Early Identification of Children with High Risk of Reading Failure

Early Identification of Children with High Risk of Reading Failure Seymour Feshbach Howard Adelman University of California, Los Angeles University of California, Riverside Two alternative models for identifying kindergarten age children with a high risk of becoming reading failures are compared. One model places primary emphasis on psychometric test procedures assessing linguistic and perceptual-motor skills related to reading readiness. The alternative strategy is based upon the kindergarten teacher's evaluation of the child's skills and behavior, with particular emphasis on the discrepancy between a child's specific competencies and those required for success in a particular first grade classroom. Significant and encouraging correlations were obtained between the various measures taken in kindergarten and reading achievement test scores obtained at the end of first grade. SCOPE OF INTEREST NOTICE The ERIC Facility has assigned this document for i.vocessing to: S In our judgement, this document is also of interest to the clearing. houses noted to the right. Indexing should reflect their special' points of view. EARLY IDOTIFICATION OF CHILDREN WITH HIGH RISK OF READING FAILURE Seymour Feshbach Howard Adelman University of California University of California Los Angeles Riverside Previous research efforts to develop an effective predictive index of reading failure have placed emphasis on the use of psychometric test procedures assessing a delimited set of linguistic and perceptual-motor skills. The present investigation evaluates and contrasts the major psychometric predictive index developed by de Hirsch and her colleagues (1966) with that of an alternative strategy we have developed toassess the impact of a broader range of key variables which interact in shaping school success and failure (Adelman and Feshbach, 1971). The alternative model proposed entails several inter-related components. The predictive efficiency of each of these components and of meaningful combinations generated by our overall strategy,. can be separately evaluated and compared with that of more standard psychometric procedures such as the de Hirsch battery. The key component is a behavioral analysis made by the kindergarten teacher of those cognitive, affective and social attributes of the child which, on a largely a priori basis, have been judged as relevant to success in various first grade reading programs. The kindergarten teachers' ratings of these behaviors constitutes the first step in our predictive sequence. The second step is an assessment of the first grade environment to which our kindergarten youngster is assigned. There are two modes of analysis. which we intend