title: Assessing educational outcomes in middle childhood: validation of the Teacher Academic Attainment Scale.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Assessing educational outcomes in high-risk populations is crucial for defining long-term outcomes. As standardized tests are costly and time-consuming, we assessed the use of the Teacher Academic Attainment Scale (TAAS) as an outcome measure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred and forty three children in mainstream schools aged 10 to 11 years (144 males, 199 females; 190 extremely preterm and 153 term; mean age 10 y 9 mo, SD 5.5 mo, range 9 y 8 mo-12 y 3 mo) were assessed using the reading and mathematics scales of the criterion standard Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, 2nd (UK) edition (WIAT-II). Class teachers completed the TAAS, a seven-item questionnaire for assessing academic attainment. The TAAS was also completed at 6 years of age for 266 children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cronbach's alpha 0.95 indicated excellent internal consistency, and the correlation between TAAS scores at 6 and 11 years indicated good test-retest reliability (r=0.77, p<0.001). Significantly higher TAAS scores for term vs preterm children demonstrated discriminative validity. TAAS scores at 6 and 11 years were significantly correlated with WIAT-II reading (r=0.69 and 0.75, p<0.001) and mathematics (r=0.75 and 0.82, p<0.001) scores, demonstrating good predictive and concurrent validity respectively. TAAS scores of <2.5 were good predictors of learning difficulties.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The TAAS is a brief, psychometrically sound teacher-report of academic attainment that yields continuous and categorical outcomes. It provides a cost- and time-efficient outcome measure for large-scale studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK. sjj19@le.ac.uk
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Marlow
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wolke
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D004522:Educational Status; D005178:Faculty / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014894:Weights and Measures