Test–retest reliability and concurrent validity of the South African Early Learning Outcomes Measure (ELOM)

Background: The Early Learning Outcomes Measure (ELOM) assesses early learning programme outcomes in children aged 50-69 months. ELOM assesses gross motor development (GMD), fine motor coordination and visual motor integration (FMC & VMI), emergent numeracy and mathematics (ENM), cognition and executive functioning (CEF), and emergent literacy and language (ELL). Content and construct validity, reliability and cross-cultural fairness have been established. Aim: To establish the test-retest reliability and concurrent validity of the ELOM. Setting: Low income preschool and Grade R children. Methods: In study one, Test-retest reliability was investigated in a convenience sample of 49 English and isiXhosa speaking preschool children (Mean age = 60.77 months, SD = 3.70) tested and retested one week apart. In study two, concurrent validity was investigated in a convenience sample of 62 children (Mean age = 75.05 months, SD = .75). ELOM performance was compared with that on the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence Fourth Edition (WPPSI-IV). Results: Test-retest reliability was established for ELOM Total score ( r = .90, p < .001). The concurrent validity of ELOM Total and the WPPSI-IV Full Scale Composite scores was established ( r = .64, p < .001). FMC & VMI, CEF, and ELL domains correlated significantly with their corresponding WPPSI-IV indices: visual spatial, fluid reasoning, processing speed, working memory, and verbal comprehension. Conclusion: The findings of both psychometric studies contribute further to the reliability and validity of the ELOM.