Leslie earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in linguistics from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She earned her doctorate in developmental psychology from Georgia State University in 2018.
Her previous research focused on language development, specifically vocabulary knowledge gained through reading and the connections between language and gesture. After years of unanswered measurement-related questions, Leslie joined L-MILL in 2016. Leslie was also a postdoctoral research fellow at the Urban Child Study Center.
See Leslie’s ResearchGate profile.
Awards, honors:
- Language & Literacy Fellow, 2013 – 2017
- 2016 Percival Rogers Statistics Award
2018 Society for the Scientific Studies in Reading Conference Abstract
TITLE: Validating item level phonological processing performance across two populations
Purpose: We examined item level performance of struggling adult readers—native and non-native English speakers—on the CTOPP Blending and Elision subtests using confirmatory factor analysis and invariance testing. Do struggling adult readers who are non-native English speakers have better phonological processing skills, possibly from exposure to different languages?
Method: Across two studies, 930 struggling adult readers (16-71 years, Mage = 35.3) completed the Blending and Elision subtests version one or two. We tested item-level models for each measure to establish invariance among four groups (two language groups in two studies) and assessed fit using ΔCFI <.01 and ΔRMSEA <.15 from Chen (2007).
Results: For the Blending subtest, the configural model had acceptable fit, indicating a single factor structure for all four groups. For the metric invariance model, ΔRMSEA slightly exceeded Chen’s (2007) guidelines but we accepted the model for parsimony, which established invariant loadings. The scalar invariance model also fit, indicating threshold invariance. Latent means were slightly higher for one study, and within each study, non-native English speakers performed slightly better. For the Elision subtest, all invariance models fit. The same pattern was observed: one study had slightly higher latent means, and within each study non-native speakers performed slightly better.
Conclusion: The latent structure of the Elision and Blending subtests is the same across language status. The different selection criterion between studies was reflected in the higher overall mean for one study. The findings provide evidence that non-native English speakers are somewhat better at these particular phonological processing skills.