Preschool teachers both over- and underestimate children's pre-academic abilities relative to objective assessment, with substantial numbers of children discrepant in each direction¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2015 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Discrepancy scores between teacher perceptions and objective assessments showed considerable over- and underestimation of preschoolers' language/pre-literacy and math skills. → Baker Courtney N. 2015

Evidence¶

Baker Courtney N. 2015¶

Baker Courtney N., Tichovolsky Marianne H., Kupersmidt Janis B., Voegler-Lee Mary Ellen, Arnold David H. (2015). Teacher (Mis)Perceptions of Preschoolers' Academic Skills: Predictors and Associations With Longitudinal Outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000008

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Descriptive analysis of discrepancy scores in a sample of 760 preschoolers from 70 low-income centers; discrepancy scores were normally distributed and classified children by standard deviations over- and underestimated. "99 (13%) having discrepancy scores between 1 and 2 standard deviations above the mean."

"With regard to language and pre-literacy, 124 preschoolers were considerably overestimated by their teachers, with 99 (13%) having discrepancy scores between 1 and 2 standard deviations above the mean and 25 (3%) having discrepancy scores over 2 standard deviations above the mean."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Contrary to hypotheses, preschoolers with more behavior problems were perceived by teachers as having significantly better pre-academic abilities than they actually had — related
• Preschool teachers' perceptions of children's academic abilities were not associated with child gender or race/ethnicity — related
• Even controlling for actual skill, older children, children with stronger social skills, and children with fewer inattentive symptoms were perceived as more academically able by preschool teachers — related
• Preschoolers severely underestimated by their teachers showed weaker fall-to-spring academic skill growth, significant for language and pre-literacy but not for math — related
• Prior objective achievement is a strong predictor of preschool academic skill and may be protective against harmful teacher perceptions, while low-income children are most vulnerable to negative perceptions — related
• Fall teacher perceptions predict spring preschool academic outcomes: each SD increase in perceptions was associated with about a tenth of an SD increase in spring objective assessment scores — related