DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT OF NAVAJO HEAD START CHILDREN'S NARRATIVE ABILITY

Arizona State University-Tempe Campus, Tempe AZ

Investigators

Abstract

The purpose of the this study is to examine Navajo narratives and language characteristics using Dynamic assessment of narratives (DAN) to differentiate Navajo Head Start children as being at-risk for language impairment or typically developing. The main aim of the study is to examine whether DAN is sensitive to changes in narrative structure from pre­ to post-test in Navajo children, to examine whether DAN discriminates accurately to those with language differences from language disorders, and to determine the best ability group predictors, whether it is change scores, pretest performance, posttest performance, or a combination of these. A One-Way ANOVA with repeated measures analysis will be run to determine whether there are significant changes from pre- to post-dynamic assessment in the measures of total score, story structure, use of subordinating conjunctions and emotion terms. Further, a discriminate analysis will be run using external measures to classify children to examine classification of accuracy. Also, a multiple regression analysis will be run to test whether pretest scores, gain scores, and responsiveness scales significantly predict the difference in the ability of the groups' performance on the task. The study will provide information about whether DAN is sensitive to narrative changes and whether it differentiates those truly at risk from those developing typically.