Validation and Decision Accuracy of Early Numeracy Skill Indicators

Abstract

.The purpose of this study was to develop short-duration assessment measures hypothesized to be valid samples of early mathematical behavior. The Early Numeracy Skill Indicators were designed using a curriculum-based assessment approach. Participants included 64 kindergarten children from a school district in the rural Northeast. Design components featured longitudinal correlation analyses conducted over a 26-week period. Decision analyses were completed using receiver operating characteristic techniques. Results indicated that selected Early Numeracy Skill Indicators tasks produced reliable, valid, and diagnostically accurate scores in relation to established criterion measures. Implications focus on the use and development of the measures as a means to prevent failure and enhance mathematics competency. Further, these tools complement the growing availability of early mathematics curriculum-based measures.