Patterns of Young Children's Development: An International Comparison of Development as Assessed by Who Am I? - April 2002

Background and Technical Information on Who Am I?

Who Am I?⁶ was developed at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) for a project investigating factors relating to children's development in the early years of schooling. The project was carried out over the period 1997 to 1999. Who Am I? addressed the project's need for a measure of developmental level that would cover the age range from preschool to Year 2 (age four to seven years), and which could be administered, either individually or in small groups, by class teachers. This new instrument also met the criteria of an assessment that could be scored and evaluated independently of immediate teacher judgement or observation, so that there was a means of checking the consistency of the scoring and classification of children's responses. In order to avoid an assessment that might be seen as too formal or too difficult for younger children, it was decided to focus on tasks which provided children with an opportunity to demonstrate what they were able to do, rather than tasks which involved right/wrong answers to specific questions.

Who Am I? is based on a series of copying and writing tasks which tap both underlying developmental processes and learned skills. In this way, it is designed to distinguish between achievements that are based on specific learning or teaching (such as the child's ability to write his or her own name), and achievements that are based on a more advanced level of conceptualisation (for example, the ability to copy complex geometrical forms, or to transform spoken words into written form).

Who Am I? has a number of advantages as an assessment tool which provides a measure of children's level of development at preschool or entry to school level. Its main advantages are ease of administration and scoring, the relatively short time it takes to assess each child, and the fact that the information obtained provides a valid and reliable measure of the concepts and skills that underlie early literacy and numeracy development. Because the tasks are not dependent on language, Who Am I? can be administered in any language, and the same scoring criteria can be applied since the principles underlying the scoring criteria are independent of the language in which the tasks are administered.

Description of Who Am I?

Who Am I? is a little booklet in which the child is asked to write their name, copy a series of simple geometrical shapes (a circle, a cross, a square, a triangle and a diamond), write some numbers, letters, words and a sentence, and draw a picture of themself. These tasks are designed to test a child's ability to conceptualize and to reconstruct a geometrical shape, and to use symbolic representations as illustrated by his or her understanding and use of conventional symbols such as numbers, letters and words. Responses to these tasks are classified into four levels showing a developmental progression. Criteria for the classification of responses are provided.

Responses to the various Who Am I? tasks are used to construct three scales. A Copying Scale, based on the copying of geometrical figures, a Symbols Scale, based on the child's ability to produce written symbols (name, numbers, letters, words, a sentence), and a Drawing Scale, based on the child's representation of a person. The scores on all three scales can be summed to provide an overall score. Alternatively, if the drawing task is omitted, scores on the Copying Scale and the Symbols Scale can be combined to provide an overall score for these two scales only, as in the case of the Canadian use of this instrument.

Australian Norms

In the published version of Who Am I? (de Lemos and Doig, 1999), Australian norms are provided in the form of both age norms and school level norms. These norms are based on the sample of over 4000 children who were assessed in 1998 as a part of the research study. Age norms are provided for children from four to seven years or over in three or six-month age bands; school level norms are provided for the various school levels distinguished across the different school systems. The Australian manual also provides for the construction of an Individual Profile, allowing for the interpretation of the child's overall score, as well as his or her pattern of scores across the three scales, in terms of the expected pattern of scores for children at the same level of schooling. A Diamap for diagnostic interpretations of Who Am I? is also provided, as well as guidelines on the interpretation and use of Who Am I? results.

Canadian Norms

It is planned that Canadian norms will be developed using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth.

Technical Data

Technical data on the reliability and validity of Who Am I? are reported in the Australian manual (de Lemos and Doig, 1999). The estimate of reliability based on a Quest analysis⁷ of item data was .91, indicating a high level of internal consistency for the tasks included in Who Am I?. A measure of stability of scores over time was provided by the preschool sample in the research study, who were assessed initially in the second term of school (May/June) and again at the end of the school year (November/December). The correlation between the June and November assessments was .82, indicating a high level of stability of the assessment over time for this age group. The scoring of the mid-year and end of year responses was undertaken by different raters, so this correlation also indicates a high level of consistency in the scoring of the responses between different raters.

The validity of a test is not based on a single measure, but on an accumulation of evidence relating to the test and what it measures. In the case of Who Am I? evidence of construct validity comes from the data which shows developmental trends over time, with an increase in score both according to age and according to school level, as well as information on the relationship between performance on Who Am I? and performance on other measures of early literacy and numeracy skills. Data from the research study indicates correlations of about .6 between scores on Who Am I? and scores on the Literacy Baseline⁸ test, administered to the pre-Year 1 and Year 1 children in Term 2 or Term 3, and correlations of about .5 between scores on Who Am I? and scores on I Can do Maths, ⁹ a measure of early numeracy skills administered to the same group of children in the mid-year testing program. These results are comparable with other findings reported in the literature which generally indicate correlations of between .4 and .6 between various measures of development or "readiness" and subsequent school achievement (see, for example, Tymms, 1999).

Origin of Who Am I?

Who Am I arose out of an earlier Copying Skills task (Larsen, 1987), which in turn was developed on the basis of a major longitudinal study of school readiness and achievement undertaken at ACER in the 1970s. In this study, a variety of measures were used to assess school readiness and subsequent school achievement (de Lemos and Larsen, 1979).

Of the various measures of school readiness used, the measure that tended to show the highest correlation with subsequent school achievement, for children from both English-speaking and non-English-speaking backgrounds, and also for children from different socio-economic levels, was the Anton Brenner Developmental Gestalt Test of School Readiness, with correlations ranging from .64 to .80 with subsequent measures of school achievement (de Lemos, 1980).

Of the various sections of this test, the subtest that showed the highest correlation with subsequent school achievement was the copying sentence task, which required the child to copy a given sentence ("Fred is here"). Correlations between this one task and subsequent measures of achievement at the end of the first, second and third years of school ranged from .62 to .70 (de Lemos and Larsen, 1979).

The Copying Skills task was similar to Who Am I? in that it included the copying of geometrical figures. It also included various other copying tasks, including the copying of specific numbers, letters and a sentence. However, this task did not provide any opportunity for children to demonstrate their ability to write or to produce numbers, letters or words spontaneously.

In administering the Copying Skills tasks, it was found that the copying of numbers and letters was for some children a demanding task that led to a feeling of failure or frustration. It was also found that this task did not always distinguish well between the more advanced children who recognised the numbers and letters immediately and could copy quickly and accurately, and less advanced children who spent a considerable time carefully copying what, for them, appeared to be a meaningless mark on paper.

In the case of Who Am I?, the shift in emphasis from "copying" to "writing" was designed to give children more opportunity to demonstrate their level of competence in a situation that was more open and less like a formal test situation, and at the same time to allow for children who were not able to write numbers or letters to move quickly through the booklet, but at the same time to demonstrate their level of development on the copying of geometrical figures, and also to attempt the more interesting drawing task at the end of the booklet, without experiencing a sense of failure or frustration.

Theoretical Basis of Who Am I?

The use of the ability to copy geometrical figures and to draw a person to assess level of development in children has been long established. For example, the ability to copy figures such as a square and a diamond have been included in measures of intelligence and development over a long period of time, dating back to the original Simon Binet test. The reason for the inclusion of these tasks is that they have been found to be valid indicators of developmental level.

Further evidence of the validity of copying tasks as a measure of developmental level is provided by Piaget's research on the development of spatial concepts in young children. This work provides a theoretical basis for linking stages in the development of the copying of geometrical forms to broader developmental processes that affect a range of cognitive abilities (Piaget and Inhelder, 1956). A replication of this research in a cross-cultural context has shown that the stages of development described by Piaget are also applicable to children from widely different cultural backgrounds (de Lemos, 1973).

The developmental stages in children's drawings of a person have been well documented (Luquet, 1927), and this task has been used as a measure of developmental level in tests such as the Goodenough Draw—a-Person Test and the Anton Brenner Developmental Gestalt Test of School Readiness (Harris, 1963; Brenner, 1964). Studies of children's early attempts at writing have also identified a developmental sequence, which is linked to a growing understanding of the way in which spoken sounds are represented by print (Ferreiro and Teberosky, 1982).

Research evidence indicates that recognition of letters is strongly related to subsequent achievement in reading (Snow et al, 1998). Relatively less data is available on the link between spontaneous writing and subsequent achievement in reading and writing. Nevertheless such tasks have been found to be good indicators of emergent literacy skills, and have been included in screening and diagnostic measures such as the Middle Infant Screening Test (Hannavy, 1993), and Clay's Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement (Clay, 1993).

Advantages of Who Am I?

In Cross-Cultural Studies

Because the skills assessed by Who Am I? are not dependent on language, the instrument provides a measure of development that can be used across different language groups, and also across groups with different types of written script. For this reason, it provides a unique tool for use in cross-cultural studies which require an assessment of developmental level that is comparable across different cultural and language groups. It is particularly suited to studies concerned with the effects of different types of preschool experience on children's readiness for formal schooling and their subsequent progress in school.

For Survey Use

Individual assessment of young children can be both costly and time-consuming, usually requiring skilled test administrators and costly test equipment. By contrast, Who Am I? can be administered relatively easily by trained interviewers in a relatively short time (usually somewhere between 7 to 15 minutes, depending on the age and individual characteristics of the child being assessed), and the cost of the materials required for its administration is relatively low. For this reason, Who Am I? is ideally suited for use in large-scale survey studies which require a measure of developmental level for children at preschool or entry school level. It can be administered in household surveys where the assessments are required to be administered in the home, as well as in educational studies where the assessments are administered in a school or preschool context. The fact that it can be administered in different languages is also an advantage in cases where the survey covers children from different language backgrounds.

For Classroom Use

Feedback from teachers who have administered Who Am I? has generally been positive. They have found that it gives them a relatively quick and efficient means of getting an overview of where the children are at the beginning of the school year, which can then be used as a basis for planning the teaching program and for identifying children who might need additional support or whose progress should be monitored. Teachers have also commented on the value of Who Am I? as a basis for parent/teacher interviews, particularly in cases where parents might have an unrealistic view of their child's capabilities. The fact that the booklet provides a permanent record of where a child is at a particular point in time, and which can be used as a basis for monitoring progress over time, was seen as an added advantage. Teachers also commented on how much the children enjoyed doing the booklets, and how proud they were of their efforts; some of the children were in fact reluctant to give up the booklets, because they wanted to keep them to take home to show to their parents.

Limitations of Who Am I?

Like any instrument, Who Am I? also has its limitations. It obviously does not cover all areas of a child's development, and should be used in conjunction with other procedures and measures that assess other aspects of a child's progress and development; these would include the child's social and physical skills, their understanding of number concepts and counting skills, their oral language skills, and the skills that underlie beginning reading, such as phonemic awareness.

It should also be remembered that assessments based on any one measure are not in themselves sufficient for making judgements about a particular child. Any decisions regarding an individual child, particularly in terms of placement in a particular program, should always be based on information from a variety of sources.

It must also be emphasized that Who Am I? is not intended to be used as a measure for deciding whether or not a particular child is ready to start school. Children's entry to school should be based on their eligibility in terms of age rather than on an assessment of their "readiness for school" or their "social maturity". The research evidence indicates no advantage in deferring a child's entry to school (Shepard and Smith, 1986), and parents should not be pressured to defer a child's entry to school either on the basis of teacher judgement of social maturity or on the basis of the child's performance on a measure of readiness. Children do, however, vary in their level of development and the skills that they have acquired prior to entry to school, and it is important for teachers to be aware of these differences, and to plan their program accordingly.

Conclusion

Who Am I? provides a manageable, child -friendly and reliable assessment of children's developmental level which is appropriate for children at preschool and school entry level. It is relatively quick and easy to administer and score, and can be administered to children from different cultural and language backgrounds.

• ⁶The Who Am I? instrument and manuals are available from ACER Press at the Australian Council for Educational Research. The website is www.acerpress.edu.au .
• ⁷Quest is a test analysis program that can be used to analyse test data using both Rasch scaling and traditional procedures. It scores and analyses multiple choice tests as well as Likert-type rating scales and partial credit items, providing a range of different types of item statistics and reliability estimates (Adams and Khoo, 1994/1996).
• ⁸The Literacy Baseline is part of a British series of tests designed to assess reading skills at primary level (see Vincent, Crumpler, and de la Mare, 1996). The Literacy Baseline is designed for administration at the beginning of the first year of school. This test covers pre -reading and early reading skills, including phonological awareness, concepts of print, knowledge of letter names and sounds, recognition of words through matching of picture to word, word to picture and sentence to picture and spelling (six simple words).
• ⁹I Can Do Maths is a measure of early numeracy concepts which was developed at ACER as part of the same project for which Who Am I? was developed.