Fantuzzo, John
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Publication The Classroom Engagement Scale: Validity Evidence and Implications for Use(Penn Child Research Center, 2017-07-01) Barghaus, Katherine; Fantuzzo, John; Coe, Kristen; Brumley, Benjamin; LeBoeuf, WhtineyThis research brief describes the validation of the Classroom Engagement Scale for use in kindergarten based on it current full-scale use in the School District of Philadelphia. It provides the foundation for more meaningful use of the scale by parents and teachers as they work to build social-emotional competencies in kindergarten students.Publication A Comprehensive Examination of the School District of Philadelphia’s Kindergarten Classroom Engagement Scale (CES): Validation Report(Penn Child Research Center, 2017-11-01) Barghaus, Katherine; Fantuzzo, John; Brumley, Benjamin; Coe, Kristen; LeBoeuf, WhitneyThe Penn Child Research Center and School District of Philadelphia (SDP) have partnered to foster the classroom engagement skills of students entering public school kindergarten. To do so, a three-phase, evidence-based, plan was developed. The first phase was to establish the scientific validity and reliability of the District’s measure of classroom engagement currently used at-scale with all kindergarteners–the Classroom Engagement Scale (CES). This measure consists of 14 items and it appears on the kindergarten report card which is sent home quarterly. This report contains the findings from the validation study.Publication Using Integrated Data to Understand Early Childhood Risks and Access to Quality Early Childhood Education(2017-04-01) Barghaus, Katherine; Fantuzzo, John; Coe, Kristen; Henderson, Cassandra; LeBoeuf, WhitneyThese slides were presented at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association in San Antonio, Texas. The session was titled "Data-Driven Decision Making: Not the Usual Contexts."Publication The Use of Integrated Data to Inform Quality Pre-K Expansion in Philadelphia(Penn Child Research Center, 2017-04-01) Barghaus, Katherine; Henderson, Cassandra; Coe, Kristen; LeBoeuf, Whitney; Fantuzzo, John; Moore, JamesThis research brief describes how integrated administrative data from the City of Philadelphia's CARES data system were used to inform the expansion of pre-k services in the City of Philadelphia. It provides a model for other states and municipalities seeking to use integrated data to inform policy-making, particularly for young children and their families.Publication Investigation of Dimensions of Social-Emotional Classroom Behavior and School Readiness for Low-Income Urban Preschool Children(2007-01-01) Fantuzzo, John; Bulotsky-Shearer, Rebecca; McDermott, Paul; McWayne, Christine; Frye, Douglas; Perlman, StaciThe present study identified higher-order relationships among teacher assessments of approaches to learning and emotional and behavioral adjustment constructs for urban, low-income preschool children. It examined the unique contribution of these dimensions to cognitive and social competencies and risk of poor academic outcomes. Analyses of a large, representative sample of urban Head Start children revealed two distinct and reliable, higher-order dimensions of classroom adjustment behavior: Regulated and Academically Disengaged Behavior. Both of the dimensions contributed unique variance to the prediction of early mathematics ability and general classroom competencies prior to kindergarten entry, controlling for child demographics. Each dimension also contributed independently to the prediction of academic risk, controlling for child demographics. Implications for practice and policy were discussed.Publication An Investigation of Classroom Situational Dimensions of Emotional and Behavioral Adjustment and Cognitive and Social Outcomes for Head Start Children(2008-01-01) Bulotsky-Shearer, Rebecca J; Fantuzzo, John; McDermott, Paul AThis study employed a developmental-ecological approach to investigate the relationship across the school year between early problems in preschool classroom situations and a comprehensive set of readiness competencies for urban, low-income children. Study I identified three reliable and unique underlying classroom situational dimensions where behavior problems occurred: Structured Learning, Peer Interaction, and Teacher Interaction situations. Boys and younger children evidenced more problematic behavior across all situations. Study II investigated the relationship between early problems in the situations and readiness outcomes. Early situational difficulties uniquely and differentially predicted lower peer social and classroom learning outcomes. In combination, both the type of behavior problem (what) and the situational problem (where) explained greater variance in the prediction of readiness outcomes, contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of developmental trajectories.Publication Validity of the Dynamic Indicators for Basic Early Literacy Skills as an Indicator of Early Literacy for Urban Kindergarten Children(2006-01-01) Rouse, Heather L; Fantuzzo, JohnThe validity of three subtests of the Dynamic Indicators for Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) was investigated for kindergarten children in a large urban school district. A stratified, random sample of 330 participants was drawn from an entire cohort of kindergarten children. Letter Naming Fluency, Phoneme Segmentation Fluency, and Nonsense Word Fluency evidenced significant concurrent and predictive validity when compared to general reading ability measured by teacher report, individual assessments, and group-administered nationally standardized tests. Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity was also found when comparing these subtests to measures of specific literacy, cognitive, and social-behavioral constructs.Publication A Validation Study of the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale With Urban Hispanic and African American Preschool Children(2002-01-01) Castro, Marcelo; Mendez, Julia Laraine; Fantuzzo, JohnThe development of culturally and linguistically appropriate measurement is necessary to enable accurate assessment of preschool children’s interpersonal competence and behavioral difficulties. This need is most pressing for children from Hispanic backgrounds, who currently represent the fastest growing population of U.S. children. The present study investigated the psychometric properties of a Spanish and English version of the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS; Fantuzzo et al., 1995) when employed with Spanish- and English-speaking teachers and students in an urban, Southeastern community. Psychometrically sound structures were obtained with the Spanish translation of the PIPPS in support of the three original dimensions named Play Interaction, Play Disruption, and Play Disconnection, which were derived from studies of African American preschool children in lower income, Northeastern communities. Concurrent validity was supported by significant correlationsbetween the three Spanish PIPPS constructs and teacher ratings of externalizing and internalizing behavior problems. Significant group differences in class-room peer play interactions were also detected for children’s gender and ethnicity. The independent emergence of comparable Spanish and English PIPPS factor structures across two distinct regional samples provides initial support for use of this measure in research with Hispanic preschool children from low-income backgrounds. Implications for school psychologists engaging in outreach to preschool programs servicing diverse groups of children are discussed, including the generalizability of interactive peer play constructs for preschool children across racial, ethnic, linguistic, and geographic back-grounds.Publication An Inquiry into Pennsylvania’s Keystone STARS: Research Report(2015-11-01) Sirinides, Philip M; Fantuzzo, John; LeBoeuf, Whitney A; Barghaus, Katherine M; Fink, RyanA team from the University of Pennsylvania was funded by the William Penn Foundation to conduct an inquiry of Keystone STARS. The goal of this inquiry was to provide a broad look at Keystone STARS to inform future revisions and evaluation of the system as part of Pennsylvania’s Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant (2013-2018). The inquiry focused on providing an overarching look at Keystone STARS with respect to three major areas and presents a detailed review of the data and findings for each of the three aspects: Child outcomes: examining the relations between Keystone STARS and children’s overall developmental competencies. Quality components: investigating the extent of evidence from theory, empirical research, and practitioner expertise linking each of the Keystone STARS quality components to child outcomes. Systems approach to rating quality and guiding improvements: examining overall features of the system that could be improved to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the system. The authors conclude with an overview of the lessons learned and point to promising areas of reform for improving Keystone STARS for the children of Pennsylvania.Publication Problems in Classroom Engagement: Validation of an Assessment for District-wide use in the Early Primary Grades(2016-07-01) Barghaus, Katherine; Fantuzzo, John; Henderson, Cassandra; LeBoeuf, Whitney; Li, Feifei; McDermott, PaulResearch Findings: The aim of this study was to provide an initial investigation into the psychometric properties of the Problems in Classroom Engagement Scale (PCES). The PCES was designed and tested for district-wide use as part of the report card system for a large urban school district. The PCES was administered to all first, second, and third grade students in the district. Factor analytic examination revealed a bifactor structure as the best fit to the data. The bifactor structure reflected a general factor of Problems in Behavioral Engagement and two key group factors: Problems in Social Engagement and Problems in Academic Engagement. These factors were found to be reliable within and across grades and demonstrated convergent and divergent relations with academic and behavioral outcomes. Practice or Policy: Findings provide initial evidence to support the routine use of PCES in a large, urban setting. As such, use of the PCES can help in fostering district-wide attention to students’ early behavioral, social, and academic engagement difficulties.