End Of School Year Research Articles

Effects of a School-Based Nutrition Program Diffused Throughout a Large Urban Community on Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors Related to Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

Obesity among US children has increased in recent years. Although increased fruit and vegetable consumption has not been directly linked to obesity prevalence, it has been posited that more fruits and vegetables (FV) could reduce the consumption of high-fat, energy-dense foods and may protect against childhood illnesses including asthma and other respiratory diseases. The purpose of this current research was to assess the impact of a large public school district's hybrid approach to nutrition education programming on attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors related to fruit and vegetable consumption. A total of 12 elementary schools from the Los Angeles Unified School District (9 intervention schools, 3 control schools) were randomly selected to participate in a "hybrid" school-based nutrition education program. Data were collected at baseline (beginning of school year) and postintervention data (end of school year 9 months later). Linear mixed models were developed to assess the impact of the intervention. The intervention resulted in a significant change in teacher influence on students' attitudes toward FV (p < .05) and students' attitudes toward vegetables (p < .01), even after adjusting for gender, grade, and race/ethnicity. Although not statistically significant, there was a slight increase in fruit and vegetable consumption from pretest to posttest for both the intervention and control schools. The hybrid model reflects a more accurate representation of school-based interventions. More research is needed to identify the specific components of this model that are most successful in impacting fruit and vegetable consumption among US children.

A Pilot Study to Enhance Preventive Asthma Care among Urban Adolescents with Asthma

Background. Low-income, minority teens have disproportionately high rates of asthma morbidity and are at high risk for nonadherence to preventive medications. Objective. To assess the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of an innovative school-based asthma program to enhance the delivery of preventive care for 12–15 year olds with persistent asthma. We hypothesized that this intervention would () be feasible and acceptable among this population and () yield reduced asthma morbidity. Design/methods. Subjects/setting: Teens with persistent asthma and a current preventive medication prescription in Rochester, NY. Design: Single group pre-post pilot study during the 2009–2010 school year. Intervention: Teens visited the school nurse daily for 6–8 weeks at the start of the school year to receive directly observed therapy (DOT) of preventive asthma medications; 2–4 weeks following DOT initiation, they received three counseling sessions (one in-home and two via telephone) using motivational interviewing (MI) to explore attitudes about asthma management, build motivation for medication adherence, and support transition to independent preventive medication use. Primary outcome: Number of symptom-free days (SFDs)/2 weeks; outcome data were collected 2 months after baseline and at the end of school year. Results. We enrolled 30 teens; 28 participated in the intervention. All teens initiated a trial of school-based DOT. All in-home MI visits were completed successfully, and 89% completed both follow-up sessions. Teens experienced an overall reduction of symptoms with more SFDs/2 weeks from baseline to 2-month and final (end of school year) assessments (8.71 vs. 10.79 vs. 12.89, respectively, p = .046 and p = .004). Teens also reported fewer days with symptoms, less activity limitation, and less rescue medication use (all p < .05). Exhaled nitric oxide levels decreased (p = .012), suggesting less airway inflammation. At the final assessment, teens reported significantly higher motivation to take their preventive medication every day (p = .043). At the end of the study, 79% of teens stated that they were better at managing asthma on their own, and 93% said they would participate in a similar program again. Conclusions. This pilot study provides preliminary evidence of the feasibility and effectiveness of a novel school-based intervention to promote independence in asthma management and improve asthma outcomes in urban teens.

The Effect of Two Handwriting Approaches, D’Nealian and Sunform, on Kindergartners’ Letter Formations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of two handwriting approaches, D’Nealian and Sunform, on kindergartners’ letter formations. Forty-one participants received D’Nealian handwriting instruction as the control group; 133 kindergartners were instructed in Sunform as the experimental approach. Pre-post tests at the beginning and end of school year asked kindergarten students to write the letters of the alphabet from memory. The letter formations were scored on a 4-point rubric for directionality and integration. The results showed the Sunform group had significantly higher scores on all but three letters of the alphabet. The D’Nealian students had considerably lower scores on missing or extra strokes, distortions and open letters. The findings of this study support the value of using an integrated, meaningful curriculum that appeals to young children and that supports motor development by requiring students to cross the midline to form counter-clockwise circles and diagonal lines. Implications for future research are included.

Does the Body Matter? Effects of Body-Based Learning in Religious Education

Given present-day conditions, pupils today have fewer religious experiences than their classmates of previous generations — and this is a challenge to religious education in public schools. In consequence, many in Germany are opting for a “performative” religious education. The aim of this didactic approach is to offer pupils an encounter with religious practice. It replaces mere knowledge about religion with experience of religion. In this context the pupil’s body becomes an elementary medium of learning. However, the performative approach has not as yet been empirically evaluated. Does it make a difference in religious education? The ELLRU Project researched this question by means of a quasi-experimental design: 624 4th-graders (average age: 9,16 years; denomination: 81% Protestant, 8% Catholic, 11% none) in 31 Bavarian classrooms completed two curricula, one about Moses and one about Martin Luther. Half the children were taught by performative methods and the other half by methods based purely on the imagination. Results were assessed by one pre-test and a post-test after each curriculum; a post-test at the end of school year checked on the sustainability of the two approaches. The results show few differences. They do not suggest that performative learning is a master method in religious education. But they do identify distinct didactic constellations in which performative learning helps pupils to understand religious stories and convictions better.

10.1007/s11174-008-2005-1

A complex study of the functional state of the sympathoadrenal system and adrenal cortex in 10–15-year-old children of both sexes was carried out using the indices of daily excretion of adrenaline, noradrenaline, 17-ketosteroids, and 17-hydroxycorticosteroids. A synchronism in the functional activity of the mediator component of the sympathoadrenal system as well as of the androgenic and glucocorticoid functions of the adrenal cortex was observed with age and during pubertal development of children. At the same time, heterochronic maturation was observed in the sex groups: in girls at the age of 10 and 12 years and in boys at the age of 14–15 years. The changes of different direction and intensity in the excretion of the studied hormones and hormonal metabolites were observed in the sex and age groups. A sharp increase in the daily excretion of glucocorticoid metabolites accompanied by a considerable decrease in the age index of noradrenaline secretion was observed in 14-and 15-year-old boys from beginning to end of school year; in addition, an increase in the daily excretion of sex hormones was observed at the age of 15 years. In girls, these indices varied within the age range, which points to a more sophisticated neuroendocrine control of physiological functions in girls during puberty.

Teachers’ stressors and strains: A longitudinal study of their relationships.

The authors tested the hypothesized unidirectional or bidirectional effects of 5 types of teachers’ work-related stressors on each of the 4 types of psychological strain: somatic complaints, burnout, and intrinsic and extrinsic job dissatisfaction. The authors used structural regression analyses to analyze the responses of a representative sample of 404 high school teachers who had completed both our T1 (beginning of school year) and T2 (end of school year) questionnaires. The authors found support for the expected unidirectional effects of the T1 work-related stressors on the respondents’ T2 somatic complaints (with baseline somatic complaints controlled for), and also for the expected unidirectional effects of T1 intrinsic and extrinsic job dissatisfaction on the T2 values of the five types of stressors (with baseline stressors controlled for). Only partial support was found for the expected bidirectional relationships between the stressors and teachers’ burnout. The authors suggest that the directionality across time of the relationships between stressors and strains may depend on the intrinsic properties of the strain under consideration.

Effectiveness of a School-Based Intervention on Physical Activity for High School Students in Brazil: The Saude na Boa Project

We evaluated the effectiveness of a school-based intervention on the promotion of physical activity among high school students in Brazil: the Saude na Boa project. A school-based, randomized trial was carried out in 2 Brazilian cities: Recife (northeast) and Florianopolis (south). Ten schools in each city were matched by size and location, and randomized into intervention or control groups. The intervention included environmental/organizational changes, physical activity education, and personnel training and engagement. Students age 15 to 24 years were evaluated at baseline and 9 months later (end of school year). Although similar at baseline, after the intervention, the control group reported significantly fewer d/wk accumulating 60 minutes+ moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) in comparison with the intervention group (2.6 versus 3.3, P<.001). The prevalence of inactivity (0 days per week) rose in the control and decreased in the intervention group. The odds ratio for engaging at least once per week in physical activity associated with the intervention was 1.83 (95% CI=1.24-2.71) in the unadjusted analysis and 1.88 (95% CI=1.27-2.79) after controlling for gender. The Saude na Boa intervention was effective at reducing the prevalence of physical inactivity. The possibility of expanding the intervention to other locations should be considered.

The effects of teacher factors on different outcomes: two studies testing the validity of the dynamic model

This paper investigates the extent to which the teacher factors of the dynamic model are associated with achievement in language and mathematics at the end of pre‐primary and at the end of primary education. Stratified sampling was used to select 52 primary and 76 pre‐primary schools in Cyprus. All the students who attended the last year of the school sample were chosen. In each study, student skills in language and mathematics were measured at the beginning and at the end of school year. Quality of teaching was measured by independent observers. Almost all factors were found to be associated with achievement in language and mathematics at both phases of schooling, supporting their generic nature. Two factors (teaching modelling and orientation) were found to be associated with achievement in mathematics and language of primary students only. Differential effects of two factors (application and assessment) upon these two groups of students were identified. Implications for the development of educational e...

Schooling and Looked after Children: Exploring Contexts and Outcomes in Standard Attainment Tests (SATS)

Dolores Davey and Andrew Pithouse outline the findings from a longitudinal case study which ran from 2002 to 2006 and explored the educational achievement of all the young people looked after (in foster and residential care) in one local authority in South Wales. Among this group were 14 young people at a point one year before taking their Standard Attainment Tests (SATS), which are applied universally in UK schools. They were then followed up to the age at which they could complete any General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams. Hence, the young people's school history was tracked from the beginning of school Year 9 (sample age 13 years), at the end of which they took their SATS, through to the end of school Year 11 (sample age 15 years), at which point GCSEs are normally taken. This article focuses mainly on the outcome of the SATS and the looked after arrangements of the 14 young people in the year leading to these important tests. The authors' concluding comments refer briefly to their Year 11 outcomes in order to indicate continuities and changes in attainment. The SATs results are presented in a context of school attendance, the type and stability of care placements and education moves. Associations between schooling and separation are explored using an analysis of trajectories and outcomes that reveal how and why some young people clearly achieve while others do not. In doing so, the article seeks to add to studies and policy pronouncements in this field that too often represent looked after children by their collective statistical failure rather than by notable differences in educational outcomes and related circumstances.

Human sympathoadrenal system and adrenal cortex in prepubertal and pubertal periods

A complex study of the functional state of the sympathoadrenal system and adrenal cortex in 10-15-year-old children of both sexes was carried out using the indices of daily excretion of adrenaline, noradrenaline, 17-ketosteroids, and 17-hydroxycorticosteroids. A synchronism in the functional activity of the mediator component of the sympathoadrenal system as well as of the androgenic and glucocorticoid functions of the adrenal cortex was observed with age and during pubertal development of children. At the same time, heterochronic maturation was observed in the sex groups: in girls at the age of 10 and 12 years and in boys at the age of 14-15 years. The changes of different direction and intensity in the excretion of the studied hormones and hormonal metabolites were observed in the sex and age groups. A sharp increase in the daily excretion of glucocorticoid metabolites accompanied by a considerable decrease in the age index of noradrenaline secretion was observed in 14- and 15-year-old boys from beginning to end of school year; in addition, an increase in the daily excretion of sex hormones was observed at the age of 15 years. In girls, these indices varied within the age range, which points to a more sophisticated neuroendocrine control of physiological functions in girls during puberty.

Outcomes of a Prospective Trial of Student-Athlete Drug Testing: The Student Athlete Testing Using Random Notification (SATURN) Study

Purpose To assess the effects of random drug and alcohol testing (DAT) among high school athletes. Methods This was a 2-year prospective randomized controlled study of a single cohort among five intervention high schools with a DAT policy and six schools with a deferred policy, serially assessed by voluntary, confidential questionnaires. DAT school athletes were at risk for random testing during the full academic year. Positive test results were reported to parents or guardians, with mandatory counseling. Indices of illicit drug use, with and without alcohol use, were assessed at the beginning and end of each school year for the past month and prior year. Potential mediating variables were evaluated. Results Student-athletes from intervention and control schools did not differ in past 1-month use of illicit drug or a combination of drug and alcohol use at any of the four follow-up periods. At the end of the initial school year and after 2 full school years, student-athletes at DAT schools reported less drug use during the past year ( p < .01) compared to athletes at the deferred policy schools. Combining past year drug and alcohol use together, student-athletes at DAT schools reported less use at the second and third follow-up assessments ( p < .05). Paradoxically, DAT athletes across all assessments reported less athletic competence ( p < .001), less belief authorities were opposed to drug use ( p < .01), and indicated greater risk-taking ( p < .05). At the final assessment, DAT athletes believed less in testing benefits ( p < .05) and less that testing was a reason not to use drugs ( p < .01). Conclusions No DAT deterrent effects were evident for past month use during any of four follow-up periods. Prior-year drug use was reduced in two of four follow-up self-reports, and a combination of drug and alcohol use was reduced at two assessments as well. Overall, drug testing was accompanied by an increase in some risk factors for future substance use. More research is needed before DAT is considered an effective deterrent for school-based athletes.

Program ENERGY: Scientists and Students in the Classroom Tackle Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity in Elementary Schools in Three States.

Program ENERGY (PE) is a science/health-inquiry learning enrichment program combining classroom (body science, health, nutrition) and physical activities designed to prevent obesity and type 2 diabetes. Participants are children in grades 2–6 in suburban/rural public schools with high Hispanic or/and low income enrollments. PE was disseminated to more than 800 children in 40 classrooms in 3 states (CO, TX, and WV) in 2005–2006. Effectiveness was evaluated by pre/post-assessments (beginning and end of school year). Results (1) The food knowledge score measured from CATCH questionnaires significantly increased in three different schools by 10%, 25% and 20%. Food knowledge increased in 70%, 84% and 83% of the children; (2) health knowledge, measured by percent of correct answers, increased by 57 ± 6% after 2 years of the intervention and was observed in 100% of the children; (3) physical activity measured by the number of steps/day was 11,021±518 at baseline and rose to 12,657±598 at the end of the school year, an average difference of 1636 steps/day (p

Program ENERGY: Successful dissemination to an isolated high-risk rural location Cortez, CO.

Program ENERGY is a science/health-inquiry learning enrichment classroom program (body science, health, nutrition) designed to prevent obesity and type 2 diabetes. Effectiveness of Program ENERGY-Cortez (PE-C) for 2nd and 3rd graders and their parents in a rural, low-income (54% free or reduced school lunch), high Native American and Hispanic population in Southwestern CO was determined. The principals and classroom educators approved the program after reviewing its objectives and methods. PE-C was delivered by an experienced graduate student and volunteers recruited from the community. Volunteers included both high school and nursing students. In kind donations were provided by several small local businesses, providing materials for teaching aids, rewards and snacks. The intervention school students received the Program ENERGY curriculum including 16 bi-weekly classroom lessons (topic introduction, a hands-on inquiry science activity, and a healthy snack). A comparison school did not receive the program. Effectiveness was evaluated by pre-/post-assessments (beginning and end of school year). Results of pre- and post-tests show statistically significant improvements in the intervention school compared to the comparison school: health and science knowledge, attitudes (e.g. healthy food-selection), behaviors (increased body acceptance), and increased interest in science/health-related careers. These improvements were similar to those observed in the initial implementation in Fort Collins, CO. PE-C is an effective elementary school/family-based intervention with high rates of enrollment/retention, positive evaluations by children/educators that produced significant positive outcomes in health/science knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and increased interest in science- and health-related careers.

Extending the Comprehensive Model of Educational Effectiveness by an Empirical Investigation

The aim of this study was to test the validity of Creemers' model of educational effectiveness in relation to different criteria of measuring effectiveness. It was also examined whether the variables “personality” and “thinking style” could be included in Creemers' model. Achievement in mathematics, Greek language, and affective aims of schooling were measured at the beginning and at the end of school year 2001 – 2002. Data on most of the variables included in Creemers' model were collected through external observations and questionnaires to students, teachers, and headteachers. Most of the variables of the model showed the expected effects, irrespective of the criterion used to measure effectiveness. The inclusion of the variables “personality” and “thinking style” significantly improves the explained percentage of achievement variation in each outcome measure. Implications for the development of both generic and differentiated models of educational effectiveness are drawn.

Cytokines evaluation in nasal lavage of allergic children after Bacillus clausii administration: a pilot study.

Respiratory infections are very frequent in children. Bacillus clausii has been demonstrated to exert some immunomodulatory activities and to be safe. We conducted a study to investigate whether B. clausii administration in allergic children with recurrent respiratory infections might modulate cytokine pattern. Ten children (mean age 4.4 yr) attending the nursery school were enrolled at the end of school year (i.e. in the summer). Bacillus clausii spores (Enterogermina): 2 billion spores per vial) were administered at the dosage schedule of two vials a day for 4 wk. A panel of cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1, IL-3, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, interferon (IFN)-gamma, transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, was measured by immunoassay in the fluid recovered from nasal lavage, performed before and after the treatment. Bacillus clausii treatment induced a significant decrease of IL-4 levels (p < 0.01) and a significant increase of IFN-gamma (p < 0.05), IL-12 (p < 0.001), TGF-beta (p < 0.05), and IL-10 (p < 0.05) levels. Other cytokines were not significantly modified. In conclusion, this study shows that the B. clausii may exert immunomodulating activity by affecting cytokine pattern at nasal level in allergic children with recurrent respiratory infections.

Occupational Therapy Effects on Visual-Motor Skills in Preschool Children

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the assumption that preschool children who receive occupational therapy will demonstrate significant improvement in their visual-motor skills as measured on the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI) and the two supplemental Visual Perception and Motor Coordination tests. Preschool children with developmental delays (n = 12) received occupational therapy a minimum of one individual 30-minute session, and one group 30-minute session per week for 1 school year. Their performance was compared to that of two control groups; preschool students without disabilities who received occupational therapy (n = 16) for one 30-minute group session per week and students without disabilities (n = 15) who received no occupational therapy. The VMI and two supplemental tests were administered three times to each student, at the beginning, middle, and end of school year. Planned comparison tests showed that students with developmental delays demonstrated statistically significant improvement in visual-motor skills and developed skills at a rate faster than expected when compared to typically developing peers on the VMI. The effect size for preschool students without disabilities who received occupational therapy exceeded the effect size for the VMI and Visual Perception supplemental test for the preschool students without disabilities who received no therapy, although, the difference in the post-test performance of these two groups was not statistically significant. The results of this study demonstrate that intervention, including occupational therapy, can effectively improve visual-motor skills in preschool-aged children.

Making connections improving spatial abilities with engineering drawing activities

Spatial thinking is essential for scientific thought; it is used to represent and manipulate information in learning and problem solving (Clements & Battista, 1992). It is also required in many intellectual endeavors such as solving problems in engineering, design, physics and mathematics (Smith, 1964; Pellegrino, Alderton & Shute, 1984). Enhancing students' spatial abilities is one of roles of geometric activities. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics recommends the mathematics curriculum for grade 58 should include study of geometry of one, two, and three dimensions in a variety of situations, so that students can visualize and represent geometric figures with special attention to developing spatial sense (NCTM, 1989). However, such is not case. Current geometry curricula do not provide enough opportunities for development of spatial ability (Usiskin, 1987). Moreover, in many schools geometry is delayed until end of school year (Hoffer & Hoffer, 1992) or eliminated (Porter, 1989).

Power from the Pedestal: The Women's Emergency Committee and the Little Rock School Crisis

IN THE SPRING OF 1957, LITTLE ROCK was, by most accounts, a thriving and progressive southern city. In postwar decade, city's leaders vigorously pursued a plan of economic development, and race relations were considered good and improving.1 In voluntary compliance with Supreme Court's 1954 Brown decision, Little Rock School District officials developed a desegregation plan, and an NAACP representative referred to Little Rock as the bright spot of South in terms of school desegregation.2 Thus, as first day of school approached in 1957, no one anticipated that Little Rock would become an international symbol of racism and massive resistance. On September 2, 1957, just hours before start of new school year, Arkansas governor Orval Faubus ordered National Guard to surround Central High School to prevent integration. For three weeks, Faubus defied a federal court order to proceed with integration, and President Eisenhower ultimately had to send troops from 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock to ensure that nine black students would be allowed to attend school. The paratroopers occupied high school for several months, and federalized National Guardsmen remained in halls of Central High School for entire school year. The end of school year, however, provided little relief for city. While school officials worked to delay integration, Faubus traveled state, campaigning for reelection as an ardent segregationist. Emboldened by his Democratic primary victory in late July, Faubus called a special session of legislature, which granted him power to close schools that fall to prevent integration. On Friday, September 12, 1958, United States Supreme Court ordered Little Rock School District to proceed with integration. In response, Governor Faubus immediately closed all of city's public high schools. As governor signed this school closing legislation, three white women gathered in an antebellum mansion just a few blocks from state capitol. There, beneath portrait of her father in Confederate uniform, Adolphine Terry sat with Vivion Brewer and Velma Powell, laying groundwork for first effective opposition to city's segregationists. Four days later, they founded Women's Emergency Committee to Open Our Schools (WEC). In ensuing months, women of WEC publicly challenged segregationists at every turn, and their actions were instrumental in defeat of extremists and reopening of city schools. Although WEC was first organized white opposition to city's segregationists and was central to resolution of school crisis, no study of organization exists. Few accounts have even mentioned WEC, in part because much of secondary material on Little Rock experience is contained in larger works on school desegregation or civil rights.3 Within such broad surveys, Little Rock is treated as merely one episode in a continuing saga of resistance. Moreover, even in literature devoted specifically to Little Rock, most studies focus on first year of crisis (1957-1958), when federal troops occupied Central High and dramatic conflict between Governor Faubus and President Eisenhower tested power of federal government to enforce Supreme Court's decision.4 Only a few authors have studied second year of crisis, when power struggles were local and WEC occupied center stage. In The Little Rock Recall Election, Henry Alexander examined climactic event in city's school crisis and provided first scholarly reference to WEC in his discussion of organization's role in 1959 recall campaign.5 However, his study provides little information about membership of WEC or its development prior to election. In Taken By Surprise, Elizabeth Jacoway provides an important introduction to social origins of WEC, but her focus is on failure of Little Rock's civic leadership during crisis, and she therefore does not provide a full discussion of WEC's activities. …

The Poets-in-the-Schools Program: Implications for the Training of Teachers of English

IN ITS 1977 SUPPLEMENT to Directory of American Poets and Writers, Poets and Writers Incorporated lists 1500 contemporary poets and 800 contemporary fiction writers engaged in serious writing and publication in United States. These numbers themselves are not significant, but what is important is that of these 2300 poets and writers, a sizeable number choose to work in Artist-in-Schools Program sponsored by National Endowment for Arts. By end of 1975 school year, more than 5000 schools, 46,000 teachers, and 1,200,000 students had participated in program, and over 2000 poets, dancers, musicians, painters, and other artists had performed and taught in school classrooms. By end of school year just past, all these numbers will have nearly doubled. (For summative information see Artists-in-Schools Application Guidelines: Education Program, Fiscal Year 1978, published by National Endowment for Arts.) One part of this enterprise, Poets-in-the-Schools Program, has after nine years firmly established itself. It is no longer viewed as a pilot program, and some schools have incorporated it into school year as a central focus for study of arts. The most evident effects of Poets-in-the-Schools Program are apparent in participating students. Student attitudes toward poets and poetry change. Students begin writing their own poems, and reading them aloud. The workshop classes usually compile small anthologies of their work and spread the word to school and community. A recent study conducted by National Endowment documents these generally good impressions concerning effect of poetry workshops on students. Ninety-three percent of participating teachers believed that workshop fostered creativity among students. The teachers also felt that self-identity and confidence among students grew as a result of workshop. Also, it is widely acknowledged that students who are slow learners, or for some reason

The Rutgers Drawing Test as a Midyear Kindergarten Predictor of End-of-Kindergarten Readiness for First Grade

For a sample of 297 Kindergarten children predominantly of Anglo descent, the Rutgers Drawing Test (RDT) given in late January (midyear) was shown to correlate .64 with total scores of the Metropolitan Readiness Tests (MRT), Form A, and .26 to .66 with scores on its subtests administered in late May (end of school year). It would appear that the RDT was a valid midyear predictor of readiness for the first grade as measured by the MRT at the end of the Kindergarten year.