[School achievement and neurologic examination: a 7-years' correlation study]

Neurological examination and school performance were analyzed in 146 children from a longitudinal follow up on growth and development at northern metropolitan Santiago, Chile. Their reading and writing abilities and their performance on neuro-maturational tests at the third elementary grade, were compared with academic achievements seven years later and highly significant correspondence was found among these terms. Reading comprehension and simple arithmetic problem solving abilities were the most affected aspects in children that exhibited multiple subtle neurological abnormal signs. Writing and design abilities were also involved up to a certain degree. Intellectual endowment was a determinant factor in this relationship since children above average. I.Q. showed less neurological involvement and better academic qualifications and vice versa. Subjects with many subnormal neuro-maturational signs had relative under-ratings at school examinations, whichsoever their mental level was. Thirty percent of the initial 208 study case were missed in the 7 year time span: Most of them were unable to read and write properly at third elementary school grade, showed evidence of several minor neurological failures and abandoned school in the mean time. By contrast, 96% of the index group could be reexamined. This bias implies that between early learning plus neurological status, at age 9 years and the later academic performance should have been an extremely positive interrelationship for the whole series.