Evidences of factorial structure and precision of phonemic awareness tasks (TCFe)

Abstract

To assess phonological awareness-a decisive skill for learning to read and write-it is necessary to provide evidence about an instrument construct to present trustworthy parameters for both empirical research and the development of educational intervention and rehabilitation programs. In Brazil, at this moment, there are no studies regarding the internal structure for tests of phonological awareness. This article shows the factorial validity of a test of phonological awareness composed by three subtests: two tasks of subtraction of initial phoneme and one of phonemic segmentation. The multidimensional confirmatory factorial analysis was applied to a sample of 176 Brazilian students (Mage = 9.3 years) from the first to fifth grade of elementary school. Results indicated a well-adjusted model, with items of intermediate difficulty and high factor loadings; thus, this corroborated the internal structure and well-designed theoretical conception.