Abstract
The role of cognitive, perceptual, visual-motor, behavioral, achievement, and demographic factors affecting nonpromotion at kindergarten was examined in a sample of 34 nonpromoted and 34 promoted kindergarten children of a suburban area in Northern California. The major findings of the study, part of a longitudinal follow-up study, indicated that retained students were more likely to be male, of younger age, and of lower socioeconomic status. In addition, retained students had lower IQ and preacademic achievement test scores and demonstrated increased problems in the areas of visual-motor integration, perceptual organization, and behavior. A discriminant analysis indicated that perceptual problems, inattention, age, preacademic reading achievement, and sex were factors that provided the maximum differentiation between retained and promoted students at the end of kindergarten. The findings are suggestive of interventions that may prove beneficial in preparing retained children for entry into first grade.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.