The Bracken School Readiness Assessment (BSRA) was administered to all kindergarten students enrolled in two rural elementary schools in the fall of 2004. Eight months later, the reading portion of the Metropolitan Readiness Tests, 6th Edition (MRT-6) was administered. Teachers were asked to indicate whether they had concerns about each student's readiness for first grade and whether students had been retained or referred for other assessment(s) or services. The BSRA was found to be a good predictor of children's readiness ratings, as well as their retention or referral for services. It also predicted performance on the MRT-6. This study partially validated the use of the BSRA as a screening measure to predict kindergarten performance and kindergarten teachers' ratings of first grade readiness. C 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The tryout version of the Bracken Basic Concept Scale-Revised (BBCS-R) was administered to 71 kindergarten students in the fall of the school year. Seven months later, the Metropolitan Readiness Test-Sixth Edition (MRT-6) was administered to these same students. The BBCS-R was found to be a good predictor of children's performance on the MRT-6. Further, the BBCS-R School Readiness Composite (SRC), a 10-minute screening instrument, accounted for 45% to 52% of the variance in the MRT-6 scores. The SRC was a better predictor for Black students than it was for White students. For Black students, the SRC explained 45% to 65% of the variance in the MRT-6 scores. This study validated the use of the BBCS-R as a screening measure to predict academic achievement.

This article presents a historical description of and research related to the development, validation, and combined use of the multiple editions of the Bracken Basic Concept Scale and its companion curriculum, the Bracken Concept Development Program. In tandem, the scale and curriculum were designed to assess and teach more than 300 basic language concepts that are fundamental to understanding and describing the world in which young children live. Basic concepts are represented in early childhood educational standards across all 50 states, and this article provides the theoretical and practical basis for understanding conceptual domains, subcategories, and the manner in which psychologists and early childhood educators can effectively assess and teach these concepts. C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.This article provides a brief history of the development of the Bracken Basic Concept Scale (BBCS; Bracken 1984Bracken , 1998aBracken , 2007aBracken , 2007b) and the Bracken Concept Development Program (BCDP; Bracken, 1987), including historical considerations that have influenced their paired development. BBCS and BCDP physical characteristics and technical qualities are reviewed, along with research using the BBCS for preschool readiness assessment and intervention. Finally, assessmentand curriculum-related validation research on both products is explored, emphasizing and illustrating the manner in which the BBCS and BCDP can be used in tandem to maximize assessmentintervention benefits. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVEMore than 30 years ago, before response to intervention (RTI), curriculum-based assessment (CBA), curriculum-based measurement (CBM), and direct assessment were part of the discussion in school psychology, I (the first author) was employed as a staff psychologist providing traditional psychological services in a center serving preschool and primary grade children with emotional disorders. While conducting psychological and educational evaluations on these young students, I became aware that many children I evaluated did not understand the lengthy, concept-laden test directions that were central to the instruments I administered. Often, students performed poorly because they did not understand what they were expected to do-they failed to comprehend test directions that ironically were more difficult in some instances than actual test items. In that era, many early childhood instruments were downward extensions of tests originally intended for older children, adolescents, and adults (e.g., Wechsler Scales), and minimal effort had been made by publishers to modify test directions that worked well for adults and adolescents, but not so well for young children.Researchers since the late-1970s have mirrored my clinical observations and reported that the repertoire of ability and achievement tests available for early childhood assessment have been, Correspondence to: Bruce A. Bracken,

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