Evaluating listening comprehension in children using a dynamic assessment approach: An exploratory study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Dynamic Assessment Test of Listening Comprehension_4–6 (DATLC_4–6) for Portuguese preschoolers aged four to six years old. The test construction was based on the principles of dynamic assessment, specifically the gradual prompts model. The test includes 40 multiple-choice items, each of which includes three types of prompts. A total of 108 Portuguese preschool children participated in the study. High corrected item-total correlations were obtained. The principal component analysis results suggested that a single factor explains a high percentage of the results’ variance. The value of Cronbach's alpha coefficient indicates a notably high internal consistency. The preliminary analysis of the DATLC4-6 suggests adequate psychometric properties. Limitations and directions for future studies are discussed.

Keywords::

• Listening comprehension
• Dynamic assessment
• Preschoolers
• Reliability
• Principal component analysis

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [grant number SFRH/BD/77759/2011].