| This study examined the predictive validity of the South Carolina Readiness Assessment (SCRA), a curriculum-embedded, performance assessment for children in kindergarten and grade 1, to students' later performance on the criterion-referenced Palmetto Achievement Challenge Tests (PACT) for children in grades 3 through 8. The purpose of the study was to determine (1) how well students' mathematical thinking performance on the SCRA in first grade predict students' mathematics performance on the PACT in third grade when first grade teacher characteristics were considered, and (2) how well students' language and literacy performance on the SCRA in first grade predict students' English language arts performance on the PACT in third grade when first grade teacher characteristics were considered.; This was a quantitative, longitudinal study of a cohort of elementary school children in an urban school district. A cohort of 1,278 students in 126 classrooms was studied for mathematics. A cohort of 1,251 students in 126 classrooms was studied for language and literacy. Analyses included the use of hierarchical linear models to examine the within student and between classroom variance in outcome scores on the PACT. Results indicated that students' performance on the SCRA mathematical thinking and language and literacy domains was a significant predictor of students' later performance on the PACT mathematics and English language arts subscales. First grade teachers' ethnicity, educational level, and years of teaching experience did not have a significant impact on students' performance on the SCRA mathematical thinking and language and literacy domains. |
