A creative-aesthetic approach to school readiness and beginning reading and arithmetic, as formulated by Fortson, was used with 24 kindergarten children. Two control groups included 39 children. Two replications of the study were made, each having two experimental groups. Experimentals scored signifcantly higher on tests of creative thinking,…

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of three language development programs, 98 disadvantaged kindergarten children were grouped by sex, language background (English or English and Spanish), and language instruction (Distar, Peabody, or Standard) and were pretested and posttested on the School Readiness Survey (SRS), the Wepman Auditory…

This study investigated the relative effects of kindergarten experience for boys and girls, based on considerable evidence that there is a developmental difference between the sexes around 5. Emphasis is in the areas of language and readiness skills, which are traditionally not evaluated until the end of kindergarten. Groups of 93 boys and 89…

The purpose of the study was to explore the formation of teachers' expectations of students' academic performance. First-grade teachers were interviewed or asked to respond to questionnaires concerning their pupils, and ranked their students on expected academic performance at three periods in the school year. Teachers rankings of expected…

The longitudinal study assessed the psychological and educational sequelae of premature birth through the early elementary school years, to determine whether children born prematurely constitute a high risk population in terms of regular school progress. Subjects included 78 children with birth weights of 2500 grams or less, 78 children of normal…

The ability of the Screening Test of Academic Readiness to predict academic achievement was assessed through using two samples of beginning kindergarten pupils from two successive years in a large midwest suburban school district. The test proved to be a fairly effective predictor. (Author/JKS)

Discusses two related early education issues: providing public school programs for younger children and serving children who do not do well in kindergarten. Recommends ungraded, child-centered developmental programs for all children from birth to age 9 and prekindergarten summer enrichment programs for children assessed at certain devlopmental…

Responding to Dr. Meisels' article concerning the uses and abuses of the Gesell readiness tests, the Gesell Institute of Child development maintains that the Gesell series of assessments are used by schools to gain a fuller developmental understanding of the child and have been predictive of school success. (BB)

Examined the relationship between early school retention as a result of preschool and kindergarten developmental testing and children's later academic achievement (N=223). Results showed children who scored as immature on the Gesell Screening Test and who were retained a year had the lowest scores on all measures. (JAC)

Describes a study which explored the effects on kindergarten children of a LOGO computer programing experience lasting one month (20 classes). Results indicate a positive effect as seen in greater gains by treatment group in dependent school readiness variables and no significant effect on creativity or self-concept. (MBR)

In the United States, the early care and education (ECE) field has long faced many challenges in attracting and maintaining the skilled and stable workforce it needs. High staff turnover prevails in the field, often fueled by poor compensation as well as limited opportunities for professional development and recognition. At the same time, in an…

What follows in this report is a comprehensive Five-Year Action Plan that, when implemented, will put Baltimore City on the road to making real and measurable gains in the school readiness of its youngest children, from birth to age five. The purpose in developing this plan is to identify the specific strategies and their associated action …

One of a series concerning state policies and practices in child care and early education, this report profiles state-driven comprehensive early childhood initiatives designed to create state and local partnerships that share power and responsibility while promoting local decision-making autonomy in spending resources to improve services for…

Classroom behavior has been shown to be, in some cases, more important than measured ability for predicting young children's academic outcomes. This study examined the relationship between kindergarten children's work-related classroom behaviors and their kindergarten and first-grade achievement. A battery of achievement tests (receptive…

The National Household Education Survey (NHES) is a data collection system of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) designed to address a wide range of education-related issues. It is a telephone survey of the noninstitutionalized civilian population. In 1993, the NHES was designed to cover two topical components: School Readiness…