The introduction to this Special Topic Collection has two parts. To provide background and context for the articles in the collection, Part 1 tells the story of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study program at the National Center for Education Statistics. It offers an abridged history of this program and describes the designs of the two national…

This brief focuses on Head Start children's developmental progress and kindergarten experiences, drawing on data from the 2009 cohort of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES 2009). The focal population is children who entered Head Start for the first time in fall 2009, completed one or two years of the program, and were…

This brief report focusing on children' s kindergarten readiness i s the third in a series of reports describing data from the 2009 cohort of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES 2009). Previous FACES 2009 reports described the characteristics of children and their families and programs as they entered Head Start in fall 2009…

Describes percentages and characteristics of children who enter kindergarten late or repeat kindergarten, as well as their subsequent performance and adjustment in school. Data are from the National Household Education Survey of the National Center for Education Statistics. (Author/SLD)

Examined the prevalence and purposes of testing children who are entering, or are about to enter, kindergarten by type of school (public or private), concentration of low-income children, grade levels taught, and number of children enrolled. Data are from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999. (SLD)

Describes children's gains in two areas during the kindergarten year: overall reading and mathematics knowledge and skills and specific knowledge and skills. Examines differences by child, family, and school characteristics. Data are from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, which will follow these students from kindergarten through fifth…

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K), Kindergarten Class of 1998-99, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, selected a nationally representative sample of kindergartners in the fall of 1998 and is following these children through the end of fifth grade. This report details findings from…

Explored how children's literacy skills and resources at the start of kindergarten relate to their reading and mathematics achievement at the end of kindergarten and the start of first grade. Data are from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (National Center for Education Statistics). Findings show that children…

The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) was first launched in 1997 as a periodic longitudinal study of program performance. Successive nationally representative samples of Head Start children, their families, classrooms, and programs provide descriptive information on the population served; staff qualifications, credentials,…

The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) was first launched in 1997 as a periodic longitudinal study of program performance. Successive nationally representative samples of Head Start children, their families, classrooms, and programs provide descriptive information on the population served; staff qualifications, credentials,…

The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), was first launched in 1997 as a periodic longitudinal study of program performance. Successive nationally representative samples of Head Start children and their families,…

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…

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99, began following a nationally representative sample of approximately 22,000 kindergartners in the fall of 1998. Baseline data about these children, their families, and the kindergarten programs were collected from telephone interviews with the children's parents/guardians and…

Some parents have chosen to delay their children's enrollment in kindergarten by a year because of individual differences in the pace and pattern of children's development. In other situations, some schools recommend delaying a child's school entry based on "readiness" testing or require that some kindergartners attend kindergarten for a…

With the launch of the U.S. Department of Education's Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99, measures of knowledge, skills, health, and behavior of a large and nationally representative sample of American Kindergartners are available. Drawing on data from the study, this report provides a portrait of kindergarten…