An effective transition to school occurs when children and families feel a sense of belonging in their new school community, and when this is also recognised by teachers and educators. While various definitions of effective transitions to school exist, this definition provides an especially useful starting point for improving practice. This…

Research Findings: The aim of the current study was to examine the extent to which the effects of preschool classroom quality on children's mathematics is moderated by executive functioning (EF) during the preschool year. The study sample included 102 children (M age = 53.57 months [SD = 5.42]; 49% male) and one of their parents recruited from 26…

All families have values and beliefs that guide them in their parenting journey. As an important adult in a child's life, and an influencer of a generation of compassionate people, a parent can have a positive impact on society as a whole. This booklet supports a vision of communities where children feel nurtured, safe, connected to their culture,…

Every year, children enter PreK and kindergarten with varied early education experiences, and the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the problem. The need to respond to students' changing situations gives school districts and states an opportunity to reconsider how they are helping children and their families make the transition into kindergarten.…

This study examines growth in language and math skills during the summer before kindergarten; considers variation by family income, race/ethnicity, and dual language learner status; and tests whether summer center-based care sustains preschool gains. Growth in skills slowed during summer for all children, but the patterns varied by domain and…

The project used a mixed quantitative and qualitative pretest-posttest design to determine the impact of consultation and collaboration of occupational therapy services in a faith-based preschool. Preschool teachers were educated on the importance of motor skill development in preschool students, as well as how to create motor skill opportunities…

The Letter-Sound Short Forms (LSSFs) were designed to meet criteria for effective progress monitoring tools by exhibiting strong psychometrics, offering multiple equivalent forms, and being brief and easy to administer and score. The present study expands available psychometric information for the LSSFs by providing an initial examination of their…

The 'school-readiness' agenda is becoming increasingly dominant in recent policy discourse, and this article explores how the Bold Beginnings report builds on this agenda. By focusing on the curricular gap between the end of Reception and Year 1, and on the importance of mathematical and literacy outcomes, it is argued that Bold Beginnings clearly…

The purpose of this project was to understand the association between age at kindergarten entry and social-emotional competence across grade levels, including kindergarten, grade 3, and grade 5. While the research indicates that there can be an initial academic advantage for the delayed entrant before grade 3, there is far less research that has…

This case study shows how data systems can be combined to identify educational risk factors and then develop and implement solutions for addressing them. It shares a detailed account of strategies -- made possible through data systems developed by the Poverty Center -- that various stakeholders utilized to protect children in Cleveland from lead…

Policymakers and educators need to reimagine the American school experience in order to better improve student achievement. What's more, nearly half of all first-year college students require remediation in English, costing taxpayers roughly $1.3 billion. There are promising practices and research that rethink the school experience in order to…

This Research-to-Policy Resource List provides resources in the "Research Connections" library on statewide KEAs [Kindergarten entry assessments]. It does not address local KEA efforts or broader issues related to child assessment more generally. The first section presents publications that discuss issues surrounding the development and…

For this brief, the authors analyzed a cohort of children referred to Baltimore's Infants and Toddlers program (BITP), for kindergarten readiness. Usually, pediatricians, parents, or early education staff refer a child to BITP upon observing a delay in development or speech and language skills. Thereafter, BITP staff assesses the child to…

A disconnect exists between definitions of school readiness used in research and early childhood education (ECE). While researchers often discuss school readiness as a single, multidimensional construct, the majority of studies operationalize it using multiple measures rather than as one outcome. In comparison, in ECE settings a single measurement…

Most of what is known about the association between children's executive function (EF) and school readiness skills is derived from research conducted in Western countries. We tested whether these associations were evident in a middle-income country context. Participants were 1,480 children, aged 4-7 years old, who participated in an endline…