Mooney Kate E, Welch Charlie, Palliser Gareth, Cheung Rachael W, Nielsen Dea, Eddy Lucy H, Blower Sarah L
Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York, United Kingdom.
Better Start Bradford Innovation Hub, Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2025 Mar 19;20(3):e0302771. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302771. eCollection 2025.
The routine measurement of children's developmental health varies across educational settings and systems. The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) is a routinely recorded measure of a child's development completed at the end of their first school year, for all children attending school in England and Wales. Despite widespread use for research and educational purposes, the measurement properties are unknown. This study examined the internal consistency and structural validity of the EYFSP, investigating whether the summed item-level scores, which we refer to as the 'total score', can be used as a summary of children's developmental health. It also examined predictive validity of the total score with respect to later academic attainment and behavioural, social, and emotional difficulties. The data source was the longitudinal prospective birth cohort, Born in Bradford (BiB), and routine education data were obtained from Local Authorities. The internal consistency and structural validity of the EYFSP total score were investigated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis and a Rasch model. Predictive validity was assessed using linear mixed effects models for Key Stage 2 (Maths, Reading, Grammar/Punctuation/Spelling), and behavioural, social, and emotional difficulties (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire). We found that the EYFSP items demonstrated internal consistency, however, an Item Response model suggested weak structural validity (n = 10,589). Mixed effects regression found the EYFSP total score to predict later academic outcomes (n = 2711), and behavioural, social, and emotional difficulties (n = 984). This study has revealed that whilst caution should be applied for measurement of children with close to 'average' ability levels using the EYFSP, the EYFSP total score is an internally consistent measure with predictive validity.
儿童发育健康的常规测量在不同的教育环境和体系中存在差异。早期基础阶段档案（EYFSP）是一项在孩子第一学年末完成的对其发育情况的常规记录测量，适用于所有在英格兰和威尔士上学的儿童。尽管该测量被广泛用于研究和教育目的，但其测量属性尚不清楚。本研究考察了EYFSP的内部一致性和结构效度，探究我们称为“总分”的分项得分总和是否可作为儿童发育健康的一个总结指标。研究还考察了总分对于后期学业成就以及行为、社交和情感困难方面的预测效度。数据来源是纵向前瞻性出生队列“布拉德福德出生队列”（BiB），常规教育数据从地方当局获取。使用验证性因子分析和拉施模型来研究EYFSP总分的内部一致性和结构效度。使用线性混合效应模型评估关键阶段2（数学、阅读、语法/标点/拼写）以及行为、社交和情感困难（优势与困难问卷）方面的预测效度。我们发现EYFSP各项目显示出内部一致性，然而，一个项目反应模型表明结构效度较弱（n = 10589）。混合效应回归发现EYFSP总分能够预测后期学业成绩（n = 2711）以及行为、社交和情感困难（n = 984）。本研究表明，虽然在使用EYFSP对能力水平接近“平均”的儿童进行测量时应谨慎，但EYFSP总分是一个具有内部一致性且具有预测效度的测量指标。
