K-SEALS technical information
Overview:
Instrument name/abbreviation |
Kaufman Survey of Early Academic and Language Skills (K-SEALS) |
Author(s) |
Alan S. Kaufman and Nadeen L. Kaufman |
Publisher/address |
Pearson Assessments, Bloomington, MN |
Copyright date |
1993 |
Brief description |
K-SEALS is an easy-to-administer measure of children's language skills (receptive and expressive), pre-academic skills, and articulation. |
Primary use/purpose |
This versatile instrument is an individually administered, nationally normed measure of children's expressive and receptive language skills, pre-academic skills, and articulation. Normed for children ages 3 to 6, the K-SEALS is perfect for preschools, kindergartens, elementary schools, speech and language clinics, medical agencies, or any other setting in which young children are assessed. You'll discover a variety of uses for K-SEALS - from testing school readiness and identifying gifted children to evaluating program effectiveness and researching children's early development. |
Age range covered |
3 years 0 months to 6 years 11 months |
Administration time |
15 to 25 minutes |
Individual vs. group |
Individually administered only |
User qualifications |
Level B |
| Domains | Language skills, Pre-academic skills, articulation |
| Test names | Vocabulary; Numbers, Letters, & Words; and Articulation Survey |
| Composite name | Early Academic & Language Skills Composite |
| Forms | K-SEALS individual test record |
| Materials included in the kit | Easel Manual Individual test records (package of 25) Carry bag |
| Item types | Vocabulary-Identify pictures of objects or actions and name objects based on verbal description Numbers, Letters and Words-Identify numbers, letters, or words; counting; number concepts; number problems Articulation Survery-Pronounce names of common objects or actions |
| Response format | Pointing or naming |
| Item scoring | The scoring of every item on the K-SEALS is objective and straightforward with little subjectivity involved. Each item is scored dichotomously: Correct responses are scored 1 and incorrect responses are scored 0. No partial credit is given. Whenever the easel lists imprecise responses for any K-SEALS item, the child must improve his or her response to a correct answer following the examiner's querying; otherwise, all imprecise responses are scored zero. |
| Scoring options | Hand scored |
| Derived scores available | Age-based standard scores (M = 100, SD = 15), percentiles, descriptive categories, and age equivalents are provided. Performance on the Articulation Survery subtest can be interpreted using descriptive categories and item error analysis procedures. |
| Norm groups available | Age-based |
| Interpretive features | Yes |
| Computerized scoring | No |
| Description | A total of 1,190 subjects were administered the K-SEALS items in the standardization program. From these subjects, 1,000 subjects were selected as the standardization sample to match U.S. population variables as closely as possible. Many of the subjects did not attend preschool or school programs. | |
| Date | 1987 and 1988 | |
| Size | 1,000 Based on U.S. census data in the year 1990 and estimates for education attainment and region from 1985 estimates (from machine-readable data file). |
| controlled for: | Females | Males |
| Age/gender | 4 age groups totaling 503 | 4 age groups totaling 497 |
| Race | African American: 17.2% (U.S. 16.2%) Hispanic: 10.4% (U.S. 11.4%) White: 68.9% (U.S. 69.1%) Other: 3.5% (U.S. 21.4%) |
African American: 17.2% (U.S. 16.2%) Hispanic: 10.4% (U.S. 11.4%) White: 68.9% (U.S. 69.1%) Other: 3.5% (U.S. 21.4%) |
| Geographic region | Northeast: 16.1% (U.S. 18.6%) North Central: 32.4% (U.S. 25.2%) South: 34.4% (U.S. 34.8%) West: 17.1% (U.S. 21.4%) |
Northeast: 16.1% (U.S. 18.6%) North Central: 32.4% (U.S. 25.2%) South: 34.4% (U.S. 34.8%) West: 17.1% (U.S. 21.4%) |
| SES/parent education | Parent's education level was used to indicate socioeconomic status. Less than high school education: 12.0% (U.S. 13.2%) High school graduate 38.5% (U.S. 41.0%) 1 to 3 years of college or technical school: 26.7% (U.S. 22.9%) 4 or more years of college: 22.8% (U.S. 23.8%) |
Parent's education level was used to indicate socioeconomic status. Less than high school education: 12.0% (U.S. 13.2%) High school graduate 38.5% (U.S. 41.0%) 1 to 3 years of college or technical school: 26.7% (U.S. 22.9%) 4 or more years of college: 22.8% (U.S. 23.8%) |
| Community size | N/A | N/A |
| Special populations included | Yes, although children with identified delays or handicaps were not systematically sampled during standardization, they were not excluded as subjects unless they had visual, hearing, or physical problems that prevented them from responding to test items. | Yes, although children with identified delays or handicaps were not systematically sampled during standardization, they were not excluded as subjects unless they had visual, hearing, or physical problems that prevented them from responding to test items. |
| Internal consistency | Median reliability the Subtests is 88% to 94% Median reliability for the Scales is 81% to 94% Median reliability for the Composite is 94% |
| Test - retest | Median test–retest reliability the Subtests is 87% to 92% Median test–retest reliability for the Scales is 88% to 93% Median test–retest reliability for the Composite is 94% |
| Interrater | N/A |
| Intercorrelations | Correlations between vocabulary and numbers, letters and words: mean is 59% Correlations between expressive skills and receptive skills: mean is 86% Correlations between number skills and letter and word skills: mean is 77% |
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| Content | The three K-SEALS subtests, vocabulary, numbers, letters and words; and articulation survey were designed to measure children's expressive and receptive language skills, pre-academic skills, and articulation. | |
| Construct | A test for young children should demonstrate age differentiation if it is designed to measure constructs such as language and academic skills that are related to development and learning and are purported to increase with chronological age. Mean raw scores for each K-SEALS subtest and scale increased steadily with increasing age. See Table 6.6 in the manual. | |
| Concurrent | With tests of intelligence and achievement: The K-SEALS composite correlated substantially with standard scores on individually administered tests, correlating in the low .80s with K-ABC Achievement, SB-IV Verbal Reasoning, and SB-IV Test Composite; and about 55% to 65% with most other K-ABC and SB-IV scales. Coefficients with the group-administered Metropolitan tests were lower, typically ranging from the low 30% to the low 50%. See Table 6.7 in the manual. With language and screening tests: Correlations of the PPVT-R and BBCS standard scores with the K-SEALS language and composite scales range from 66% to 73%. The correlations between the K-SEALS and the Battelle and the DIAL-R are generally lower than this, but this is accountable in terms of these measures having less overlap of content with the K-SEALS. See Table 6.8 in the manual. |
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| Predictive | With intelligence, language, and achievement tests: The Early Academic & Language Skills Composite correlated 80% with the K-ABC Achievement Scale, and 76% with the PPVT-R standard score. Correlation with the SAT Total Battery and Otis-Lennon standard scores were 60% and 57% respectively. See Table 6.9 in the manual. With Teacher's ratings as criteria: vocabulary (47%); numbers, letters & words (57%); receptive skills (58%); expressive skills (57%); number skills (49%); letter & word skills (53%); and early academic & language skills composite (61%). See Table 6.10 in the manual. |
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| Clinical sample | No validity studies with the clinical sample |
| Developmental history | Item tryouts 1986 and 1987 National standardization October 1987–December 1988 (See Chapters 2 and 5 in manual for complete development information.) |
| Special features | K-SEALS is an expanded and enhanced version of the Cognitive/Language Profile in the AGS Early Screening Profiles. This means you receive a more reliable and balanced evaluation in the subtest, scale, and composite content areas. |
| Federal mandates met | K-SEALS's age-based norms can be used to meet the requirements of PL 94-142 and PL 99-457 (now incorporated into IDEA, reauthorized as PL 105-17). |
| Adaptation of special needs | N/A |
| Sensitivity to other cultures | Item bias analysis used in item selection to determine empirically which items show substantial gender or race/ethnicity bias. The empirical analyses were combined with a content analysis of the subtests to determine which items would be retained. |
| Training options available | N/A |