manner among these children, regardless of which set of subtests they received. Researchers and clinicians interested in longitudinal inferences are advised to design research or choose tests that can provide a developmental scaled score.

Factorial Validity and Measurement Invariance of the Test of Preschool Early Literacy-Phonological Awareness Test Among Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children and Hearing Children.

OBJECTIVES: Emerging evidence suggests that early phonological awareness in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children with functional hearing is significantly related to their reading acquisition, and the assessment of phonological awareness can play a critical role in preventing reading difficulties. Validation of the scores obtained from standardized assessments when used with DHH students is crucial to support the assessments' intended interpretations and implications of test scores. Using archival data sets, the aim of this study was twofold: (a) to establish the factorial validity of the item scores on the Test of Preschool Early Literacy-Phonological Awareness (TOPEL-PA) for DHH children with functional hearing and hearing children and (b) to test measurement invariance across these groups. Our archival data sets included assessments of DHH children, hearing children from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds, and hearing children from a range of SES backgrounds. We hypothesized that a second-order unifying ability, Phonological Awareness, along with four first-order subtest factors would explain inter-item associations among the 27 items on the TOPEL-PA. We further hypothesized that patterns of associations among the item scores would be similar across groups and that the individual items would function similarly across groups. DESIGN: Seven hundred and thirty-three children from three samples participated in the study; 171 were DHH children (Mage = 58.7 months old, SDage = 12.5 months old), 195 were low-SES hearing children (Mage = 55.5 months old, SDage = 3.5 months old), and 367 were diverse-SES hearing children (Mage = 53.4 months old, SDage = 8.9 months old). All DHH children were able to identify the referent of monosyllabic spoken words on the Early Speech Perception Test. RESULTS: Test of confirmatory item factor analyses of the hypothesized second-order factor structure revealed that a second-order unifying ability along with four first-order subtest factors well explained associations among the item scores for all groups. This aligned with the scoring structure of the TOPEL-PA, providing strong evidence for factorial validity of the item scores for DHH children as well as for hearing children groups. The measurement invariance test results provided evidence that the vast majority of TOPEL-PA items functioned similarly for hearing children and DHH children with speech perception abilities, suggesting that the utility of the assessment scores obtained from DHH children is consistent with the scores obtained from hearing children. CONCLUSION: Results of our study suggest that researchers and practitioners can use the TOPEL-PA to assess DHH children with functional hearing. It also suggests that the two skills measured on the TOPEL-PA (blending and elision) are qualitatively similar for DHH and hearing children, but the latent mean score obtained from the DHH children significantly differed from those of the hearing groups, suggesting a quantitative difference.

Evaluating the Structure of Early English Literacy Skills in Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children.

Better understanding the mechanisms underlying developing literacy has promoted the development of more effective reading interventions for typically developing children. Such knowledge may facilitate effective instruction of deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children. Hence, the current study examined the multivariate associations among phonological awareness, alphabetic knowledge, word reading, and vocabulary skills in DHH children who have auditory access to speech. One hundred and sixty-seven DHH children (M age = 60.43 months) were assessed with a battery of early literacy measures. Forty-six percent used at least 1 cochlear implant; 54% were fitted with hearing aids. About a fourth of the sample was acquiring both spoken English and sign. Scores on standardized tests of phonological awareness and vocabulary averaged at least 1 standard deviation (SD) below the mean of the hearing norming sample. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that DHH children's early literacy skills were best characterized by a complex 3-factor model in which phonological awareness, alphabetic knowledge, and vocabulary formed 3 separate, but highly correlated constructs, with letter-sound knowledge and word reading skills relating to both phonological awareness and alphabetic knowledge. This supports the hypothesis that early reading of DHH children with functional hearing is qualitatively similar to that of hearing children.

Reading among diverse DHH learners: what, how, and for whom?

Students whO are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) face challenges in learning to read. Much has been written about the relative importance of the different factors associated with success in reading, but these factors are disputed within the literature on DHH readers. The Center on Literacy and Deafness, funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, is engaged in a nationwide project to identify child-by-instruction interactions related to instructional factors that are malleable within the classroom context. In the present article, the authors describe the project, present the conceptual model on which it is based, explain the processes and procedures used to choose assessment tools, and discuss their theoretical view of how reading and instruction might differ based on an individual student's language and level of functional hearing.

Measuring phonological awareness in deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

PURPOSE: This study evaluated psychometric properties of 2 phonological awareness (PA) tests normed for hearing children when used with deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children with functional hearing. It also provides an in-depth description of these children's PA. METHOD: One hundred and eight DHH children (mean age = 63.3 months) with cochlear implants or hearing aids were assessed in the fall and spring of the school year. Sixty-three percent communicated only with spoken language; 37% communicated with both sign and speech. Examiners administered PA subtests from the Phonological Awareness Test-2 and the Test of Preschool Early Literacy, along with assessments of speech perception and early literacy. RESULTS: Item analyses indicated that both tests showed good psychometric properties (e.g., high item discriminations and internal consistencies). DHH children scored higher on subtests and items that measured words, rhymes, and syllables than those that assessed phonemes. Although subtest difficulty influenced the factor structure in the fall, spring PA was best characterized as a single factor. PA correlated concurrently and predictively with early literacy. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that these 2 standardized tests are valid for use with DHH children with functional hearing. Although delayed, these children's PA was structurally similar to that of hearing children.

A Short-Term Longitudinal Study of the Relationship between Motivation to Read and Reading Fluency Skill in Second Grade.

This short-term longitudinal study investigated the relationships between students' reading self-concept, goals for reading, and reading fluency skill over the course of the second grade year. Second grade children (N=185) were administered the Test of Word Reading Efficiency, the second grade Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, and an adapted version of Motivation to Read Profile at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. Results showed that students' goals for reading were related to reading self-concept, but unrelated to reading fluency. In addition, reading self-concept was significantly related to reading fluency at each time point. Latent-variable path analysis was used to test four potential relationships between students' reading self-concept and reading fluency skill: (a) an independence model; (b) a skill development model; (c) a self-enhancement model; and (d) a reciprocal effects model. Support for a reciprocal model was found between students' reading fluency skill and reading self-concept over the second grade year. This finding also indicated that students' reading self-concept begins to influence their reading achievement earlier than previous research had indicated. Implications for educational practice and future research will also be discussed.