Delmont Morrison

Kindergarten Retention: Academic and Behavioral Outcomes Through the End of Second Grade:

This study examined the impact of retention at kindergarten on academic achievement and behavior. Subjects were 53 children, retained at kin dergarten, who were matched to a group of 53 promoted peers on demo graphic characteristics, a measure of school readiness, and preacademic achievement in reading and mathematics. The data were analyzed using both same-age and same-grade comparisons. Results indicated an academic advantage of the retained children during their second year in kindergarten. This advantage was not maintained past kindergarten. Although retained children demonstrated a decline in attention problems during their second year of kindergarten, they continued to perform below the norm for their school districts on academic achievement. The data in this report do not suggest that retention is an effective policy for the young at-risk child.

Factorial dimensions of the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist: replication and validation within a kindergarten sample.

The factor structure of the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist (RBPC) was examined in a large sample of suburban kindergarten children. Teacher-rated dimensions of Conduct Disorder, Attention Problems-Immaturity, Anxiety-Withdrawal, and Psychotic Behavior were closely replicated, and a new factor labeled Unmotivated-Isolated was also revealed. These principal components were consistent across gender and across subsamples of children differing as to risk status for learning failure. Evidence was found for the divergent validity of the externalizing dimensions of Conduct Disorder and Attention Problems-Immaturity with respect to criterion measures of alternative behavior ratings, cognitive functioning, and academic achievement. Parent-rated components of Conduct Disorder, Attention Problems-Immaturity, Hyperactive-Impatient, Tense-Withdrawn, Anxiety, and Passive-Conforming were less clearly validated, and parent-teacher agreement was modest. It was concluded that the RBPC shows promise for the assessment of preschool-aged children and that narrow-band externalizing dimensions of inattentive versus conduct-disordered behavior are reasonably distinct at this age.

Sensory integration therapy: a trial of a specific neurodevelopmental therapy for the remediation of learning disabilities.

In the population of learning-disabled (LD) children, there appears to be a subsample who demonstrate basic dysfunction in sensory integration. Previous research suggested that sensory integration (SI) therapy may be effective in improving the academic performance of this subsample of LD children. This study is a systematic replication of previous research on the effects of SI therapy on LD children. The 87 LD children in this study manifest moderate SI dysfunction, a vestibular processing disorder, perceptual deficits, and reading retardation. Data on a subgroup of 45 children with markedly depressed postrotary nystagmus are presented. After nine months of individual SI therapy, no systematic effects on any of the dependent variables were discernible. The implications of these findings for further research are discussed.

Nonpromotion in Kindergarten: The Role of Cognitive, Perceptual, Visual-Motor, Behavioral, Achievement, Socioeconomic, and Demographic Characteristics

The role of cognitive, perceptual, visual-motor, behavioral, achievement, and demographic factors affecting nonpromotion at kindergarten was examined in a sample of 34 nonpromoted and 34 promoted kindergarten children of a suburban area in Northern California. The major findings of the study, part of a longitudinal follow-up study, indicated that retained students were more likely to be male, of younger age, and of lower socioeconomic status. In addition, retained students had lower IQ and preacademic achievement test scores and demonstrated increased problems in the areas of visual-motor integration, perceptual organization, and behavior. A discriminant analysis indicated that perceptual problems, inattention, age, preacademic reading achievement, and sex were factors that provided the maximum differentiation between retained and promoted students at the end of kindergarten. The findings are suggestive of interventions that may prove beneficial in preparing retained children for entry into first grade.

Preacademic Screening for Learning and Behavior Problems

The relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and behavior problems in children at risk for developing learning difficulties was investigated by screening 1106 children who were completing kindergarten and identifying 292 as being at-risk. Data on SES, behavior problems, and preacademic reading skills were obtained on 204 at-risk children and 181 non-at-risk controls. A larger proportion of children from upper SES made up the non-at-risk sample and a smaller proportion of upper SES children were found in the at-risk sample. Children (N = 91) who demonstrated perceptual delays and inadequate preacademic reading skills were rated by their teachers as having significantly more behavior problems than children (N = 218) who were negative for these two signs. The results suggest that some children with perceptual problems demonstrate multiple behavior problems prior to experiencing reading failure.

Use of the SEARCH/TEACH Tutoring Approach with Middle-Class Students at Risk for Reading Failure.

Participants in this study were 168 middle-class children who were screened, during kindergarten, by SEARCH as at risk for reading failure, on the basis of locally derived norms. These at-risk children were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 intervention groups: (a) TEACH, a perceptual remediation approach; (b) phonetic tutoring; or (c) no-contact control. The interventions were administered during first grade. Following the interventions, children were assessed with an individually administered test battery at the end of first and second grade. Group achievement data were also available for the at-risk sample and a randomly selected group of not-at-risk children matched to the at-risk controls. The only significant finding that emerged involved consistently higher word attack scores for children in the phonetic tutoring group over a 2-year period. When the effects of the intervention were examined within groups of vulnerable readers, marginally at-risk children in the phonetic group appeared to have profited the most from one-to-one tutoring, demonstrating significantly higher performance on word attack, phonetic analysis, and the test of written spelling. Finally, comparisons of at-risk and not-at-risk children indicted significantly lower academic performance for the at-risk group over a 2-year period. The results of the study call into question the effectiveness of the TEACH tutoring model. In addition, they indicate that one-to-one tutoring is not likely to result in comprehensive achievement gains if its focus is on narrow and isolated instructional activities.

Characteristics of at-risk children in transitional and regular kindergarten programs

The present study examined the demographic, cognitive, achievement, perceptual, visual-motor, and behavioral characteristics of three groups of children at the end of their first year in (a) a transitional prekindergarten program and (b) a regular kindergarten program following retention or promotion recommendations. Results indicated that retained children differed from their promoted peers. They tended to be younger in age and to have lower achievement test scores and a higher incidence of behavior, perceptual, and visual-motor problems. What was striking was the similarity of transitional and retained students on all measures except behavior and teacher predictions. Transitional children did not demonstrate the behavioral deviances of the retained group and were not rated by their teachers as being likely to develop a reading problem later in school. Although preliminary, the results offer some insight into different practices recommended for at-risk children.

The Relationship Between Neuropsychological/Perceptual Performance and Socioeconomic Status in Children with Learning Disabilities

A battery of 10 neuropsychological/perceptual tests was administered to a sample of 57 reading disabled children, aged 6 through 11 years. These test scores were associated, at mild to moderate levels, with measures of academic achievement. Data pertaining to socioeconomic status (SES) were also obtained. Whereas SES related significantly to achievement and intelligence, it was clearly uncorrelated with performance on the neuropsychological tests. This lack of association is discussed; the potential confounding variable of a restricted range of neuropsychological performance does not apply. Results are addressed in light of the significant association between SES and neuropsychological/perceptual performance in non-learning-disabled children.

Screening for Reading Problems: The Utility of SEARCH.

To evaluate the accuracy of SEARCH as a screen for identifying children at risk for developing learning problems, 1107 kindergarten children were evaluated with SEARCH and 284 (26 percent) were classified as at risk. At-risk children were of average intelligence and SEARCH scores were significantly correlated with sequential and simultaneous information processing skills. Children whose group preacademic achievement scores were at or below the third stanine at the end of kindergarten were classified as having inadequate skills for learning how to read; those scoring above the third stanine formed the adequate skills group. Using this criterion, SEARCH predicted children who had adequate or inadequate preacademic reading skills with 77 percent accuracy. However, approximately half of the children identified as at risk by SEARCH performed adequately. A reading test was individually administered to a group of at-risk children at the end of first (N=49) and second (N=35) grade. Of those children identified at risk by SEARCH at kindergarten, 39 percent at first grade and 66 percent at second grade performed at grade level. Fewer children from the upper SES were identified by SEARCH as being at risk.

EFFECTS OF SENSORY‐MOTOR TRAINING ON THE LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT OF RETARDED PRESCHOOLERS

Previous research indicates that perceptual-motor training positively influences the development of language in retarded children. In this year-long study, 30 retarded children attending a preschool training center were divided into three equal groups given perceptual-motor training, movement training, or no systematic training. No significant differences were found among the groups on language measures, suggesting that the total remedial environment may be an important factor in the effectiveness of perceptual-motor and of movement training programs.