School Readiness

Organization Position Statements

NAEYC Position Statements:

• School Readiness (1995) .pdf ||.html
   Where We Stand Summary .pdf

• Developmentally Appropriate Practice In Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth Through Age 8 (1997) .pdf || .html

• Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment and Program Evaluation .pdf
   Where We Stand Summary .pdf

• Early Learning Standards .pdf || .html
   Where We Stand Summary .pdf

Other Position Statements

• Still Unacceptable Trends in Kindergarten Entry and Placement: (National Association of Early Childhood Specialists in State Departments of Education) .pdf || .html

• AERA Position Statement Concerning High-Stakes Testing in PreK-12 Education (AERA, 2000): http://www.aera.net/about/policy/stakes.htm

• Assessing Development and Learning in Young Children: A Position Statement of the Southern Early Childhood Association (1999):http://www.southernearlychildhood.org/position_assessment.html

• Principles and Recommendations for Early Childhood Assessments developed by the NEGP Early Childhood Assessments Resource Group: http://www.negp.gov/reports/prinrec.pdf

Resources and Reports

Readiness for School: A Survey of State Policies and Definitions (Early Childhood Research & Practice, Fall 2000, vol. 2, number 2, by Gitanjali Saluja, Catherine Scott-Little, Richard M. Clifford) This paper provides data on what states are doing with regard to defining and assessing the condition of children as they enter school, often referred to as readiness for school. Early childhood state representatives in each of the 50 states were contacted and interviewed regarding their state's policies on children's readiness for kindergarten. Results indicate that as of January 2000: (1) age was the criterion most often used to determine eligibility for kindergarten, (2) no state had an official statewide definition of school readiness, (3) several states were studying the issue of school readiness, and (4) local school districts were often making decisions about how children should be assessed and how data on children should be used. Further research is needed to track changes in state policies over time. http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v2n2/saluja.html

SERVE, a regional education lab, provides information and assistance on a variety of projects, including early childhood. As part of this effort, SERVE convened the Institute on School Readiness Assessment Systems: Making Them Work for All Children (October 2001) To read notes from the 2-day session, go to http://www.serve.org/Syc/policy.htm

Examples of State Efforts

Seventeen states are participating in the project, School Readiness Indicators: Making Progress for Young Children, led by Rhode Island KIDS COUNT through grants from the David and Lucile Packard, the Ewing Marion Kaufman and the Ford Foundations. NAEYC is a national partner in this project. The states in this initiative will develop child well-being indicators to build a change agenda in states and local communities in order to improve school readiness and ensure early school success. The task of participating states will be to develop a set of child outcome and systems indicators for children from birth through the fourth-grade reading test, an important red flag for children most at-risk for poor long-term outcomes, such as dropping out of school, teen pregnancy, and juvenile crime. http://www.gettingready.org

Maryland: The Maryland Model for School Readiness (MMSR) is an assessment and instructional system designed to provide parents, teachers, and early childhood providers with a common understanding of what children know and are able to do upon entering school. It provides a common goal and language of how parents, teachers, and providers can support young children's learning. MMSR incorporates research-based instruction, age-appropriate assessment of children's learning, and effective communication among teachers, parents, and early childhood providers. Teachers and providers receive on-going staff development to implement these practices. http://www.mdk12.org/instruction/ensure/readiness/index.html

North Carolina: The North Carolina School Readiness Assessment will provide a general description of the condition of children as they enter school and the capacity of schools to educate kindergartners. This "snapshot" will help the early childhood community, in the broadest sense, understand its effectiveness. The assessment will also help the State Board of Education identify strengths and needs in schools' abilities to educate kindergartners effectively.

Head Start

All Head Start programs must adhere to Program Performance Standards that define the services that Head Start Programs are to provide to the children and families they serve. They constitute the expectations and requirements that Head Start grantees must meet. They are designed to ensure that the Head Start goals and objectives are implemented successfully, that the Head Start philosophy continues to thrive, and that all grantee and delegate agencies maintain the highest possible quality in the provision of Head Start services. For more information please Head Start Information and Publication Center at http://www.headstartinfo.org