The early elementary teacher must find a reasonable solution to the question of how to best meet the needs of incoming 5-year-olds. This study reviews recent research on the academic and emotional needs of young students and on existing programs dealing with school readiness. Brief annotations are presented for 54 research articles. These articles…

Summarizes school readiness and retention research issues, including youngest first graders' performance, entrance age policies, voluntary decisions to wait an extra year, assessment of children's readiness, and the negative effects of kindergarten and first-grade retention. Concludes that age disadvantages are seldom serious and usually disappear…

This information packet contains nine articles that outline current trends in kindergarten retention/exclusion and their negative impact on student outcomes, particularly for high risk students. The 1980s saw increasing numbers of children required to repeat kindergarten, attend a transitional grade before first grade, or wait an extra year before…

The practice of delaying students' entrance into kindergarten raises several questions. This literature review asks: (1) How does the entrance age of kindergarten children affect academic achievement?; (2) Do age-eligible older students perform better academically than younger students?; (3) Do year-older or "red-shirted" students have…

This article analyzes why schools fail to provide for early admission of intellectually advanced children. Reasons cited include misinterpretation of research findings, bias of school personnel, expense of screening, convenience of administering a uniform entrance age procedure, etc. Benefits accruing from early admission are discussed. (JDD)

The purpose of this paper is to review and summarize empirical evidence on the effects of different kinds of scheduling on kindergarten children. A search was made for all research conducted within the last 10 years that directly compared kindergarten children in different programs on academic readiness for first grade and on socioemotional…

Raising the age of eligibility to enter kindergarten has not eliminated variations in children's readiness for school, and parents and teachers have used delayed entry and retention as strategies to accommodate these variations. Information from the 1993 and 1995 National Household Education Survey is used to describe the numbers and…

This paper addresses the transition of young children from preschool programs that provide special education services to kindergarten or alternative elementary school placements. The roles of the child, family, and service providers in transition preparation, planning, implementation, and evaluation are described. Components of successful…

Extra-year school readiness programs, which serve as "developmental kindergartens" or "junior first grades," are well-intentioned transition programs between kindergarten and first grade that are intended to serve children judged to be at risk for early school failure. Despite their good intentions, these programs are…

This study examines research related to factors which influence achievement at the kindergarten level. It also attempts to increase awareness of kindergarten programs which make a child's first experience in school a positive one. The main portion of this paper consists of an annotated bibliography of 34 references divided into four sections. The…

Recent emphases on school readiness and standardized testing have resulted in educational practices with negative consequences for children. These practices include a higher school entry age, grade retention, transition programs, and the practice of enrolling children in kindergarten when they are six, rather than five, years old. (BC)

Describes nature of first-grade transition and studies investigating how children's schooling proceeds over this period. Highlights study using Beginning School Study data to examine effects of full-day rather than half-day kindergarten, living in different family arrangements, and other circumstances such as Head Start participation. Found that…

The purpose of this paper, one of several background reports for a comprehensive policy study of early childhood education, is to identify current issues regarding the kindergarten curriculum, particularly in relation to the trends surrounding the shift from a developmental curriculum to a more academic-based curriculum. The single major issue…

This paper (1) presents a critical analysis of the literature on school readiness and school failure; (2) discusses the problems that ill conceived policies based upon readiness studies present to the education of learning disabled, regular class, and gifted children; and (3) offers guidelines for policies and programs. Methodological issues…

This paper, one of several written for a comprehensive policy study of early childhood education in Illinois, examines and summarizes the literature on the problems of young children in adjusting to starting school full-time and describes the nature and extent of their difficulties in relation to statewide educational policy. The review of studies…