Involving 619 preschool children, a longitudinal investigation evaluated a new test for identifying preschool children who produce an excessive number of form errors in printing. All children participating were fluent in English and were in the appropriate grades for their ages, either pre-kindergarten or kindergarten, when they were given the Printing Performance School Readiness Test (PPSRT). Follow-up data were collected for 1 to 3 years. Two independent sets of measures were employed as criteria for subsequent academic achievement: indicators of children's classroom performance and scores on several standardized instruments administered in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, or first grade. Results show that the PPSRT can be reliably scored, that it generates performance at the preschool level which remains quite stable over a fairly long period of time, and that this preschool performance is closely tied to later achievement in each of the major areas of the elementary school curriculum. Additional findings indicate that whether or not form errors occur depends to a considerable extent on the nature of the printing task itself. Form errors may result not from perceptual/motor difficulties, but may be due to the combined effects of momentary lapses in attention to detail and lack of familiarity with letters and numbers, two characteristics linked to poor performance in school. (RH)