The requirement that schools in England and Wales assess their students, at age seven, in English and mathematics has created a demand for an assessment of students at their entry to statutory schooling. This paper reports on the development and standardization of a test of mathematical concepts for students aged four and over (four plus) as they…

This report outlines the proceedings of a symposium held to discuss ways of strengthening linkages and transitions between pre-kindergarten programs and early elementary school. The 63 symposium participants included Head Start representatives, elementary school teachers and principals, state and federal department of education employees,…

This book examines the issue of school readiness, focusing on children's readiness for entrance into kindergarten and promotion to first grade. Chapter 1 reviews the literature on school readiness, exploring trends in policy related to readiness and readiness as a child-centered characteristic. Chapter 2 examines various theoretical frameworks for…

This report details the proceedings of a conference hosted by U.S. Surgeon General Antonia Novello. The conference joined 225 parents from all 50 states and more than 700 government officials and representatives from public and private health, education, and social service agencies to search for new ways to advance the health and education of…

This training manual is part of Project STEPS (Sequenced Transition to Education in the Public Schools) and focuses on training participants to develop a community wide transition system. It contains an overview of the STEPS model, a description of the training materials, overhead masters, a guide for trainers in presenting visual and handout…

Smart Start is North Carolina's partnership between state government and local leaders, service providers, and families to better serve children under 6 years and their families with the aim of ensuring that all children are healthy and prepared to succeed as they enter school. This study examined the baseline skills of a representative sample of…

In 1970 the Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that the Los Angeles (California) Unified School District (LAUSD) operated segregated schools and it rendered the original order to integrate the district's schools. The School Readiness Language Development Program (SRDLP) is one of several programs developed in response to the original court order.…

School and community partnerships form the very core of the Mott Foundation, as seen in its founding principles and its varied Civil Society, Flint, and Poverty programs. Although community education has evolved over the years to address increasingly serious problems, the work of today's community organizers is deeply rooted in past theories:…

In this address, Richard W. Riley contends that parents' most important activity is to raise their children. Parents, educators and policymakers can work together to create a healthy and nurturing environment for all children in America. Young children absorb and later imitate adult activities they see, and they observe their parents more than…

The first of six national educational goals, proclaimed by President Bush, to be accomplished by the year 2000 is that all children will start school ready to learn. This booklet examines this goal in terms of what it will take to ensure that all children develop the capacities or readiness to be successful in school. In the introduction, it is…

This paper, which presents preliminary analysis of data from stage one of the Australian Early Childhood study, examined the effects of nonmaternal care in the first year of life on children in their first year of school. The author tested the hypothesis, proposed by John Bowlby and others, that long periods of nonmaternal care in the first 12…

This document defines a framework for strengthening linkages between early childhood and elementary school programs at the local, state, and regional levels. The concept of a continuum of services is central within the framework, in the belief that when service providers link together to provide continuity, the connections they establish provide…

Written to help parents understand what their children need to know before they start kindergarten, this volume, bound separately in English and Spanish, is intended to help parents become their children's best, as well as their first and most important, teachers. The first part of the book, the before school checklist, is divided into eight…

This document describes South Carolina's progress during 1991-92 toward achieving the six National Education Goals, first formulated at a meeting between the U.S. president and the 50 state governors in September, 1989. The goals, which are listed at the beginning of this report, are targeted respectively at: (1) school readiness; (2) school…

A year-long cooperative study examined school readiness and academic achievement of normal and at-risk students. Subjects were 360 Russian and 400 American first-graders. A Russian-developed diagnostic screening instrument was used to identify at-risk individuals. Data were then collected through achievement tests at the beginning and end of the…