Gender and language issues in assessing early literacy: Group differences in children's performance on the test of early reading ability

The study investigated gender and language group differences in children's performance on two versions of the Test of Early Reading Ability (TERA-2 and TERA-3). Two groups of children consisting of girls and boys and English first language (L1) and English language learners (ELL) participated in the study. Children in Group 1 completed the TERA-2, in which standard procedures involve obtaining a total score of children's early reading ability. Alternatively, children in Group 2 were administered the TERA-3, which yields measures of children's ability on three individual subtests (alphabet, conventions, and meaning). Results showed that gender and language group differences on the TERA-2 were not evident. However, L I children outperformed ELL children on the meaning subtest of the TERA-3, while showing no differences on either alphabet or conventions. The findings speak to the importance of measuring individual components of early reading to assess children's emergent literacy.