The United States has established 8 goals for schools to reach by the year 2000. Ways in which school can prepare for the first goal--"By the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn"--are explored in this booklet. It discusses different aspects of children's readiness and what schools can do to prepare for…

This paper focuses on pre-kindergarten programs, defined by four characteristics: the programs are supported by state funds, focused on early learning for school success or school readiness, aimed at children of pre-kindergarten age (under 5 years, usually 3 to 4 years), and designed to deliver group learning experiences at least several days a…

In operation since 1988, the Michigan School Readiness Program (MSRP) provides high-quality preschool programs for children who may be at risk of becoming educationally disadvantaged and who may have needs for special assistance. This manual provides guidelines for implementing all aspects of the program, including applying for funding, recruiting…

The Texas Education Agency awarded twenty competitive grants to Head Start programs in the state. The focus of the grants was on emergent literacy and pre-reading skills. Teachers, mentors, and administrators underwent intensive training. To investigate whether children emerged from the grant programs ready to enter school reading, an outside…

This document discusses the accuracy of student placement procedures for math and English at the College of the Canyons. A survey was conducted to assess the degree to which students agreed with their placement into their first math or English course at the College of the Canyons. Students were also asked to indicate whether they felt that they…

This brief discusses research showing that high-quality early childhood programs can sharply improve readiness for school, especially for children who are at risk of school failure. The brief describes North Carolina's creation of the "More at Four" pre-kindergarten program and discusses research on important issues and potential…

This document examines the possible impact of a proposed standardization of placement scores for college English throughout the Connecticut Community College system. The 12 Connecticut community colleges use Accuplacer for placement into college English. Each college, however, uses different placement cut-off scores, and has varying structures of…

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort 2000 (ECLS-B) is a study that will assess children's health status and their growth and development in domains that are critical for later school readiness and academic achievement. This paper is one of several that have been prepared in support of ECLS-B design efforts. It is anticipated that…

The purpose of this study is to contribute information in the field of dynamic assessment regarding the Application of Cognitive Functions Scale (ACFS) (C. Lidz and R. Jepsen, 1996). The goal of this new procedure is to help establish a zone of proximal development and to assess the young child's emerging skills necessary for school learning.…

The Kindergarten Readiness Survey (KRS), using data collected by kindergarten teachers across the state, was determined to be an effective way to measure the effect of preschools and childcare settings preparing students to enter the K-12 education system. This approach allows for a more valid evaluation of programs and accurate assessment of…

The No Child Left Behind legislation focuses on the need for accountability in supporting student achievement for all children. The standards movement in the U.S. has articulated key benchmarks for student achievement at each grade level K-12 in academic content areas. Through the "No Child Left Behind" legislation and the "Good Start, Grow Smart"…

Initial findings in a study of school readiness are reported. Three groups of immature middle-class five year-olds matched on cognitive, psychomotor, and affective indices of readiness participated in three types of school programs: (1) delayed admission (2) experimental readiness class (3) traditional kindergarten. Significant differences…

Results of the study indicate that despite the presumably greater opportunity the mother has to observe the child, more valid information in regard to his developmental status is obtained from the child's teacher. (Author)

Two main factors were identified, one an achievement'' factor and the other a language'' factor. (Author)

A comparison was made between the Slosson Intelligence Test and the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities for 44 minority preschoolers. The mean Slosson score was 13.8 points higher than the mean McCarthy score. The correlation between the scores was .81. Effects of inflated Slosson scores for screening purposes are considered. (Author/RD)