Title: Investigating the psychometric properties of three French language early reading measures
Abstract: Few empirical studies have examined the development of French reading skills in French immersion programs. The present study investigated the psychometric properties of three French early reading measures of phonological awareness and the alphabetic principle. The measures: Facilité à segmenter les phonemes (FSP), Facilité à lire des non‐mots (FNM), and Facilité en lecture orale (FLO) are modeled after DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) English literacy measures recognized as strong predictors of later reading achievement. The purpose was to investigate the reliability and predictive validity of these measures. Participants were 51 students from a partial French immersion school. Results indicate Phase 1 FNM scores strongly correlated with later Phase 2 FNM and FLO scores. Phase 1 FLO scores are significantly correlated with later Phase 2 FLO scores. Findings indicate these two measures showed sufficient reliability and validity for measuring French reading skills. The third was not predictive for this specific population. Implications for practice and future research are suggested.