The study compared earlier identified (grades 2-4) to later identified (grades 5-8) learning-disabled students' test scores (Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) upon identification and over time in special education. No significant between-group differences were found at identification. Over time (two…

A study at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (NY) found that performance on examinations during the third month of medical school was highly predictive of performance during the first two years of medical school. This predictor was more powerful than Medical College Admission Test scores and/or undergraduate grade point averages in…

A comparison of language skills between adolescent juvenile delinquent males (n=24) and matched nondelinquent peers found significant differences for language skills and academic performance between the two groups. Results have implications for early identification and intervention programs for populations at risk for delinquency. (DB)

The Duke University Talent Identification Program was initiated to identify verbally and mathematically precocious youngsters. This program is a 16-state effort not only to identify brillant students, but to follow and nuture their talent and assist in their educational development. (MLW)

Poor readers who met low achievement and IQ-discrepancy definitions of reading disability (n=54) were compared with non-impaired readers (n=325) on development of eight precursor and reading-related skills. Results indicate no evidence for differences between the two groups of poor readers in the development on the eight skills, with three…

This study analyzed diagnostic profiles of 151 children with disabilities receiving Head Start services. Three clinical clusters emerged which described the children along demographic, developmental/medical, family/home, and academic dimensions. Far more children with learning disabilities (26%) and serious emotional disturbances (29%) were…

This report describes several aspects of families' experiences in beginning early intervention services using data from the National Early Intervention Longitudinal Study (NEILS). Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, NEILS is following a nationally representative sample of 3,338 infants and toddlers and their families from the time they…

Young children can suffer from "fluctuating hearing loss," and it can severely affect their academic achievement. Discusses seven ways schools can assist children with such hearing problems. Most important is early identification of the problem. (MD)

Investigates methods for the early detection of learning difficulties that were used in the screening of 788 kindergarten children. Of students in high risk groups, 25 percent failed to learn to read and write, but all students in the low risk groups could perform these activities. (RJC)

Data are presented from two studies that investigated short- and long-term outcomes of early identification and intervention for young children from birth to age 3. Results from the studies support the immediate and longer-term benefits of early entry into intervention for language, academic, and social-emotional development. (Contains extensive…

As part of a larger longitudinal study, scores of 239 children (ages 1 to 4) with disabilities on the Battelle Developmental Inventory (BDI) were compared with scores on the Woodcock-Johnson Test of Achievement (Revised) 1 to 3 years later. The BDI scores from children at or above age 2 predicted later achievement scores (mean correlation .74).…

This practicum intervention was designed to increase the academic success of potentially at-risk first graders and train teachers to identify such students. Objectives were to: (1) improve teachers' ability to accurately identify first graders at risk for failing first grade; (2) help parents become knowledgeable about working with at-risk…

During the 1978-79 school year, an early identification (EID) process based primarily on teachers' judgments was applied in kindergarten and grade 1 classes. The EID ratings, made separately for language/reading and mathematics, consisted of the following scale: 0 = no judgment made; 1 = student will be ready, by the end of the school year, for…

The purpose of this report is to describe the educational history, status, and standardized test performance of the least successful members of the kindergarten class of 1978-79. All 253 students who were in kindergarten for the first time in 1978-79, who had not reached grade 4 by 1982-83, and who were still in the system were included in the…

A review of nine major studies of preschoolers compares the predictive validity of achievement and psychoeducational tests in the identification of at-risk learners with the predictive validity of socioeconomic information. Findings indicate that tests used for special education identification have only a slightly better than chance prediction…