Access to Literacy Assessment System–Phonological Awareness (Skibbe et al., 2020)

Purpose: The Access to Literacy Assessment System–Phonological Awareness (ATLAS-PA) was developed for use with children with speech and/or language impairment. The subtests (Rhyming, Blending, and Segmenting) are appropriate for children who are 3–7 years of age. ATLAS-PA is composed entirely of receptive items, incorporates individualized levels of instruction, and is adaptive in nature.

Method: To establish the construct validity of ATLAS-PA, we collected data from children with typical development (n = 938) and those who have speech and/or language impairment (n = 227).

Results: Rasch analyses indicated that items fit well together and formed a unidimensional construct of phonological awareness. Differential item functioning was minimal between the two groups of children, and scores on ATLAS-PA were moderately to strongly related to other measures of phonological awareness. Information about item functioning was used to create an adaptive version of ATLAS-PA.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that ATLAS-PA is a valid measure of phonological awareness that can be used with children with typical development and with speech and/or language impairment. Its adaptive format minimizes testing time and provides opportunities for monitoring progress in preschool and early elementary classrooms.

Supplemental Material S1. Rhyming example.

Supplemental Material S2. Blending example.

Supplemental Material S3. Segmentation example.

Skibbe, L. E., Bowles, R. P., Goodwin, S., Troia, G. A., & Konishi, H. (2020). The Access to Literacy Assessment System for Phonological Awareness: An adaptive measure of phonological awareness appropriate for children with speech and/or language impairment. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2020_LSHSS-19-00006