Are We Ready to Assess Whether Children Are Ready to Learn?

Assessing the readiness of entering kindergarteners to succeed in school has become an increasingly important concern for policymakers, preschool program staff, parents, elementary school teachers and administrators, and many others. Yet this task, while critically important, is not easy. A myriad of home, community, preschool, and school influences contribute to a child’s development. Furthermore, once in school, a child is profoundly affected by the first experiences there, which set the stage for later success or failure.

Although the National Education Goals Panel identified the core components of readiness over a decade ago, there is still uncertainty over what constitutes readiness and how to measure it. Our paper reviews the concept of readiness and its essential ingredients, considers the current educational and policy context, and addresses the central dilemmas of choosing instrumentation for measuring readiness—namely, what can be known about children's readiness, and how do we choose among available instruments? It also proposes a broader framework for assessing readiness that captures the outcomes of children's vast and varied experiences during the first five years of life.

We have also conducted other studies related to school readiness. To give all children the best chance for school success, we have developed an important concept of readiness and proposed strategies for community monitoring of progress in this area. We are studying the impacts of preschool curricula on a range of indicators of children's school readiness. Because before- and after-school programs for children ages 5 to 13 operate under few guidelines, we have profiled these programs to illustrate their services. We have also explored how to help children participating in family literacy programs make a successful entrance into kindergarten.

To order a hard copy of the readiness paper, please contact Publications, 609-275-2350.

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