Beth M. Phillips|Shayne B. Piasta|Jason L. Anthony|Christopher J. Lonigan|David Francis
IRTs of the ABCs: Children's letter name acquisition
Florida State University|The Ohio State University|The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston|Houston Medical Center|Florida State University|University of Houston
examined developmental sequence letter name knowledge acquisition children 2 five years age data 2 samples representing diverse regions ethnicity socioeconomic backgrounds ns 1074 500 analyzed using item response theory irt differential item functioning techniques results factor analyses indicated letter name knowledge represented unidimensional skill irt results yielded significant differences letters difficulty discrimination results also indicated approximate developmental sequence letter name learning simplest challenging learn lettersbut clear sequence extremes findings also suggested children likely first learn first initial discuss implications assessment instruction