Predicting First-Grade Achievement from Pre-Kindergarten WPPSI-R Scores

WPPSI-R scores from 50 middle- and upper-middle-class children, obtained 3 to 8 months prior to enrolling in kindergarten in an independent school, were used to predict achievement in Listening, Reading, Math, and Word Analysis 2 years later, at the end of first grade. Simple correlations between these achievement areas and both VIQ and FSIQ are highly significant, while correlations that involve PIQ are nonsignificant. Multiple regression analysis further revealed that, after VIQ no additional variance in any of the achievement areas was accounted for by PIQ.