This "Instructor's Guide" provides trainers with an outline for the teaching of the School Readiness and Health module. Participants will be introduced to the concept of school readiness and will learn about the importance of health to school readiness. Participants will learn how Child Care Health Advocates (CCHAs) can support best practices for…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a highly structured program would improve the school readiness of disadvantaged preschoolers. Results suggest that curricula should be developed from many diagnostic instruments in both cognitive and social areas. (Author/BY)

Examined construction of different predictive models for readiness for first grade, using data from prekindergarten screening. Found 45.6 percent to 75.9 percent of the children correctly classified. Results indicate that less emphasis should be given to collecting historical screening data and that many social/emotional problems may go undetected…

Evaluated the Screening Test of Academic Readiness (STAR) using a sample of 28 third graders. The third graders' scores on the Peabody Individual Achievement Test were correlated with their total STAR scores from prekindergarten testing. Results showed the STAR is a useful instrument for predicting third grade achievement. (Author/JAC)

Reviews research on the effects of Montessori schooling on children. Results are presented in six sections: (1) general verbal intelligence; (2) perceptual, motor, and performance IQ development; (3) academic achievement and school readiness; (4) attention, concentration, resistance to distraction, and impulsiveness; (5) Piagetian conceptual…

When a number of school readiness tests were used with a group of 322 kindergarten children to predict end of first-grade Metropolitan Achievement Test scores, no evidence of racial bias and only minimal effects of sex bias were found in the predictions based on analysis of variance. (CTM)

The Ss were 63 first graders with reading and school readiness problems. It was found that Ss who received psycholinguistic training did not show significantly more psycholinguistic improvement than did Ss trained using traditional methods. (Author/DLS)

During 1989-90, British Columbia implemented a dual-entry kindergarten program based on developmental readiness. The program failed because developmental readiness was difficult to measure, random entries were the rule, and a compromise solution proved unsatisfactory. Acting out of a principled desire to serve children could not squelch rational,…

Assessed the role of attention processes as mediators between family environment and school readiness, analyzing data from 1,002 children and their families participating in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Found that sustained attention partially accounted for the link between family environment and achievement and language outcomes.…

This article describes the Early Years Summit, meetings between kindergarten and preschool educators in New Canaan, Connecticut, to improve communication and foster collaboration. Outcomes included defining the kindergarten curricula and outlining expectations for children's preschool experiences. The Summit collaboratively drafted a statement of…

Researchers examined relationships among children's television viewing, school readiness, parental employment, and the home environment's educational quality. Thirty low-income parents completed surveys. Their preschoolers completed IQ and school readiness assessments. Television viewing adversely related to school readiness and the home…

Assessed the reading and mathematics abilities of kindergartners and first graders in the fall and spring of the school year. Found that younger first graders made as much progress over the year as older first graders and more than older kindergartners. Findings demonstrated that entrance age was not a good predictor of learning or academic risk.…

Presents overview of a position statement from the National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education endorsed by the NAEYC Governing Board regarding entry and placement in kindergarten. Identifies questionable educational practices resulting from trend toward demanding more of kindergarten children. Lists…

Describes an empirical study that examined the impact of being carried on a parent's back on a child's visual integration pathways. Draws on a previous study (Pretorius et al.) postulating that this cultural behavior could have a negative impact as it prevents the child from crawling adequately or enough during the sensorimotor stage. (Author)

Origins of the criterion of the next environment (CNE) are examined for its continuing applicability to mainstreaming and integration of young disabled children, in light of changes in kindergarten classrooms, commitment to integrated education for all students with disabilities, collaborative partnerships, and instructional support services.…