Six tests of abilities and attitudes related to early reading achievement were administered to first graders in a rural setting. Scores from the Metropolitan Achievement Test were used as criterion measure of the predictive powers of the tests. Test effectiveness and value are discussed. (Author/DF)

The purpose of the study was to determine if the Weber (Utah) district screening program predicted the reading scores of 351 primary grade students. It was concluded that the screening program has very limited value in identifying children with learning problems. (Author)

Examines the relationship between the Woodcock Word Comprehension Test and several measures of reading achievement and verbal intelligence on 194 children. Pearson product-moment correlations (r) were used to test the relationships. It appeared that the Woodcock Word Comprehension Test assesses reading ability more than general verbal ability.…

Two studies were conducted to investigate the predictive validity of prekindergarten and pre-grade 1 screening checklists. In the first study, all 83 students registering for kindergarten at an elementary school were administered Austin and Lafferty's prekindergarten checklist. Toward the end of the school year, the children were administered the…

The usefulness of the Structure of Intellect Learning Abilities Test for predicting reading and arithmetic achievement of elementary school pupils as measured by the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills was investigated using regression analyses. The Structure of Intellect test performed generally as predicted. (Author/JKS)

Test score data for kindergarten and first grade children were subjected to several forms of multivariate analysis. First, all fall and spring kindergarten data were factor analyzed to reduce the test scores to the least number of dimensions possible. General ability factors corresponding to the expected test dimensions were obtained in all…

The relationship between modality styles and reading achievement was studied for 51 first graders given 2 subtests of the Swassing-Barbe Modality Index, 2 subtests of the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities, and 2 tests of nonsense words. There was no significant interaction between modality preference and reading achievement. (SLD)

This study examined the early profiles of 270 kindergarten students screened for learning difficulties in kindergarten with SEARCH (an early identification measure) of which 32 had inadequate reading skills at the end of second grade. The SEARCH instrument tended to underidentify children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and overidentify…

The reliability and validity of the Spotlight for Literacy screening test was tested by administration to Australian first-graders. Prediction was best for low- and high-achievement groups. In general, girls scored higher than boys, groups differed according to socioeconomic status, and children from English-speaking homes scored higher than…

A study of the effects of modality preferences and teacher competencies on reading achievement was undertaken using three different programs for initial reading instruction. The major purposes of the study were to determine differences in reading achievement when first grade children are placed in programs congruent or noncongruent with their…

The Pre-Reading Assessment Inventory (PRAI) was designed to fill a need for a wide-range, individually administered diagnostic test of a child's prereading skills (especially auditory blending and segmenting), knowledge, encoding and decoding strategies, and understandings about the reading task. The test development was based upon the research…

Noting that accurate procedures for predicting reading ability in school settings are necessary for a variety of purposes, this paper reviews methods for predicting reading ability and presents a new, more precise model for use at the second grade level. First, the paper defines reading expectancy as an informed estimate of the level of reading…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 13 titles deal with the following topics: the evaluation of the elementary reading specialist; the validity of the Visual-Aural Digit Span Test as a predictor of word recognition and spelling in learning disabled children; the…