The Overcoming Disadvantage in Early Childhood Study: Evaluation of the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation’s Early Language and Literacy Program. Final Report

The Overcoming Disadvantage in Early Childhood (ODEC) study is a longitudinal evaluation of the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation’s (ALNF) Early Language and Literacy (EL&L) program. The study was designed to answer the research question: What is the effect of the EL&L program on the development of language and literacy skills in preschool aged children? An integral component of this study was to develop a new measure of oral language and literacy - the Early Language and Literacy Developmental Index (ELLDI). The ELLDI was developed in recognition of the need for a best practice measure of oral language and literacy that was fit for purpose. This report documents the sum of work completed across the duration of the study from 2018-2022. The design of the study was based on the principles of a longitudinal outcome evaluation and had three components: a) design of the outcome measure: the ELLDI; b) interim results and recommendations; and c) final results, recommendations and reporting.