TITLE A Longitudinal Study: The Literacy Development of 57

A longitudinal study examined the relationship between the emergent literacy knowledge of preschool entrants and their subsequent reading performance, 5 years later. Subjects were selected randomly for the preliminary class lists of 6 separate preschools located in a mid-size midwestern city. Within the first 4 weeks of preschool, 8 informal measures were individually administered to 64 subjects. A questionnaire was individually administered to all parents to assess the frequency and type of literacy practices they used with their children. Five years later, 57 subjects were located and their scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills were acquired. Results indicated that (1) virtually all 4-year-olds who entered preschool with advanced knowledge about print or rich literacy experiences became good readers 5 years later, while many of their counterparts who came with restricted knowledge or experiences ended up struggling; (2) about three-fourths of the preschool enrollees with scores in the lowest quartile