Ensure School Readiness by Age Five

Being fully ready for school at age five is a key developmental milestone that gets children off to a good start for academic success. Both foundational academic skills and non-academic skills including physical, social and emotional development influence children’s readiness to master  reading, writing, math and other skills to grade-level proficiency. Research also suggests that controlling for non-academic readiness skills at kindergarten entry may account for much of the achievement gap between African American and white students in reading skills in fifth grade.[1] Early learning opportunities for infants and toddlers as well as high-quality preschool programs help foster the development of children’s cognitive and social skills. The quality of care and learning opportunities that a child receives before kindergarten has a major impact on their readiness for school. Some of the strategies that can be used to ensure school readiness by age five include:

• Ensure Early Learning Experiences in Quality Child Care and Pre-K Programs. The working poor often have to depend on low-quality unlicensed child care providers while parents are working, which may or may not provide any learning opportunities for children. Ensuring a continuum of quality child care and preschool programs gives children from low-income families opportunities for the high-quality early learning experiences that higher income families are able to afford for their children. In 2011, in 35 states and the District of Columbia, a year of child care was more expensive than a year of tuition at one of the state/district’s public colleges.[2] Public preschool and infant-toddler learning programs help to reduce the opportunity gap between low-income and higher income children that results from inequality of access to high-quality early childhood education opportunities. Preschool can raise achievement, resulting in less grade repetition and special education, and increased high school graduation.^[3]Oklahoma introduced universal pre-kindergarten in 1998. Funded by the state government, and implemented by the public school districts, preschool education is available to all four year olds on a voluntary basis regardless of family income. The pre-kindergarten program has high quality standards including comprehensive early learning standards, staff-child ratios of 1:10 or better, at least one meal per school day and screening, referral and support services.[4] Teachers are required to have a college degree and be early childhood certified; they are paid at the same rate as other public school teachers.  Research has shown that children of diverse racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds who participated in the state program showed significant gains in pre-reading, pre-writing, and pre-numeracy skills compared with children who had not yet begun the pre-kindergarten program.[5] Students showed an average 52% gain in the Letter-Word ID test score, a 27% gain in the Spelling test score and a 21% gain in the Applied Problems test score above and beyond the gains that children naturally achieve as they grow a year older.[6]
• Ensure Appropriate Provider Qualifications and Professional Development Opportunities. Qualified providers who have opportunities for continual professional development help promote a high-quality learning environment for children. Research suggests that programs that require teachers to be well-educated and appropriately qualified achieve better educational outcomes.[7] It is important that workers have the core knowledge and competencies specifically related to infants and toddlers as well as professional development opportunities related to addressing the ethnic, racial and linguistic diversity of the families they serve.[8]  The important requirements for professional development for early education teachers vary greatly from state to state. State-funded preschool programs in Georgia require that teachers have a Bachelor’s degree and appropriate certification, and assistant teachers must have a Child Development Associate (CDA); furthermore, all administrative, teaching and support staff are required to participate in annual professional development and training.[9] An evaluation of state-funded preschools found an improvement in the quality of instructional support following an increased emphasis on professional development requirements.[10] Children showed significant growth in all domains of learning, and preschools were also effective in helping Spanish-speaking dual-language learners develop their language skills in both English and Spanish.[11]
• Promote Successful Transitions Into School. Supporting children as they enter kindergarten helps to foster children’s natural eagerness to learn and experience new things.  Unfortunately, the consideration of transitioning into school often begins very shortly prior to school entrance.  To achieve a seamless transition into school, schools should begin to reach out to programs serving younger children. A successful transition into kindergarten is an important factor in children’s reading and math proficiency in later grades.[12] Providing support to ensure a smooth transition into kindergarten is especially critical for children from immigrant families, who may face additional linguistic and cultural challenges at kindergarten entry. Maryland has achieved remarkable gains in school readiness at kindergarten entry through the Model for School Readiness Framework, which provides intensive professional development for early childhood teachers to improve instruction and assessment. The percentage of Maryland kindergarteners who are ‘fully ready’ for school has risen from 49% in 2001 to 83% in 2012, with especially large gains among African Americans, English Language Learners (ELLs), children with disabilities and those from low-income households.[13] Since the initial implementation of the Model for School Readiness, there has been a significant co-occurring rise in reading and math proficiency among Maryland third grade students.[14]