Maternal Variables as Predictors of Children's School Readiness and Later Achievement in Vocabulary and Mathematics in Sixth Grade

This longitudinal study examined the stability of an often-reported association between maternal behavior and preschool children's cognitive abilities by using both school readiness (assessed at ages 5 and 6) and achievement on the mathematics and vocabulary subtests of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) at grade 6 as outcome measures. 67 mothers and their children participated in the preschool phase of the study; 47 were included in the follow-up. Maternal measures taken during preschool years (expectations for child's achievement, performance on a referential communication task, strategies for controlling the child's behavior, affective tone of mother-child interaction) predicted at significant levels both school readiness and performance at grade 6. The association was stronger with school readiness than with ITBS scores. Much of the variance on the ITBS was explained by performance on measures of school readiness, although the affective tone of the mother-child interaction during the preschool years added significantly to prediction of ITBS scores. The mother's influence on children's achievement in school appears to be most effective during preschool years.