This paper addresses the issues surrounding the widely publicized problem of newborn infants who have been exposed to cocaine before their birth, and suggests ways to prevent the problems associated with fetal exposure to drugs during pregnancy. The paper presents information concerning the effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on infants,…

This document presents findings of a study conducted by the Commission on Educational Excellence for Connecticut, which examined current policies and practices in the state's public education system and recommended changes that would establish and maintain a world-class education system with opportunity available to all students. The Commission…

Research has shown that, when administered properly, kindergarten readiness screening results are associated closely with future school success. The Dallas Preschool Screening Test (DPST) is one of many such instruments used to determine school readiness and predict school success. A study sought to determine the effectiveness of the DPST in…

This is the second of two studies of Ohio's Head Start programs conducted by the Legislative Office of Education (LOEO) of Ohio. The first study described the implementation of Head Start in Ohio. This study looked at the impact of Head Start's education component by examining urban kindergarten students on selected measures of school readiness.…

In recent years, there have been calls in many countries to ensure that children come to school "ready to learn." This study explored what is meant by this term by different groups of people and the ways in which the beliefs underpinning such a term influence decisions such as when children start school, the classes they enter, and…

The Helpful Entry Level Skills Checklist was designed to assist preschool teachers in selecting functional skills that children (including children with disabilities) may need to make a successful transition into the public schools. These skills, for the most part, deal with attending, compliance, ability to follow directions, turn taking, ability…

In January of 1987, a planning conference was convened by the Center for Education Statistics as part of an effort to study the feasibility of various approaches to the nationwide assessment of children's readiness for instruction in kindergarten and first grade. This report provides, in an appendix, the texts of the four commissioned papers…

While a child's eligibility to enter kindergarten is usually based on chronological age, public schools are increasingly concerned about children who appear not ready for a regular kindergarten program. Alternative programs, often termed "developmental" kindergartens, have developed rapidly over the past few years, largely under local school…

This study examines research related to factors which influence achievement at the kindergarten level. It also attempts to increase awareness of kindergarten programs which make a child's first experience in school a positive one. The main portion of this paper consists of an annotated bibliography of 34 references divided into four sections. The…

A consideration of readiness for kindergarten must take into account the kindergarten program and the teacher's expectations of the child. This digest first examines kindergarten teachers' expectations for children's social, behavioral, sensory-motor, cognitive, and language abilities upon entrance to kindergarten. The issue of kindergarten…

The exploratory investigation was guided by four research questions: (1) what are the similarities and differences in the readiness status between rural and urban first graders; (2) what is the relationship between the readiness status and socioeconomic status of rural and urban first graders; (3) what are the similarities and differences in the…

The effects of being six months younger than grade level were studied using seventh through twelfth grade students in Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools. The racial, sexual, and academic characteristics of the accelerated students and the effects of age/grade differences on selected academic areas and social activities were examined using…

This report describes the development and implementation of a kindergarten readiness screening program. Chapter I defines the terms used in the report, discusses the needs assessment that gave rise to the practicum, and presents the terminal and process objectives of the practicum. Chapter II presents reviews of related literature and similar…

Investigated with 737 first grade students and 175 educable mentally retarded children (CA=6 to 18, MA=6 to 7 years) in special classrooms were the differences found in teacher's ratings of their students' mathematical abilities with regard to expectancy bias. Scores on the Peabody Mathematics Readiness Test were compared with ratings given by 34…

A group of 767 children in Finland were studied over their first six years in school to discover what kind of variation there is in school readiness, what kind of development takes place in these variables during the basic school period, what relationship exists between these variables, to what extent heredity explains the differences, how far the…