The Identification of High-Risk Children: A Retrospective Look at Selection Criteria

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Abstract
Three-hundred kindergarten children were screened with a test battery in order to identify high-risk children. The main principle underlying the selection criteria was Myklebust's definition of a learning disability as a discrepancy between achievement (as measured by a readiness test and knowledge of letter names) and potential. Other selection criteria were a discrepancy between verbal and nonverbal ability, intratest scatter, and performance on a visual-motor copying test. Sixty-two children were selected as having probable learning disabilities. At the beginning of first grade, they were tested with the WISC and the ITPA and showed average abilities. At the end of first grade these "high-risk" children scored within the average range on the Metropolitan Achievement Test. It was concluded that the selection criteria in kindergarten were inadequate.