Email this article 
Hide
Show all
Original Research
Test–retest reliability and concurrent validity of the South African Early Learning Outcomes Measure (ELOM)
Submitted: 26 May 2020 | Published: 17 June 2021
About the author(s)
Kate J. Anderson, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South AfricaTiffany J. Henning, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Jasmin R. Moonsamy, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Megan Scott, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Christopher du Plooy, Division of Developmental Paediatrics, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
Andrew R.L. Dawes, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; and, Department of International Development, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Abstract
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.
Keywords
Metrics
Total abstract views: 4690Total article views: 5993
Crossref Citations
1. Measuring Mathematical Skills in Early Childhood: a Systematic Review of the Psychometric Properties of Early Maths Assessments and Screeners
Laura A. Outhwaite, Pirjo Aunio, Jaimie Ka Yu Leung, Jo Van Herwegen
Educational Psychology Review vol: 36 issue: 4 year: 2024
doi: 10.1007/s10648-024-09950-6
2. Are South African children on track for early learning? Findings from the South African Thrive By Five Index 2021 Survey
Colin Tredoux, Andrew Dawes, Frances Mattes, Jan-Christof Schenk, Sonja Giese, Grace Leach, Servaas van der Berg, Jessica Horler
Child Indicators Research vol: 17 issue: 2 first page: 601 year: 2024
doi: 10.1007/s12187-023-10093-3
3. Adaptation and pilot testing of the Early Learning Outcome Measure (ELOM) (4&5) Years Assessment tool in South African Sign Language
Alys Young, Claudine Storbeck, Katherine Rogers, Robyn Swannack, Andrew Dawes, Elizabeth Girdwood, Julia Robinson
PLOS Global Public Health vol: 5 issue: 9 first page: e0005117 year: 2025
doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0005117
4. Prenatal alcohol exposure alters brain structure and neurocognitive outcomes for 6‐ to 7‐year‐old children in a South African birth cohort
Chanellé J. Hendrikse, Shantanu H. Joshi, Jessica E. Ringshaw, Layla Bradford, Annerine Roos, Catherine J. Wedderburn, Nadia Hoffman, Tiffany Burd, Katherine L. Narr, Roger P. Woods, Heather J. Zar, Dan J. Stein, Kirsten A. Donald
Alcohol, Clinical and Experimental Research vol: 49 issue: 5 first page: 1028 year: 2025
doi: 10.1111/acer.70048
5. Supporting Early Childhood Development through Multi-dimensional Service Delivery in South Africa
Grace Leach, Dieter von Fintel
Child Indicators Research vol: 18 issue: 3 first page: 1101 year: 2025
doi: 10.1007/s12187-025-10223-z
6. Evaluation instruments for executive functions in children and adolescents: an update of a systematic review
Arianna Cesari, Giovanni Galeoto, Francescaroberta Panuccio, Rachele Simeon, Anna Berardi
Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research vol: 24 issue: 4 first page: 487 year: 2024
doi: 10.1080/14737167.2024.2311872
7. The impact of a story-based intervention on language, literacy, and cognitive development in South African pre-schoolers: randomised controlled trials for two language groups
Kate Cain, Jane Oakhill, Shelley O’Carroll, Daleen Klop, Monique Visser, James Jackson, Brian Francis
International Journal of Educational Research vol: 136 first page: 102920 year: 2026
doi: 10.1016/j.ijer.2025.102920
8. To What Extent Can Community-based Playgroup Programmes Targeting Low-income Children Improve Learning Outcomes Prior to Entering the Reception Year in South Africa? A Quasi-experimental Field Study
Andrew Dawes, Linda Biersteker, Matthew Snelling, Jessica Horler, Elizabeth Girdwood
Early Education and Development vol: 34 issue: 1 first page: 256 year: 2023
doi: 10.1080/10409289.2021.2005748
9. Language of assessment matters: Early learning outcomes when preschool children are tested in isiXhosa mother tongue vs in English: The language of learning and teaching
Andrew Dawes, Linda Biersteker, Colin Tredoux
South African Journal of Childhood Education vol: 16 issue: 1 year: 2026
doi: 10.4102/SAJCE.v16i1.1814