LAUSR

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to report preliminary reliability and validity data from the Conversation Compass© Communication Screener (CCCS), a teacher-reported language screener intended to capture children’s skills related to classroom conversations with peers and teachers. Three preschool teachers completed the CCCS and the Child Observation Record (COR) for 36 students. Results indicated six subscales – literacy, clarity, social communication, decontextualized thinking, grammar, and negative communication behaviours – in the CCCS were reliable at Cronbach’s alphas of .71 or greater. Results also indicated its concurrent validity with the COR. Lastly, analyses indicated the screener was sensitive to maturation in conversation skills in that the measure was correlated with age. Implications are discussed in relation to how teachers can use this tool to inform their classroom practices.