Selecting and validating tasks from a kindergarten screening battery that best predict third grade educational placement

In this study, predictive classification accuracy was used to select those tasks from a kindergarten screening battery that best identified children who, three years later, were classified as educable mentally handicapped or as having a specific learning disability. A subset of measures enabled correct classification of 91% of the children in those special education categories and 85% of the children in regular education. Although there was a high percentage of false positives, 57% of these children were actually poor achievers in third grade. Lower screening scores were associated with being tested in Spanish or both English and Spanish, minority status and low SES.