The purpose of this study was to examine two commonly used kindergarten screening measures' ability to predict later academic achievement. Participants included 67 kindergarten children who were administered the Bracken Basic Concept Scale-Revised (BBCS-R) and the Early Prevention of School Failure (EPSF) screening battery upon initiation of their kindergarten year. The students' academic progress in the areas of reading, language, and mathematics was examined using the Terra Nova in the fall of first grade.Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the BBCS-R, EPSF, and Terra Nova. Predictor variables included the BBCS-R total test score and its subtests (i.e., School Readiness, Direction/Position, Self-Social Awareness, Texture/Material, Quantity, and Time/Sequence), as well as the EPSF at-risk identification score and standard scores for the tests included in the EPSF screening battery (i.e., Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third Edition (PPVT-III), Literacy and Language Assessment (LLA), Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration (VMI), Draw-A-Person (DAP), and the Motor Assessment Scale (MAS)). Criterion variables included the Terra Nova Total Test Composite, Reading Composite, Language Composite, and Mathematics Composite.Results suggested the BBCS-R total test score was a better predictor of reading and language achievement than the EPSF at-risk identification score and standard scores on the EPSF tests. The EPSF at-risk identification score, however, best predicted mathematics achievement at first grade. Although these results at a glance may support the utilization of both screening instruments in predicting later achievement, further analysis of the EPSF tests prediction of mathematics achievement indicated that of the five EPSF tests, the VMI and PPVT-III best predicted later mathematics performance. The remaining three EPSF tests added no value to the prediction of mathematics achievement beyond that of the VMI and PPVT-III. Thus, use of the entire EPSF screening battery to predict later achievement was not supported. Further analysis utilizing multiple regression with the BBCS-R total test score, VMI, and PPVT-III standard scores as the predictors, indicated the VMI and BBCS-R best predicted later mathematics achievement. These results support the use of the BBCS-R and VMI in the kindergarten screening process to predict later achievement in all academic areas. / Department of Educational Psychology
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/177572 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Larrabee, Amy L. |
| Contributors | Gridley, Betty E. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vii, 87 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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