Since the passage of "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) in 2001, public schools in the United States have witnessed an influx of reforms intended to elevate students' academic standing in a global economy. The unprecedented federal involvement in education resulting from the passage of NCLB has propelled a nationwide movement to standardize…

This study aimed to test a 5-wave sequential mediation model linking maternal mind-mindedness during infancy to children's school readiness in kindergarten through a serial mediation involving child language and effortful control in toddlerhood and the preschool years. Among a sample of 204 mother-child dyads, we assessed maternal mind-mindedness…

This article describes the contributions of cognitive-scholastic advantage, family support behavior, and school quality and support as processes through which early childhood interventions promote well-being. Evidence in support of these processes is from longitudinal cohort studies of the Child-Parent Centers and other preventive interventions…

The Kindergarten Observation Tool (KOT), an observation-based assessment tool designed for use during the first 30 instructional days of kindergarten, was implemented across New Mexico in fall of 2016 as the states' kindergarten entry assessment (KEA). After KOT administration ended, a survey was developed aimed to understand how New Mexico…

Compelling research shows that attending high-quality, full-day preschool and kindergarten is associated with improved outcomes for students. These outcomes include greater school readiness in a number of areas including language development, higher academic performance in math and reading, and less likelihood of being retained in later elementary…

A state department of education requested information about other states' efforts implementing Kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs). Reviewing experiences from other states implementing KEAs will help inform stakeholder discussions and decision points as they procure a KEA tool; specifically, identifying key data points and reporting; and…

SciMath-DLL is a preschool professional development (PD) model including STEM instructional offerings that aims to improve the quality of instruction for all children, including dual language learners (DLLs). The purpose of the PD model is to create practical and authentic STEM and DLL supports for early childhood educators, who are generally not…

Policymakers have refocused attention on the school readiness of low-income, African American children. Yet, preschools, elementary schools, and families often differ in their beliefs about salient abilities. The degree of alignment among teachers and parents influences how successfully children make the transition to kindergarten. Focusing on one…

Preschool programs have expanded rapidly in low- and middle-income countries, but there are widespread concerns about whether they are of sufficient quality to promote children's learning and development. We conducted a large school-randomized control trial ('Quality Preschool for Ghana' -- QP4G) of a one-year teacher training and coaching…

This study documented how the teacher conducted one-on-one portfolio sharing conferences with the parents to help them understand their children's emergent writing performances. Data included the selection and analysis of children's writing samples, parent-teacher conferences, and teacher interviews. The results indicated that parents'…

A person-oriented approach examined the extent to which patterns of school readiness across social and cognitive domains in 944 typically-developing 54-month-old children forecast academic achievement, social-emotional development, risk taking, and executive functioning at age 15. Prior work identified six distinct profiles of school readiness at…

There is increasing interest in low-cost, scalable approaches that support parent engagement in their children's learning at home. This study examined the impact of one such approach on pre-kindergarteners' literacy development during an academic year in a suburban public school setting that prioritized enrollment for children living in poverty.…

Educational media is ubiquitous in the lives of young children, promising high-quality programming to equip them with vocabulary knowledge and school readiness. To meet the needs of preschool-aged dual-language learners (DLLs), many educational programs are marketed to promote vocabulary learning in two languages. In this study, we use a content…

Research Findings: A growing number of young children encounter group learning environment for the first time when entering preschool at age 3, yet their parents and teachers have no means to discern whether they are ready for this challenge. To address this uncertainty, this study developed and validated the Chinese Preschool Readiness Scale…

There are unique challenges to estimating causal effects of preschool for students with special needs that have not received attention in the literature. We revisit the Head Start Impact Study (HSIS) to illustrate that when and how special needs is defined has implications for the internal validity of and interpretation of special needs subgroup…