Validation of a touch screen tablet assessment of early literacy skills and a comparison with a traditional paper-based assessment

Abstract

Touch screen tablets are being increasingly used in schools for learning and assessment. However, the validity and reliability of assessments delivered via tablets are largely unknown. The present study tested the psychometric properties of a tablet-based app designed to measure early literacy skills. Tablet-based tests were also compared with traditional paper-based tests. Children aged 2–6 years (N = 99) completed receptive tests delivered via a tablet for letter, word, and numeral skills. The same skills were tested with a traditional paper-based test that used an expressive response format. Children (n = 35) were post-tested 8 weeks later to examine the stability of test scores over time. The tablet test scores showed high internal consistency (all α’s >.94), acceptable test-retest reliability (ICC range =.39–.89), and were correlated with child age, family SES, and home literacy teaching to indicate good predictive validity. The agreement between scores for the tablet and traditional tests was high (ICC range =.81–.94). The tablet tests provides valid and reliable measures of children’s early literacy skills. The strong psychometric properties and ease of use suggests that tablet-based tests of literacy skills have the potential to improve assessment practices for research purposes and classroom use.