Reliability and structural validity of the teacher rating scales of early academic competence

Currently, there are few strengths-based preschool rating scales that sample a wide array of behaviors believed to be essential for early academic success. The purpose of this study was to assess the factor structure of a new measure of early academic competence for at-risk preschool populations. The Teacher Rating Scales of Early Academic Competence (TRS-EAC) includes two broad scales (Early Academic Skills and Early Academic Enablers) and was completed by 60 teachers for 440 children enrolled in Head Start and public preschool classrooms. Evidence from two exploratory factor analyses supported a five-factor solution for the Early Academic Skills Scale (Creative Thinking, Critical Thinking Skills, Numeracy, Early Literacy, and Comprehension) and a five-factor solution for the Early Academic Enablers Scale (Approaches to Learning, Social and Emotional Competence, Fine Motor Skills, Gross Motor Skills, and Communication). TRS-EAC scores also demonstrated good to excellent reliability and were related to children's performance on direct measures of early academic skills.