Prediction of school performance using the Miller Assessment for Preschoolers (MAP): a validity study.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of the Miller Assessment for Preschoolers (MAP) to predict academic performance of Israeli preschoolers after a period of 5 to 7 years.


METHODS
Thirty children who were classified according to the MAP as preschoolers at risk (n= 15) and not at risk (n= 15) for pre-academic problems were tracked after 5 to 7 years. Follow-up evaluations were done on motor, visual-motor integrative, and cognitive performance components; reading and handwriting academic performance areas; and a variety of measures taken to establish overall school functional status.


RESULTS
Results indicate that children classified by the MAP as preschoolers at risk performed significantly worse 5 to 7 years later on visual-motor, cognitive, and reading and handwriting tests than those preschoolers classified not at risk and demonstrated reduced overall school functional status.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings indicate that the MAP can predict academic performance even over a 5-year to 7-year interval. Furthermore, by linking academic performance data to performance components of children in different cultures, our investigation contributes to the overall understanding of children's functioning.
Parush
Shula
S
School of Occupational Therapy, Hebrew University, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel. msshulap@pluto.huji.ac.il
Winokur
Monica
M
Goldstand
Sarina
S
Miller
Lucy Jane
LJ
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000592:standards*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011336:Probability; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013334:Students