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 instances. In addition, there was clear evidence that the spring scores for the Standard English Repetition Test measured a separate dimension, but in the fall was not independent of general ability factors. Efforts to determine the best kindergarten predictors of first grade achievement indicated that general ability factors had the greatest predictive utility; knowing the alphabet and successful figure copying best predicted reading vocabulary achievement at the end of first grade. Effective reading prediction was obtained by tests of abstraction and ability to detect missing elements of a picture; in addition, these measures were the best predictors of arithmetic achievement. Fluency in Standard English was frequently present as a minor predictor; its relationship to reading achievement remains to be convincingly demonstrated. It is suggested that the abstraction and ability predictors, which are conceputal candidates for causative links with reading acquisition, be examined for possible program implications. (Author/CTM)