Preschool reading attitude scale

Abstract

The Preschool Reading Attitude Scale (PRAS) is a three‐point rating scale used to examine three‐ to five‐year‐old children's attitudes toward reading. It is a 12‐item scale with four subscales: School Reading Activities (SRA), Nonschool Reading Activities (NRA), Library Reading Activities (LRA) and General Reading Activities (GRA). Each subscale has three items. The PRAS was refined using 2232 young children, ages three to five. Content and criterion‐related validity estimates were obtained. Early Childhood and reading experts evaluated the content and clarity of the directions for the PRAS. The teachers’ judgments of their students’ attitudes towards reading were used to assess the criterion‐validity of the scores on the PRAS. Comparisons of these scores yield significant differences at the .0001 level. High validity and reliability estimates indicate that the PRAS can be used to assess young children's reading attitudes.