The Comparability and Validity of Teacher and Caregiver Ratings Regarding Young Children's Development

Business/Education/Speech and Hearing Science: 3rd Place (The Ohio State University Denman Undergraduate Research Forum)The Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) is a widely-used screener of young children's cognitive, physical, and social development delays. According to the developers, the ASQ is typically completed by children's caregivers. However, ASQs are occasionally completed by teachers or other professionals in early childhood settings across the country. Studies have found that childcare provides, including preschool teachers, parents of preschoolers and kindergarten teachers all hold different concerns and expectations (i.e., academic and behavioral skills) when considering a young child's academic performance and school readiness. This study examines the agreement between caregivers and professionals with respect to completing ASQ-3, and the validity of respondents when compared to the Preschool-Language Scale (PLS-5) an objective and unbiased third party measure. Utilizing reports from 52 children's caregiver and teacher ASQ-3 reports and PLS-5 screeners, three findings emerged: (a) a majority of ratings by caregivers and teachers agreed when assessing the developmental risk level of a young child, however evidence concerning disagreement was compelling; (b) although few predictors of caregiver-teacher disagreement were identified, agreement of risk level was higher for children whose mothers had completed or gone beyond a high school diploma than for children whose mothers did not in the communication domain; (c) caregivers, but not teachers, exhibited significant, yet moderate in magnitude, correlations in ratings with scores on a direct assessment suggesting caregivers ratings are more valid than those of teachers.A five-year embargo was granted for this item.Academic Major: Human Development and Family Scienc