Examined the reliability and validity of the Individual Reading Readiness Inventory (IRRI) and determined that it could be used with confidence as a measure to predict the extent to which children would profit from formal reading instruction in kindergarten. (Author/RWB)

By exploring the kindergarten program found in two public elementary schools in a middle-class neighborhood in central Alabama, a study examined age at school entry as a critical factor in achievement in Alabama kindergartens. The sample consisted of 100 kindergarten students (53 boys/47 girls; 96 white/4 black)--77 were 63 months or older, and 23…

Findings concerning the relationship of perceptual-motor and oral-language organization to later reading achievement are discussed in relation to a predictive battery of 15 tests. It was concluded that the predictive efficacy of the tests depends on the degree to which they measure integrative ability rather than on the specific skills measured.…

The Concepts about Print (Sand) and Record of Oral Language (ROL) tests were administered three times to 29 male and 27 female kindergarten children as part of a study to determine the reliability and concurrent validity of the tests. The Sand and Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT) were administered to the returning participants (27 males and 24…

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of a systematic auditory training program on the auditory discrimination ability and reading readiness of 55 white, middle/upper middle class kindergarten students. Following pretesting with the "Wepman Auditory Discrimination Test,""The Clymer-Barrett Prereading Battery," and the…

This report reviews and evaluates the tradition of assessing early literacy with formal tests. It begins with a historical account of the readiness movement, focusing on the development of formal measures of early literacy and tracing the development of the movement into the 1980s. Next, the paper analyzes in depth tests that are currently…

Data collected during the standardization of the 1976 Metropolitan Readiness Tests (MRT) were examined to provide information on sex differences in prereading skills. The MRT are designed for administration either at the beginning of kindergarten or between kindergarten and first grade. Performance on the six subtests and the total test on both…

Reports on a pilot program for developmental placement in Brevard County, Florida. Discusses various aspects of the program, including teacher education, student screening, parent involvement, cost, and program evaluation. Asserts that developmental placement aids students' academic progress. (MM)

Discusses the concept of "emergent literacy," contrasting this term with the concept of reading readiness. Proposes that a program of kindergarten instruction related to literacy should provide opportunities for children to interact successfully with print. (MM)

This study examined the validity of letter-name fluency and nonsense word fluency (NWF) measures as indicators of early reading skill with 39 kindergarten children who were tested again in first grade. Evidence supportive of validity was found for both measures, with NWF receiving the strongest support and both fluency measures more sensitive than…

To investigate the relationship between a kindergartner's prior experience with print and the child's scores on Marie Clay's Concepts About Print Test, a study examined 23 kindergarten students from an upper middle class neighborhood. A 27-item questionnaire was given to parents at the beginning of the school year, asking what their children knew…

Word-learning and reading-readiness tasks administered to inner-city kindergartners indicated that readiness skills included both a general skill that predicted success for both sight-word and sound-symbol methods of instruction and other specific skills which predicted success for only one method of instruction. (AA)

A group of 30 nonreading kindergarten children who received 7 weeks of instruction in phoneme segmentation and letter names/sounds were assessed on segmentation and reading measures. They outperformed a language activities group, which received instruction in letter names/sounds and additional language activities, and a group receiving no…

Discusses efforts at teaching children in kindergarten how to write, indicating that emergent readers can indeed write with scribbles, random letters, numerals, and sometimes words. Discusses their dictation, journal content, writing stages, and developmental trends. (HTH)

A teacher in an East Tennessee elementary school observed after a year of kindergarten that her students had a hard time recognizing their letters based on the Brigance Test. She taught one letter a week by thematic instruction, and she was concerned her students would not be ready to read if they did not know their letters. A study was conducted…