Currently, an increasing number of states support school readiness programs, recognizing that high quality early childhood education positively affects all children's success in school and the quality of their future. Recent federal initiatives, including Good Start Grow Smart, the revised guidance for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)…

This brochure provides information to educators about the Alaska Kindergarten Developmental Profile, which is prepared for each child entering school. The profile includes developmental information in the areas of physical well-being and motor development, language and literacy development, personal-social development, thinking and cognitive…

This study examined a 20-item diagnostic assessment designed to assess readiness of preschool children for kindergarten. Examination of student scores on the individual items of the assessment led to the proposal of the extraction of testlets composed of groups of related items to use information about students' scores better. This approach…

This is one the fourth in a series of reports that examine key issues related to family and community connections with schools. These research syntheses are intended to help local school, community, and family leaders obtain useful information derived from rigorous research. In addition to presenting findings from recent research, the synthesis…

Discusses early entrance to kindergarten on the basis of whether a child's success in school can be reasonably predicted. Provides an early entrance procedure. (FL)

Discusses ways to reinvigorate public education to enhance democratic values and civic virtues. Argues that school choice (charter schools, home schooling, and vouchers) fragments the current system of education. Calls for public schools and social institutions to work together to prepare children for school and make schools ready for children.…

Examined academic remediation for students identified at-risk by kindergarten screening instruments. With experimental group (n=84), school counselor participated in assessment and facilitated remediation process throughout school year. With control group (n=100), counselor coordinated assessment procedure, with remediation being classroom teacher…

Surveyed 260 school districts in New York to determine whether they offered pre-first transition classes for children identified as unready for first grade and, if so, what information was used to make placement decision. Fifty-seven percent of districts reported that they had pre-first classes. All reported using teacher recommendations in…

Investigated relationship between temperament and school readiness scores among 152 kindergarten children. All correlations between Temperament Assessment Battery for Children (TABC) scales and Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT) scores were significant when effects of receptive vocabulary were removed. Results showed that, once TABC persistence…

Describes North Carolina's school readiness program, including definition, family and community support, and assessment. Reports findings and recommendations from the North Carolina school readiness assessment, focusing on condition of children and capacity of schools. (PKP)

A follow-up study interviewed Head Start parents and children after their transition to public schools. Interview responses indicated that parents felt Head Start contributed to their children's overall development and readiness for school, helped their children with special needs, and improved parents' own knowledge and skills. (SD)

Teachers who differentiate their instruction begin by developing a broad and thorough understanding of their students, all of whom enter classrooms with varying interests, readiness levels, talents, and knowledge. Gathering this data about students and using it to purposefully implement differentiated practices can be time consuming and…

State and district accountability systems are increasingly including retention in grade for young students who do not demonstrate adequate reading achievement levels. This article examines the research on the effectiveness of retention and other responses, including social promotion, and the growing parental practice of "academic redshirting" of…

This descriptive qualitative study offers insight into how mothers decide to delay kindergarten entry. Analyses of interviews reveal that the fifteen mothers in this study could be classified into two groups. One group based the decision on variables associated with their children, usually something problematic. Mothers in the second based the…

The purpose of this study was to clarify our understanding of the structure of parents' beliefs about kindergarten readiness, and the relationship between those beliefs and parenting practices. Based upon the results of data analyses using the National Household Education Survey (NHES: 93), social-interaction skills were reported as being more…