Assessment and Diagnosis II Advancing Holistic Evidence-Based Approaches for Assessing Children’s School Readiness Competencies

An initial study examined multiple dimensions of preschool competency (cognitive, social, approaches to learning, and physical/motor) using both variable-oriented and person-oriented approaches, with a Head Start sample (McWayne, Fantuzzo & McDermott, 2004). Variableoriented analyses yielded three higher order classroom competency dimensions: 1) General Classroom Competence, 2) Specific Approaches to Learning, and 3) Interpersonal Classroom Behavior Problems. Hierarchical setwise regressions demonstrated that the first two of these dimensions related uniquely to an indicator of early school success (Meisels, Marsden, Wiske & Henderson, 1997). Person-oriented analyses then examined patterns of these three dimensions among children in the sample. This approach revealed seven profiles of child competence, which were then grouped into three sets: children at-risk for later learning difficulties, children demonstrating academic competence, or children who overlapped these two groups (McWayne, Fantuzzo & McDermott, 2004).