The present study examined the early profiles of students who were screened for learning difficulties with search (Silver & Hagin, 1981), an early identification measure, and were found to be adequate or inadequate readers at the end of second grade. In order to gain insight into the problem of inaccurate classifications of atrisk status at kindergarten, this study investigated students' performance on cognitive measures and behavior problems, as well as socioeconomic background and teacher predictions of learning difficulties. Our results indicated that search tends to underidentify as not at risk some children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and to over-identify as at risk children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Information from classroom teachers and individually administered assessment tools is necessary and useful in the process of identifying those young children who are truly at risk and in need of early intervention services.
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