The J-K Screening Readiness Test as a Measure of First Grade Learning Difficulties: A Cross-Validation Study

Abstract

The Johnson-Kenney (J-K) Screening Readiness Test was cross-validated on a sample of 52 beginning first grade students. The 10 J-K subtests accounted for 31% of the variance in teachers' year-end ratings of these students on the Myklebust Pupil Rating Scale. Alternatively, five composite J-K factor predictors, based on factor score coefficients from the data of the original sample, accounted for 63% of the variance in this present study's teacher ratings, with all five factors (Spatial Relations, Counting/Auditory Comprehension, Visual-Motor Coordination, Perceiving Relationships, and Color Recognition) contributing significantly to the prediction. This factor analysis also provided evidence for the validity of a multidimensional construct, “first grade readiness.” The present instrument might be improved quantitatively by eliminating some subtests and increasing the number of items in the remaining subtests. However, caution should be exercised in eliminating valuable qualitative behavioral data contained in the quantitatively less predictive subtests. The J-K test does appear to be of practical value in forecasting certain learning difficulties in first graders.