TY - JOUR T1 - Competency gradient for child-parent centers JF - Journal of Outcomes Measurement Y1 - 1999 A1 - Bezruczko, N. KW - *Models, Statistical KW - Activities of Daily Living/classification/psychology KW - Adolescent KW - Chicago KW - Child KW - Child, Preschool KW - Early Intervention (Education)/*statistics & numerical data KW - Female KW - Follow-Up Studies KW - Humans KW - Male KW - Outcome and Process Assessment (Health Care)/*statistics & numerical data AB - This report describes an implementation of the Rasch model during the longitudinal evaluation of a federally-funded early childhood preschool intervention program. An item bank is described for operationally defining a psychosocial construct called community life-skills competency, an expected teenage outcome of the preschool intervention. This analysis examined the position of teenage students on this scale structure, and investigated a pattern of cognitive operations necessary for students to pass community life-skills test items. Then this scale structure was correlated with nationally standardized reading and math achievement scores, teacher ratings, and school records to assess its validity as a measure of the community-related outcome goal for this intervention. The results show a functional relationship between years of early intervention and magnitude of effect on the life-skills competency variable. VL - 3 N1 - 1090-655X (Print)Journal ArticleResearch Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S. ER -