Creation and validation of the LEVANTE core tasks: Internationalized measures of learning and development for children ages 5-12 years
Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: We present the Learning Variability Network Exchange (LEVANTE) core tasks, a set of nine short and engaging tasks designed to assess learning and development in children ages 5--12 years across a wide range of languages and cultures. Using a simple and uniform multi-alternative forced-choice format, these tasks measure constructs including math, executive function, language, reasoning, and social cognition and can be administered on a tablet or computer, both in person and remotely, with all materials openly available. We describe the design and selection of these tasks, and then report on their reliability and validity in a sample of 1034 children recruited from sites in Colombia, Germany, and Canada. Tasks are scored using multi-group item response theory models, allowing testing for measurement invariance. The parameters of these models can then be used to create computer adaptive versions of the tasks, allowing the entire battery to be given in around an hour. We discuss the use, ongoing refinement, and extension of these tasks in the service of creating an open dataset to describe variability in children's development and learning across contexts.
Authors: George Kachergis, Fionnuala O'Reilly, Mika Braginsky, Xingyao Xiao, Amy Lightbody, Kat Adams Shannon, Zachary Watson, Lijin Zhang, Rebecca Zhu, Adani B Abutto, Wanjing Anya Ma, Bria Long, Tonya Murray, Jason D. Yeatman, Michael J. Sulik, Jelena Obradovic, Nichola Jenkins, Daniel Ansari, Maria Camila Perfetti, Julián P. Mariño, Luise Hornoff, Manuel Bohn, Daniel Haun, Nilam Ram, Benjamin W. Domingue, Michael C. Frank
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4417417655