School readiness and later achievement: A French Canadian replication and extension.

We first replicated the data analytic strategy used in Duncan et al. (2007) with a population-based data set of French-speaking children from Quebec (Canada). Prospective associations were examined between cognitive, attention, and socioemotional characteristics underlying kindergarten school readiness and second grade math, reading, and general achievement. We then extended this school readiness model by including motor skills as an additional element in the prediction equation and expanded the original strategy by including classroom engagement. The Montreal Longitudinal-Experimental Preschool Study, featured in Duncan et al., served as the Canadian reference group. In the replication model, kindergarten cognitive and attention characteristics predicted achievement by the end of 2nd grade. Although inconsistent across outcomes, behavioral problems and skills also emerged as predictors of some aspects of later achievement. Coefficients for kindergarten math skills were largest, followed by attention skills, receptive language skills, attention problems, and behavior. Most coefficients resembled those generated in the initial study. In our extension model, fine motor skills added their significant contribution to the prediction of later achievement above and beyond the original key elements of school readiness. Our extension model confirmed prospectively associations between kindergarten cognitive, attention, fine motor, and physical aggression characteristics and later achievement and classroom engagement by the end of 2nd grade. Although they comparatively showed better long-term benefits from stronger early attention skills, girls with less kindergarten cognitive skills were more vulnerable than boys with similar deficits when predicting 2nd grade math. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

School readiness and later achievement: Replication and extension using a nationwide Canadian survey.

In this article we replicate and extend findings from Duncan et al. (2007). The 1st study used Canada-wide data on 1,521 children from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) to examine the influence of kindergarten literacy and math skills, mother-reported attention, and mother-reported socioemotional behaviors on 3rd-grade math and reading outcomes. Similar to Duncan et al., (a) math skills were the strongest predictor of later achievement, (b) literacy and attention skills predicted later achievement, and (c) socioemotional behaviors did not significantly predict later school achievement. As part of extending the findings, we incorporated a multiple imputation approach to handle missing predictor variable data. Results paralleled those from the original study in that kindergarten math skills and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Revised scores continued to predict later achievement. However, we also found that kindergarten socioemotional behaviors, specifically hyperactivity/impulsivity, prosocial behavior, and anxiety/depression, were significant predictors of 3rd-grade math and reading. In the 2nd study, we used data from the NLSCY and the Montreal Longitudinal-Experimental Preschool Study (MLEPS), which was included in Duncan et al., to extend previous findings by examining the influence of kindergarten achievement, attention, and socioemotional behaviors on 3rd-grade socioemotional outcomes. Both NLSCY and MLEPS findings indicated that kindergarten math significantly predicted socioemotional behaviors. There were also a number of significant relationships between early and later socioemotional behaviors. Findings support the importance of socioemotional behaviors both as predictors of later school success and as indicators of school success. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The value of reanalysis and replication: Introduction to special section.

In their 2007 article in this journal, Duncan et al. examined 6 longitudinal data sets to gauge the links between 3 key elements of readiness at school entry (academic, attention, and socioemotional skills) and later achievement. Across all 6 data sets, the strongest predictors of later achievement were school-entry math, reading, and attention skills. Social skills and internalizing and externalizing behavior did not predict subsequent achievement, even among children with relatively high levels of problem behavior. Patterns of association were similar for boys and girls and were not moderated by socioeconomic status. The 5 articles in this section reconsider the original findings and reanalyze the data involved. Overall, the thrust of these articles confirms the original article. The articles in this section, however, do offer some new insights. In general, the articles find somewhat more support for socioemotional factors, especially for prosocial skills, but the relationships involved are very small. Perhaps the most striking new finding is the added emphasis on fine motor skills, which is the focus of 2 articles. Taken together, the articles reveal the value of reanalysis and replication in developmental psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal predictors of reading and math trajectories through middle school for African American versus Caucasian students across two samples.

This study's primary purpose was to examine the relative contribution of social-behavioral predictors to reading and math skills. The study expands on Duncan et al.'s (2007) work by using longitudinal methodology from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Study of Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–1999 (ECLS-K) databases, and by focusing on potential differences in patterns of early predictors of later reading and math trajectories for African American versus Caucasian students. Predictor measures were selected at kindergarten, and the outcomes included standardized reading and math scores obtained from Grades 1, 3, 5, and 9 for the SECCYD sample, and Grades 3, 5, and 8 for the ECLS-K sample. Consistent with Duncan et al.'s findings, results reflect the relative contributions of early reading and math skills to later functioning in these respective academic domains for both samples, and there are indications for the importance of early expressive language skills to both reading and math in the SECCYD sample. Findings related to the power of social-behavioral predictors, however, are not consistent across samples. Although the SECCYD sample evidenced no such predictors, several interactions in the ECLS-K sample suggested the moderating effects of early ratings of aggressive behaviors and internalizing behaviors on later reading and math for African American students. The moderating effects of early teacher ratings of attention and internalizing behaviors for African American students as compared with Caucasian students in later math growth also were noted. The importance of early social-behavioral functions as related to later academic skills remains an important area of inquiry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"School readiness and later achievement": Correction to Duncan et al. (2007).

Reports an error in "School readiness and later achievement" by Greg J. Duncan, Chantelle J. Dowsett, Amy Claessens, Katherine Magnuson, Aletha C. Huston, Pamela Klebanov, Linda S. Pagani, Leon Feinstein, Mimi Engel, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Holly Sexton, Kathryn Duckworth and Crista Japel (Developmental Psychology, 2007[Nov], Vol 43[6], 1428-1446). The DOI for the supplemental materials was printed incorrectly. The correct DOI is as follows: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1428.supp. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2007-16709-012.) Using 6 longitudinal data sets, the authors estimate links between three key elements of school readiness--school-entry academic, attention, and socioemotional skills--and later school reading and math achievement. In an effort to isolate the effects of these school-entry skills, the authors ensured that most of their regression models control for cognitive, attention, and socioemotional skills measured prior to school entry, as well as a host of family background measures. Across all 6 studies, the strongest predictors of later achievement are school-entry math, reading, and attention skills. A meta-analysis of the results shows that early math skills have the greatest predictive power, followed by reading and then attention skills. By contrast, measures of socioemotional behaviors, including internalizing and externalizing problems and social skills, were generally insignificant predictors of later academic performance, even among children with relatively high levels of problem behavior. Patterns of association were similar for boys and girls and for children from high and low socioeconomic backgrounds. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting reading and mathematics achievement in fourth-grade children from kindergarten readiness scores.

This study examined age and gender differences in verbal skills and visuomotor skills at kindergarten, in achievement in reading and mathematics at Grade 4, and in the link between skills at kindergarten and later achievement (n?=?281). Older children had higher verbal skills and visuomotor skills than younger children, and girls had higher visuomotor skills and reading achievement than boys. With controls for age, verbal skills uniquely predicted later reading achievement, whereas both verbal skills and visuomotor skills uniquely predicted later mathematics achievement. Readiness in the specific areas of auditory memory and verbal associations predicted later reading achievement, whereas readiness in the specific areas of auditory memory, number skills, and visual discrimination predicted later mathematics achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early behavioral associations of achievement trajectories.

Duncan et al. (2007) examined associations between early behavioral and cognitive skills with later achievement. These associations were examined in 6 different data sets and results converged to suggest that early behavioral competences or problems had little, if any, prediction to later achievement and that attentional competences had small positive relations with later achievement. In contrast, cognitive abilities were by far the strongest predictors of achievement. We provide and investigate potential reasons why Duncan et al. found little to no association between behavior and later achievement in a reanalysis of data from 3 studies previously analyzed by Duncan et al. Potential reasons include the validity of the behavioral measures, treatment of the behavioral measures as continuous as opposed to categorical, and the choice of data analytic method. In this article, we discuss these issues at greater length and address them in our reanalysis. We also bring into question the nature of the relationship between behavior and achievement. Generally, our reanalysis supports the idea that attention measures are more predictive than behavioral measures; however, certain behavior measures showed small to moderate associations to concurrent levels of academic achievement and changes in academic achievement through elementary school. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early identification of learning problems: A meta-analysis.

Conducted a meta-analysis of 58 studies (1960–1984) on the early prediction of learning problems that reported correlations between measures administered in kindergarten or 1st-grade and reading achievement later in elementary school. Results indicate a good deal of overlap in the distributions of the various predictor–criterion correlations. The best single predictors of achievement during the elementary school years were attention-distractibility, internalizing behavior problems, and language variables. Measures less directly related to reading skills, such as sensory tasks and soft neurological indicators, were generally weaker predictors of achievement. Bibliographical data on the studies used are appended. (52 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of cognitive skills and gains in academic school readiness for children from low-income families.

This study examined developmental associations between growth in domain-general cognitive processes (working memory and attention control) and growth in domain-specific skills (emergent literacy and numeracy) across the prekindergarten year and their relative contributions to kindergarten reading and math achievement. One hundred sixty-four Head Start children (44% African American or Latino; 57% female) were followed longitudinally. Path analyses revealed that working memory and attention control predicted growth in emergent literacy and numeracy skills during the prekindergarten year and that growth in these domain-general cognitive skills made unique contributions to the prediction of kindergarten math and reading achievement, controlling for growth in domain-specific skills. These findings extend research highlighting the importance of working memory and attention control for academic learning, demonstrating the effects in early childhood, prior to school entry. Implications of these findings for prekindergarten programs are discussed, particularly those designed to reduce the school readiness gaps associated with socioeconomic disadvantage. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

School readiness and later achievement.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 44(1) of Developmental Psychology (see record 2007-19851-023). The DOI for the supplemental materials was printed incorrectly. The correct DOI is as follows: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.6.1428.supp.] Using 6 longitudinal data sets, the authors estimate links between three key elements of school readiness--school-entry academic, attention, and socioemotional skills--and later school reading and math achievement. In an effort to isolate the effects of these school-entry skills, the authors ensured that most of their regression models control for cognitive, attention, and socioemotional skills measured prior to school entry, as well as a host of family background measures. Across all 6 studies, the strongest predictors of later achievement are school-entry math, reading, and attention skills. A meta-analysis of the results shows that early math skills have the greatest predictive power, followed by reading and then attention skills. By contrast, measures of socioemotional behaviors, including internalizing and externalizing problems and social skills, were generally insignificant predictors of later academic performance, even among children with relatively high levels of problem behavior. Patterns of association were similar for boys and girls and for children from high and low socioeconomic backgrounds. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The longitudinal relations of teacher expectations to achievement in the early school years.

There is relatively little research on the role of teacher expectations in the early school years or the importance of teacher expectations as a predictor of future academic achievement. The current study investigated these issues in the reading and mathematic domains for young children. Data from nearly 1,000 children and families at 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades were included. Child sex and social skills emerged as consistent predictors of teacher expectations of reading and, to a lesser extent, math ability. In predicting actual future academic achievement, results showed that teacher expectations were differentially related to achievement in reading and math. There was no evidence that teacher expectations accumulate but some evidence that they remain durable over time for math achievement. In addition, teacher expectations were more strongly related to later achievement for groups of children who might be considered to be at risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neurodevelopmental investigation of academic achievement: A report of Years 1 and 2 of a longitudinal study.

Investigated the neuropsychological and cognitive basis of early achievement among 105 kindergartners (mean age 5 yrs 6 mo) to determine the stability of this relation over a 2-yr period. Portions of the Reitan–Indiana Neuropsychological Test Battery and the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities were used to predict readiness skills in kindergarten (Year 1) and later achievement in 1st grade (Year 2). MANOVA revealed that (a) neuropsychological and intellectual function was related to early achievement; (b) multiple correlations were similar for the Reitan–Indiana and McCarthy variables with kindergarten readiness skills (Year 1); (c) multiple correlations were higher for the Reitan subtests than they were for the McCarthy for Spelling, Reading, Total Reading, and Total Mathematics achievement for 1st grade (Year 2); (d) the Reitan and McCarthy subtests showed similar accuracy for discriminating high, average, and low readers in 1st grade; and (e) specific predictor variables were relatively stable across 2 yrs of development. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of predictive bias for second grade reading outcomes from measures of early literacy skills in kindergarten with respect to English-language learners and ethnic subgroups.

The assessment of early literacy skills during the kindergarten year can provide useful information about student performance in prereading skills, which are predictors of later reading achievement. This study examined the use of fluency-based prompts of student phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, and oral reading at the end of kindergarten for predicting later reading achievement at the end of second grade. Predictive validity and bias studies were undertaken with respect to English-language learners (ELLs) and four selected ethnic subgroups: European American (EA), African American (AA), Asian American (AsA), and Hispanic American (HA). Results indicated that the predictive validity of the early literacy measures was strong, and no evidence of predictive bias for ELL and non-ELL groups was found. However, evidence of a small amount of predictive bias was found between the EA and HA students with respect to intercept differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Kindergarten competencies as predictors of third-grade classroom behavior and achievement.

To investigate the relationships between preschool competencies and later academic functioning, multiple regression analyses were conducted using kindergarten intellectual, academic, and social variables (Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Wide Range Achievement Test, teacher ratings of academic readiness, and the Sells Teacher Rating Scale of Peer Relations) to predict 3rd-grade classroom behavior and achievement. A random sample (n?=?50) of 184 3rd-grade children evaluated during the 1973–1974 kindergarten year and a 2nd sample (n?=?49) with additional Time 1 social and background variables were included. Ss were observed in classrooms and administered achievement tests during the 1976–1977 school year. Results indicate that kindergarten social and academic competencies typically entered as optimal predictors of later achievement-related behaviors and achievement. A social competence measure of initiative was a particularly successful predictor of achievement. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early predictors of biliteracy development in children in French immersion: A 4-year longitudinal study.

English language predictors of English and French reading development were investigated in a group of 140 children who were enrolled in French immersion programs. Children were first tested in kindergarten, and their reading achievement was tested yearly in both English and French from Grades 1 to 3, with word-level and passage-level measures that assessed accuracy as well as fluency. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine which English variables predicted Grade 3 outcomes and growth rates in English and French, and to determine the set of predictors that accounted for the most variance in outcomes and growth rates in English and French reading. The variables that predicted English reading development were consistent with studies of monolingual English children, even though participants were concurrently learning to read in French. Our findings provide evidence that at least some of the skills that play a role in learning to read are general cognitive and linguistic skills that transfer across languages. Phonological awareness, letter-sound knowledge, rapid automatized naming, and grammatical ability in English were able to predict reading ability in French. In contrast, English receptive vocabulary was a language-specific predictor. These findings demonstrate that first-language measures can be useful in the early identification of children at risk for difficulty in learning to read in a second language. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological, family, and peer predictors of academic outcomes in first- through fifth-grade children.

This study tested a model that posited that 3 diverse sets of academic outcomes (memory, verbal, and nonverbal aptitudes [N?=?521]; passing proficiency tests in reading and mathematics [N?=?122]; and end-of-year ratings of verbal and mathematical skills by teachers [N?=?159]) for 1st- through 5th-grade children were uniquely determined by psychological (verbal and visual-motor "school readiness" skills at kindergarten, cognitive self-control, and academic self-competence), family (behavioral involvement of an adult family member in the child's schooling), and peer (the average academic performance of members of one's peer group) factors. Verbal readiness skills were uniquely linked to 5 of the 7 academic outcomes. An outcome-specific view of what sets of factors are linked to academic performance was favored in that, of the 5 predictors, only school readiness accounted for unique portions of the variance in aptitudes; only school readiness and cognitive self-control accounted for unique portions of the variance in whether proficiency tests were passed; and only school readiness, cognitive self-control, and the academic performance of one's peer group accounted for unique portions of the variance in end-of-year ratings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of emergent literacy and early reading skills in preschool children: Evidence from a latent-variable longitudinal study.

Although research has identified oral language, print knowledge, and phonological sensitivity as important emergent literacy skills for the development of reading, few studies have examined the relations between these aspects of emergent literacy or between these skills during preschool and during later reading. This study examined the joint and unique predictive significance of emergent literacy skills for both later emergent literacy skills and reading in two samples of preschoolers. Ninety-six children (mean age?=?41 months, SD?=?9.41) were followed from early to late preschool, and 97 children (mean age?=?60 months, SD?=?5.41) were followed from late preschool to kindergarten or first grade. Structural equation modeling revealed significant developmental continuity of these skills, particularly for letter knowledge and phonological sensitivity from late preschool to early grade school, both of which were the only unique predictors of decoding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Piagetian tasks as predictors of reading and math readiness in grades K–2.

Investigated which of 9 Piagetian tasks could function as a measure of a child's cognitive developmental readiness for reading and mathematics. Also examined were patterns of acquisition of the component skills associated with the "structure d'ensemble" of seriation, classification, and conservation. 121 children were tested at the end of kindergarten and again after 1st grade. Results indicate that knowledge of a child's general concrete operativity may be an important component of academic readiness. It is concluded that the problem that remains is identifying Ss' cognitive demands before attempting to match them with the cognitive constraint represented by the child's general level of operativity. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parent-school involvement and school performance: Mediated pathways among socioeconomically comparable African American and Euro-American families.

Children's academic and social competencies were examined as mediators to explain the often positive relation between parent-school involvement and achievement. Ethnic variations in the relation between parent-school involvement and early achievement and the mediated pathways were examined. Because much of the comparative research confounds ethnicity with socioeconomic status, the relations were examined among socioeconomically comparable samples of African American and Euro-American kindergarten children and their mothers. For reading achievement, academic skills mediated the relation between involvement and achievement for African Americans and Euro-Americans. For math achievement, the underlying process differed across ethnic groups. For African Americans, academic skills mediated the relation between school involvement and math performance. For Euro-Americans, social competence mediated the impact of home involvement on school achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)