Ready for Kindergarten? A Review of State Practices

The brief, released in June 2010, reviews current state practices to support children’s school readiness and suggests policy considerations for developing readiness assessments at the state level.

A significant achievement gap exists between low-income children and their more affluent peers at kindergarten entry, according to the brief. Compelled by the body of research identifying achievement gaps in critical areas, including cognitive development, states have developed Early Learning Guidelines to support children’s school readiness. The brief finds that all states have ELGs outlining what children should know by kindergarten entry, but only seven states administer a school readiness assessment to monitor statewide readiness.

The brief concludes by urging states to think beyond academic readiness. They suggest incorporating assessments that consider children’s physical, social and emotional progress into ELGs.

Child Trends, an independent research center, administered the brief as a part of its Early Childhood Highlights series, which summarizes recent research on early childhood.
 

Read the report.