Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) researchers visited 38 public high schools around the United States in 2007 and 2008 with the goal of validating and operationalizing a definition of college readiness. Schools in the sample were selected because they were demonstrating success at enabling more students from underrepresented groups to…

This study examined the effects of offering Head Start to preschoolers. Head Start is a federal program aimed at boosting the school readiness of low-income children by providing preschool education and health and nutrition services. The study analyzed data on about 4,700 preschool-aged children who applied for enrollment for the 2002-03 program…

"Education Matters" is the monthly newsletter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), an organization dedicated to advancing the American teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection. This issue of the newsletter includes: (1) Who Me? Yes, You Can Use Technology to Individualize…

What higher education state policy issues will be at the forefront of discussion and legislative activity throughout the United States in 2010? Provided herein is the consensus of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) state relations and policy analysis staff, informed by continual scanning of state policy activities,…

Across the United States, policy makers and early childhood experts are focusing on implementing and evaluating a range of interventions designed to improve school readiness for young children living in poverty. This article provides an overview of the various factors that threaten optimal development of young children living in poverty and that…

Relationships between first name desirability and school readiness, IQ, and school achievement were explored using 1,727 elementary school children. School readiness, IQ, and achievement variables showed small, but significant, correlations with first name desirability for girls; boys also showed a first name effect. First name desirability was…

One hundred and fifty-two children were classified by birthdate and sex and compared on their performances on the Gesell Screening Test, the Gesell School Readiness Test (GSRT), and the Stanford Achievement Test. Females scored higher than males on the GSRT but no interations between birthdate and sex were found. (Author/ABB)

In Wake County (North Carolina), kindergarten teachers assess all their entering students with the locally developed Kindergarten Initial Assessment, which includes: (1) an assessment of personal, social, language and literacy, physical, and mathematics skills; (2) an evaluation of print concepts; (3) a visual motor skill index; (4) the…

Discusses the problems associated with defining and measuring progress toward attaining Goal One of the six national education goals set by President Bush and the nation's governors in 1990, which states that "by the year 2000, all children shall start school ready to learn." (BB)

Describes the Sioux Falls (South Dakota) School District's junior-first-grade program, which serves as a transition for children who have reached age six but are not yet ready for the first grade. Characteristics of children who might benefit from such an experience are listed. (WD)

"FACTC Focus" is a publication of Faculty Association of Community and Technical Colleges (FACTC) with the purpose of presenting diverse views on faculty issues. Included in this issue are: (1) Grade Forgiveness: A Good Idea? (Ruth Frickle); (2) Getting Pre-College Students Connected (Phil Venditti); (3) Abbreviations confusion: Are…

The report shares what everyone has learned from the 2010-2011 Maryland Model for School Readiness (MMSR) data about the school readiness of Maryland's children: statewide, by subgroups, and for each of Maryland's 24 local jurisdictions. Some of the highlights are: (1) The percentage of Maryland kindergarteners fully ready to start school…

The Scale-Up Pre-K Mathematics project, was conducted at a customary program-wide level of scale in Head Start and state-funded preschool programs in California and Kentucky/Indiana. The objectives of this randomized field trial were twofold: (1) to determine whether the intervention, the Pre-K Mathematics curriculum, continues to be effective…

The purpose of this study was to develop a test of academic readiness for first grade instruction in Thailand. Test of Academic Readiness (TAR) consists of six domains: verbal, visual, memory, math, logical, and general knowledge. Two pilot studies were carried out and a main study tested items in those domains. Rasch model was used to assess the…

The report examines rates of participation in West Virginia's universal, voluntary prekindergarten (PreK) program from 2002-03 to 2006-07. It describes the share of seats provided by collaborative partners and public school systems and analyzes participation rates by demographic and socioeconomic subgroup and county characteristics. Reported…