CLASSIFICATION OF RISK STATUS IN KINDERGARTEN SCREENING - A COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVE MEASURES

This study examined the classification agreement associated with estim ates of risk status across alternative measures for 92 kindergarten ch ildren and their caregivers. The study focused on the child variable o f educational risk as measured by two instruments: Developmental Indic ators for the Assessment of Learning-Revised (DIAL-R) and Early Screen ing Profiles (ESP). Family risk was measured by the Parenting Stress I ndex (PSI). Overall, the classification agreement between the measures designed to assess educational risk was moderate, but higher than pas t similar studies with preschool children. In contrast, the classifica tion agreement between the measures of educational and family risk was low. The practice of kindergarten screening may need to be expanded t o allow for the assessment of other critical variables, such as family risk.