first grade predicted these cognitive outcomes
in the eleventh grade. We interpreted the reading
volume measures administered in the
eleventh grade as cumulative indicators of variance
in reading volume that had taken place
many years earlier. Thus, we viewed the measures
as in some sense retrospective indicators
tapping the cumulative experiences and habits
of the students some distance in time before
actual assessment. As a result, we were able to
examine how far this retrospective feature could
be stretched.