Noting that many American children enter elementary school without a critical foundation of informal mathematical knowledge, this study examined the impact of a prekindergarten mathematics curriculum grounded in research on early mathematical cognition. A project-developed instrument, the Child Math Assessment, was used on a pre-post basis to…

Educators commonly recommend that children born during the summer months, especially boys, be given an extra year to mature before entering kindergarten so that they will not suffer from the academic disadvantages of being among the youngest children in a class. Terms such as "academic red-shirting" and "graying of the…

The Beery-Butkenica Developmental Test and the Caldwell Test were the best predictors. Combining the academic performance with visual-motor integration results at age seven years yielded 89 percent accuracy of prediction at age nine years. The false-positive rate represents the problem of mislabeling children as school failures. (Author)

Describes a comprehensive program developed on the basis that children can succeed academically when given appropriate resources and support early in life. Describes the philosophy and major elements of the program and reviews major findings from cross-site and longitudinal evaluations. Highlights recent research on factors regarding program…

Under the Smart Start program, 19 of North Carolina's Appalachian counties have qualified for competitive state funding to improve community services to young children and their families. Programs tailored to local needs provide subsidized child care to children of working parents, preventive health screenings, literacy and high school equivalency…

Presents an annotated bibliography of recent ERIC documents on the effectiveness of screening and standardized testing at the early childhood level of education. (Author/BB)

The Santa Clara (CA) transition project is a collaborative effort between the county's Head Start program and a San Jose school district. The program provides teacher training, transition activities, developmentally appropriate practices, comprehensive family services, and parent involvement opportunities. During 1994-95, the project is working…

Examined the prevalence of holding age-eligible children out of kindergarten in a single northern California county, and the changes in the phenomenon over time. Found a significant decline in the frequency of holding out for both boys and girls, but that boys are held out more often than girls and that holding out is positively associated with…

Examined linkages between the family and school social systems as children make the transition to school. Recorded parent-child interactions in a physical play session prior to children's entrance into school. Found that the length of time in physical play was related to social adjustment in school. (MM)

Investigated the adequacy of the Gesell School Readiness Screening Test (GSRST) to gauge 46 kindergartners' readiness. Found agreement between GSRST and teacher assessments of student readiness. Test-retest and interrater reliability were below acceptable levels, and lower than figures yielded by a quantitative scoring method. Concluded that GSRST…

New data from SAT scores, the Second International Assessment of Educational Progress, and other sources show that American public education compares favorably with that of other advanced nations, despite mass media hysteria. Performance levels on academic indicators may reflect demographic factors more strongly than educational system quality.…

Several Maryland schools are experimenting with Roots and Wings, a collaborative project of Saint Mary's County Schools, the state education department, and Johns Hopkins University. Funded by the New American Schools Development Corporation, the pilot project's goals are to guarantee every child's successful completion of elementary school and to…

Describes an all-day, everyday kindergarten program in Minnesota. Offers opinions of parents and teachers, who express both support and opposition for the program. Discusses benefits relating to preparation for grades one, two, and three. Advises other school districts to institute all-day, everyday kindergarten programs. (SH)

Used ethnographic research on former Head Start children during their transition to school to examine how notions of their "risk" or "promise" as students were constructed through specific discourses and practices in kindergarten classrooms. Found many examples of positive interactions between students and teachers but also…