READING ATTAINMENT IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF BRIGHTON

Children who are ‘at risk’ of educational handicap, or who are likely to show a poor response to the experience of school require special help and care at the earliest opportunity. In order that the educational system can respond positively to the needs of such children, their early identification is a matter of priority. This may be achieved provided ‘risk’ factors in the child's environment have been established through experiment and that their effects, both singly and in combination, on various educational progress measures have been investigated. The present paper discusses the complex relationships observed between a wide range of conditions, personal and environmental, associated with a large group of children at school entry, and the subsequent educational development of these children three years later on. The analysis locates sub‐groups of children who have made a poor response to school and identifies them using different combinations of school entry factors. The analysis also defines a group of children who are on the whole somewhat above average in ability and attainment, but who nevertheless show a deterioration in their school work owing to emotional or social problems. The implication of these findings for the educational system is briefly discussed.