Early teacher perceptions and later student academic achievement

The researchers explore relationships between preschool teachers' appraisals of intelligence, concurrent child characteristics, and future high school performance in a core sample of 110 4-year-olds. Children with higher socioeconomic status (SES) and those perceived as assertive and independent were judged by teachers more positively than IQ score predicted; conversely, low SES and perceived immaturity were associated with more negative teacher judgments than IQ score predicted. After controlling for SES, preschool teachers' over- and underestimates of intelligence relative to IQ score significantly predicted grade point average (GPA) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) test-taking 14 years later. The relationship between teacher ratings and GPA was strongest for children whose ability was underestimated. Teacher predictions were weakest in homes rated by observers as more orderly or with mothers who were more career or community active. Prescient versus influential interpretations of these findings are discussed.