The purpose of the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) program is to improve the quality of early learning and development and close the achievement gap for children with high needs. The RTT-ELC grant competition focuses on improving early learning and development for young children by supporting States' efforts to increase the…

This paper discusses early identification of children with developmental handicaps, a subject highlighted recently through the creation of federal and state sponsored Early Periodic Screening Programs (EPSDT). The Minnesota Child Development Inventory (MCDI) provides a systematic means of obtaining parental (usually maternal) information about the…

In order to better establish baseline information on the social, physical, linguistic, and cognitive skills of children entering Maryland kindergartens, the state selected the Work Sampling System (WSS), a component of the Maryland Model for School Readiness, as the early childhood assessment system for evaluating entering kindergartners' skills…

Notes that most special education children are in nonnormative category and that classification of such children as unready for school is based on factors unrelated to education. Argues that children in normative and nonnormative disability categories should be considered ready for regular education and that the readiness concept applied to…

Summarizes recommendations generated in six workshops along several themes, including the need to redefine school readiness; expand the role of schools and teachers; more fully integrate the growing cultural diversity of our population into the learning equation; and develop new readiness assessment instruments. The specific recommendations are…

Describes the development of the Readiness Inventory (RI), a measure of readiness for first grade. The RI was completed on 139 first-grade children and analyzed using a model of Item Response Theory. Findings indicate that behaviors dealing with academic skills are less indicative of readiness than abilities dealing with role-governed behaviors or…

Increased emphasis has been placed on children's ability to enter kindergarten ready to learn, a concept referred to as "school readiness." School readiness has been defined by the Maryland State Department of Education as "the stage of human development that enables a child to engage in, and benefit from, primary learning…

This bimonthly newsletter provides information about the progress of the Honor States Grant Program, a governor-led effort to improve college- and work-ready graduation rates. This issue explores strategies that governors and state policymakers are using to define and assess college and work readiness, Progress of three states in assessment is…

Available resources and indicators of high quality inclusive practices are presented in this compilation. Assembling many different resources in one place allows for easy comparison of potential indicators of quality. Excerpts and adaptations of the resources are intended to provide some familiarity with the content of each resource and encourage…

This comprehensive volume describes evidence-based strategies for supporting English language learners (ELLs) by promoting meaningful communication and language use across the curriculum. Leading experts explain how and why learning is different for ELLs and pinpoint specific best practices for the classroom, illustrated with vivid examples.…

This report summarizes the findings from a study on the impacts of Head Start on children and families during the children's preschool, kindergarten, and 1st grade years. Its study goals were to: (1) Determine the impact of Head Start on children's school readiness, and on parental practices that support children's development; and to (2)…

Students with special needs require unique intervention strategies as they enter infant care and preschool environments. The techniques and materials discussed in this paper are designed especially for the child's unique abilities and disabilities. This paper will also focus on the skills needed for infants who have been identified as requiring…

The primary study objective was to develop a statewide system that made use of information about the pre-kindergarten program in combination with kindergarten reading and social outcome measures in order to inform parents about the ability of early childhood programs to prepare children for formal schooling. In order to carry out this objective,…

The National Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Collaboration Office conducted this small scale study to begin to expand, document and disseminate migrant-specific early learning information and to develop a long-range strategy for addressing/increasing collaboration between MSHS and state Pre-Kindergarten programs serving or having the potential to…

Tribal managers and staff working with Federal grants must be fully knowledgeable of all applicable Federal requirements and skilled in applying these requirements to the daily operation of their programs, whether starting a new program or striving to maintain a quality program which meets the intent of the enacting legislation. It is the…