Sure Start Language Measure Standardisation Study, July 2004 - March 2005

Executive Summary
The aim of the study was to produce standardised scores for The Sure Start Language Measure (SSLM) by age and gender. The SSLM is a measure developed by City University which has been used to monitor the language performance of two-year-old children in Sure Start programmes since 2001.

The SSLM is a parent report measure of early language development and includes a measure of vocabulary (based on lists of 100 or 50 words) and a measure of parental concern about language and other aspects of child development drawn from elements of the MacArthur Communication Development Inventory-UK Short Form (MCDI-UKSF) and the Parents Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS).

Data was collected by trained speech and language therapists on a large broadly representative sample, in terms of child's ethnicity and primary carer's educational level, drawn from regions across England. A total of 1,303 SSLM questionnaires completed by parents of children in the age range 16-30 months were achieved. One percent of the sample where children had confirmed special needs was excluded, leaving an overall sample of 1,290 from which the standardised scores were derived.

Results
Initial analyses showed that neither ethnic background nor regional location had significant effects on children's language levels, controlling for the effects of age. However primary carers' educational level was significant; the most important factor was whether or not the primary carer had academic qualifications beyond the national minimal level (GCSE grades G-D).

Despite wide differences in reported vocabulary at each age, reflected in high standard deviations in scores, highly significant age trends were evident. This finding suggests that as the age range of the monitoring project widens, it will become necessary to take age into account through the adoption of standard scores. Likewise gender had a significant effect, with girls outperforming boys at most age levels, supporting the decision to calculate separate standard scores for boys and girls. Age and gender had independent effects on children's reported language; there was no evidence of significant age by gender interaction effect.

(The Sure Start Language Measure Standardisation Study, July 2004 - March 2005, Penny Roy, Helen Kersley and James Law)

For more information visit www.surestart.gov.uk/_doc/P0001797.pdf