In a longitudinal study from kindergarten through grade 6, teachers annually rated the behavior of 1,586 children who were normally distributed on measures of IQ, socioeconomic status, and school achievement. In any single year, from 23% to 31% of the subjects were judged by their teachers as manifesting behavior problems. Long term cumulative prevalence rates were much higher. Among subjects receiving three or more annual ratings, 59% were considered as having a behavior problem by at least one teacher, and 7.4% were considered as having behavior problems by every teacher who rated them. Results indicate that behavior that at least one teacher is willing to classify as a problem is the norm rather than the exception for elementary school children, which raises serious questions about contemporary expectations regarding children's behavior in school.
In a sample of 380 children, self‐esteem as measured by the Coopersmith Self‐Esteem Inventory (SEI) became more stable and more highly correlated with school achievement as the children grew older. Subjects taking the SEI at ages 12 and 15 showed greater test‐retest consistency (r = .64) than did subjects tested at ages 9 and 12 (r = .42). Correlations between SEI and school achievement scores also increased over the age range from 9 to 15. Children's self‐perceptions appear less firmly established, and therefore may be more responsive to intervention, at earlier ages.
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