Assessing Mathematical Competence in Kindergarten – A Validation Study in the Netherlands

In the last decades, Kindergarteners’ competences became a main topic of educational research also in large scale studies. Thereby, instruments assessing mathematics in kindergarten often mainly focus on “numeracy”. But frameworks for primary and secondary school usually define mathematical competence as a broader construct, including several content areas. To close this gap, the Kieler Kindergartentest (KiKi) – designed for children aged 4;0–6;6 – was developed in Germany. A Dutch adaptation of the KiKi was used in a validation study (N = 168 children from preschools in Utrecht, mean age = 5;1 years) aiming at questions of psychometric quality, age differences and especially convergent validity with respect to the established Utrechtse Getalbegrip Toets (UTG, Utrecht Early Numeracy Test).
Results based on IRT- and regression analyses indicate that the adapted test shows good psychometric properties and is well suited for longitudinal assessment. Effects from the UTG on KiKi hint at high convergent validity.