A Systematic, Reliable Approach to Play Assessment in Preschoolers

Abstract

Play assessment is gaining attention as a measure of the developing skills of young children. The procedures and methods of coding child behaviours vary considerably across researchers and practitioners. Because of this, definitive statements about the use of play assessment cannot be made without further research. The present study is an attempt to report a set of standardized procedures for play assessment along with an empirically based coding scheme (PIECES). The reliability of this system of play assessment is also investigated. High inter-observer reliability was found along with moderate test-retest correlations for both the typically developing (r = 0.48) and exceptional (r = 0.58) children. Thus, this version of play assessment holds promise as an observation system for intervention and progress monitoring in early childhood. The authors stress that more research is needed in this area before play assessment can either be used in early childhood or discounted as an inappropriate tool.

Reliability and Validity of Play-Based Assessments of Motor and Cognitive Skills for Infants and Young Children: A Systematic Review

“…The Play-Based Assessment (PBA) 16 was the initial form of the PIECES. 23 The PBA also was the cognitive portion of the Transdisciplinary Play-Based Assessment (TPBA), 14 which was never tested for reliability or validity with a young population. The TPBA is the previous version of the TPBA-2.…”

“…18,20 Play-based assessments are often adjuncts to other assessment procedures, 21,22 although some authors argue that they also can serve as a basis for discriminative decisions and planning. 15,17,18,23 In this review, play-based assessment is differentiated from an assessment of play, which interprets the type of play in which a child is engaged relative to a hierarchical developmental theory of play. 18 Assessments of play are not discussed in this review.…”

Tėvų Mokymo Programos Efektyvumas Ugdant Vaikų Žaidimo Gebėjimus

“…Play-based assessment takes place in a natural setting, is exible, motivating, parent friendly, can be used with every child, and produces optimal performance leading to interventions with a means to monitor progress (Kelly-Vance & Ryalls, 2008). The PIECES was developed through research and theory on play across the developmental stages of children (Kelly-Vance & Ryalls, 2005). It has been shown to have high psychometric properties with an interrater reliability of 90% for typically developing children and 100% for children with exceptionalities and moderate test-retest correlations for each population, r=.48 and r=.…”

“…It has been shown to have high psychometric properties with an interrater reliability of 90% for typically developing children and 100% for children with exceptionalities and moderate test-retest correlations for each population, r=.48 and r=. 58, respectively (Kelly-Vance & Ryalls, 2005).…”

“…Engagement in play is a central activity of early childhood and current empirical evidence supports the use of play-based assessment and intervention to identify and improve skills (Fewell & Rich, 1987;Kelly-Vance, Needelman, Troia, & Ryalls, 1999;Kelly-Vance & Ryalls, 2005;Kelly-Vance, Ryalls, & Glover, 2002;Linder, 1993;Stagnitti & Unsworth, 2004). Play interventions are family-centered, but research is limited in the involvement of parents in enhancing play (Kelly-Vance & Ryalls, 2008).…”