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ERIC Number: EJ1486974
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Oct
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0034-0553
EISSN: EISSN-1936-2722
Available Date: 2025-08-31
Assessing Early Writing in Preschool: Attention to Early Writing Tasks and Component Skills
Xiao Y. Zhang1; Gary E. Bingham2; Lee Branum-Martin3; Hope K. Gerde4; Ryan P. Bowles5
Reading Research Quarterly, v60 n4 e70051 2025
Through the use of multiple early writing assessments and a theoretically aligned refined coding system, this study examined preschool children's early writing skills. A total of 496 preschool-aged (3- to 5-year-old) children were assessed on writing tasks designed to measure their handwriting, spelling, writing concept, and composing skills. Multiple structural equation models were employed to examine how the writing tasks used to elicit children's writing and the refined scoring rubrics worked together to capture children's early writing skills. The final multitrait multimethod (MTMM) model indicated that preschool writing tasks suggested three distinct underlying skills, namely handwriting (containing handwriting and writing concept indicators), spelling, and composing. It also confirmed that the early writing skills elicited by the four early writing tasks (e.g., name, letter, word, and story writing) were distinguishable from each other. This suggests that these early writing tasks provide unique information about children's writing and can be used for different assessment purposes. The results also suggest that the refined coding system and the four early writing tasks appear to be reliable and valid measures of preschool early writing. Findings have implications for the teaching and assessment of preschool early writing.
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305A150210
Department of Education Funded: Yes
Author Affiliations: 1Urban Child Study Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 2Early Childhood and Elementary Education, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 3Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; 4Teaching, Learning and Culture, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA; 5Human Development and Family Studies, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA