Predicting academic performance of Anglo and Mexican‐American kindergarten children

Sixty‐two kindergarten children from three cultural/language backgrounds (Anglo, English‐speaking; Mexican‐American, English‐speaking; and Mexican‐American, Spanish‐speaking) were screened for school readiness with three techniques: a series of Piagetian‐based mathematical tasks, a number proficiency measure, and kindergarten teachers' ratings. One year later, first‐grade performance was assessed through standardized tests and teachers' ratings. The predictive accuracy of kindergarten measures varied according to ethnicity and language background of the children. Kindergarten measures were significantly predictive of Anglo English speakers, but were somewhat less accurate for the Mexican‐American English‐speaking group. Importantly, the kindergarten measures, including the teachers' ratings, were generally nonpredictive for Mexican‐American Spanish speakers, although the tests were not language or culture specific. The importance of language as a factor in school screening is underscored. Findings raise serious questions as to the appropriateness of early screening of children from different language and cultural backgrounds.