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Assessing educational outcomes in middle childhood: validation of the Teacher Academic Attainment Scale
Author(s) -
JOHNSON SAMANTHA,
MARLOW NEIL,
WOLKE DIETER
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
developmental medicine and child neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.658
H-Index - 143
eISSN - 1469-8749
pISSN - 0012-1622
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8749.2012.04264.x
Subject(s) - cronbach's alpha , psychology , academic achievement , developmental psychology , predictive validity , clinical psychology , wechsler adult intelligence scale , scale (ratio) , psychometrics , cognition , psychiatry , physics , quantum mechanics
Aim Assessing educational outcomes in high‐risk populations is crucial for defining long‐term outcomes. As standardized tests are costly and time‐consuming, we assessed the use of the Teacher Academic Attainment Scale (TAAS) as an outcome measure. Method Three hundred and forty three children in mainstream schools aged 10 to 11 years (144 males, 199 females; 190 extremely preterm and 153 term; mean age 10y 9mo, SD 5.5mo, range 9y 8mo–12y 3mo) were assessed using the reading and mathematics scales of the criterion standard Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, 2nd (UK) edition (WIAT‐II). Class teachers completed the TAAS, a seven‐item questionnaire for assessing academic attainment. The TAAS was also completed at 6 years of age for 266 children. Results Cronbach’s alpha 0.95 indicated excellent internal consistency, and the correlation between TAAS scores at 6 and 11 years indicated good test–retest reliability ( r =0.77, p <0.001). Significantly higher TAAS scores for term vs preterm children demonstrated discriminative validity. TAAS scores at 6 and 11 years were significantly correlated with WIAT‐II reading ( r =0.69 and 0.75, p <0.001) and mathematics ( r =0.75 and 0.82, p <0.001) scores, demonstrating good predictive and concurrent validity respectively. TAAS scores of <2.5 were good predictors of learning difficulties. Interpretation The TAAS is a brief, psychometrically sound teacher‐report of academic attainment that yields continuous and categorical outcomes. It provides a cost‐ and time‐efficient outcome measure for large‐scale studies.