title: Content validity to support the use of a computer-based phonological awareness screening and monitoring assessment (Com-PASMA) in the classroom.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigated the content validity of a computer-based phonological awareness (PA) screening and monitoring assessment (Com-PASMA) designed to evaluate school-entry PA abilities. Establishing content validity by confirming that test items suitably 'fit' and sample a spectrum of difficulty levels is critical for ensuring educators can deduce accurate information to comprehensively differentiate curricular reading instruction.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-five children, inclusive of 21 children with spoken language impairment, participated in a 1-year longitudinal study whereby the Com-PASMA was administered at the start, middle and end of the school year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Estimates of content validity using Rasch Model analysis demonstrated that: (1) rhyme oddity and initial phoneme identity tasks were most appropriate at school-entry and sampled a spectrum of difficulty levels, (2) more challenging phoneme level tasks (e.g. final phoneme identity, phoneme blending, phoneme deletion and phoneme segmentation) became increasingly appropriate and differentiated between high- and low-ability students by the middle and end of the first year of school and (3) letter-knowledge tasks were appropriate but declined in their ability to differentiate student ability as the year progressed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings demonstrate that the Com-PASMA has sufficient content validity to measure and differentiate between the PA abilities of 5-year-old children on entry to school.
authors.affiliation: Flinders University , Adelaide , South Australia.
authors.forename: Karyn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Carson
authors.forename: Therese
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Boustead
authors.forename: Gail
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gillon
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D003199:Computer Systems; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment; D066229:Speech Sound Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*
keywords: Phonological awareness; classroom assessment; computer-based assessment; content validity; reading development