A comparison of the subtests of the Gesell School Readiness Screening Test as predictors of reading achievement

The major purpose of this study was to determine which subtests of the Gesell School Readiness Screening Test are the best predictors of reading achievement. The procedure used was a stepwise multiple regression to determine which subtests were the best predictors of achievement for each reading section of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills. Seventy-two students from four schools were evaluated for this study. Three testing instruments were administered to these students. They were the Gesell test, the Otis-Lennon test, and the reading subtests of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills. The Gesell test consisted of eight subtests: Cubes, Name, Copy Forms, Numbers, Incomplete Man, Interview, Animals, and Interests. The best single predictor subtest was Interview. Four separate regression analyses were computed, one for each of the subtests of the reading section of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills. In each case, the Gesell subtest Interview entered the stepwise regression at step one. After the information for Interview was entered into the regression equation, the remaining seven subtest scores added very little to the prediction. In summary, although there was some predictive ability in the Gesell test, the level of predictability was not strong. Post factum interpretation of the low predictability was presented as were recommendations for Volusia County in the use of the Gesell test for placement of students in the kindergarten-first grade transitional class