Early School Readiness
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Headline

Very young children living in poverty are much less likely than are nonpoor children to be able to recognize the letters of the alphabet, count to 20 or higher, write their name, or read or pretend to read. (See Figure 1)

Importance

Children enter school with a wide range of knowledge and skills-physical, social, emotional, linguistic, and cognitive-and there is no exact profile of what a child who is "ready" for school should know and be able to do.¹ Nevertheless, children whose knowledge and skills are far behind those of their new classmates do enter school at a disadvantage. If they are unable to catch up, they face greater challenges throughout their school careers.² For example, one study found that half of the racial gap in achievement scores of high school students was already evident when children first began school.³

This school readiness indicator taps four skills related to early literacy and cognitive development-the ability to recognize letters, count to 20 or higher, write his or her name, and read or pretend to read. It is important to note that, as conceptualized by the National Education Goals Panel, school readiness encompasses much more than cognitive and literacy skills. The Goals Panel elaborated on five dimensions of school readiness: (1) physical well-being and motor development; (2) social and emotional development; (3) approaches to learning; (4) language development; and (5) cognition and general knowledge.⁴ While cognitive development and early literacy are important for children's school readiness and early success in school, other areas of development (i.e., health, social development, enthusiasm) may be of equal or greater importance.⁵

Trends

The percentage of pre-kindergarten 3- to 5-year-old children with three or four cognitive/literacy school readiness skills (the ability to recognize letters, count to 20 or higher, write their names, and read or pretend to read) increased slightly from 1993 to 1999, from 35 to 39 percent. The same pattern of small increases was also seen for each of the individual skills. In 1999, 24 percent of young children were able to recognize all of the letters of the alphabet, 57 percent were able to count to 20 or higher, 51 percent were able to write their name, and 74 percent were able to read or pretend to read. (See Table 1)

Differences by Poverty Status

Three- to five-year old children living in poverty are much less likely to have the three or four cognitive/linguistic school readiness skills than are children living above the poverty threshold. Nineteen percent of young children living below the poverty threshold had three or four skills in 1999. In contrast, 45 percent living above the poverty threshold had three or four skills. Since 1993, the percentages have increased for children above the poverty threshold (from 40 percent to 45 percent) and decreased for children below the poverty threshold (from 23 percent to 19 percent). (See Figure 1)

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Differences by Mother's Education Level

Young children's cognitive/literacy school readiness skills are higher among those with more educated mothers. In 1999, 15 percent of 3- to 5-year-old children (not yet enrolled in kindergarten) whose mothers had not completed high school had three or four skills, compared to 31 percent whose mothers had a high school diploma, 42 percent whose mothers had some college education, 54 percent whose mothers had a college degree, and 57 percent whose mothers had graduate/professional training or degrees. (See Figure 2)

Differences by Age

As expected, the percentage of young children with three or four cognitive/literacy skills increases with age. In 1999, only 20 percent of 3-year-olds had three or four skills, compared to 50 percent of 4-year-olds and 69 percent of 5-year-olds. (See Table 1)

Differences by Race and Ethnicity

Children who are white, non-Hispanic or "other" (which includes mostly Asian children) are more likely to have three or four school readiness skills than are children who are either Hispanic or black, non-Hispanic. In 1999, 25 percent of Hispanic 3- to 5-year-olds, 35 percent of black, non-Hispanic children, 42 percent of white, non-Hispanic children, and 48 percent of "other" children had three or four cognitive/literacy skills. (See Table 1)

Differences by Mother's Home Language

In 1999, 41 percent of young children whose mother's home language was English had three or four cognitive/linguistic school readiness skills, compared to 14 percent whose mother's home language was not English. (See Table 1)

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Related Indicators

Reading Proficiency, Math Proficiency, Science Proficiency

State and Local Estimates

None available

International Estimates

None available

National Goals

Though now outdated, in 1990, the National Education Goals Panel established its first National Education Goal: "By the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn."⁶ To reach this goal, the Goals Panel created three objectives for families and communities: (1) children will have access to high quality preschool programs; (2) every parent will be a child's first teacher; and (3) children will receive the health care, nutrition, and physical activities that they need to arrive at school healthy.⁷ The Goals Panel also recognized that school readiness is about more than just the readiness of children; it also includes the readiness of schools to receive children with different backgrounds and capabilities.⁸

More information available at: http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/negp/

What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence this Indicator

Click here to view examples of programs and interventions that research has evaluated for this indicator. View programs

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Research References

¹Lewit, E. M., & Schuurmann Baker, L. , 1995. "School Readiness." The Future of Children, 5(2), 128-139.
http://www.futureofchildren.org/information2826/information_show.htm?doc_id=71010

²Entwisle, D. R., & Alexander, K. L., 1993. "Entry into School: The Beginning School Transition and Educational Stratification in the United States." Annual Review of Sociology, 19, 401-423.

³Rouse, Cecelia, Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne, and McLanahan, Sara. (2005). "Introducing the Issue." Future of Chlidren 15(1). http://www.futureofchildren.org/pubs-info2825/pubs-info_show.htm?doc_id=255946

⁴National Education Goals Panel, 1995. Reconsidering Children's Early Development and Learning: Toward Common Views and Vocabulary. Washington, DC: National Education Goals Panel.
http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/negp/Reports/child-ea.htm

⁵ See, for example, Huffman, L. C., Mehlinger, S. L., & Kerivan, A. S., 2000. "Risk Factors for Academic and Behavioral Problems at the Beginning of School." In A good beginning: Sending America's Children to School with the Social and Emotional Competence they Need to Succeed (monograph). Bethesda, MD: The Child Mental Health Foundations and Agencies Network.; Child Trends, 2001. School Readiness: Helping Communities Get Children Ready for School and Schools Ready for Children (Research Brief). Washington, DC: http://www.childtrends.org/Files/schoolreadiness.pdf; and Zaslow, M., Calkins, J., & Halle, T. (2000). Background for Community-Level Work on School Readiness: A Review of Definitions, Assessments, and Investment Strategies. Part I: Defining and Assessing School Readiness-Building on the Foundation of NEGP Work. Report prepared for the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Washington, DC: Child Trends. http://www.childtrends.org/files/LIT_REVIEW_DRAFT_7.pdf

⁵National Education Goals Panel, 1997. Special Early Childhood Report, 1997. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. P. 3. http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/negp/Reports/spcl.pdf

⁶Ibid.

⁷National Education Goals Panel, 1998. Ready Schools. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/negp/Reports/readysch.pdf

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Definition

The analyses used parent reports of children's possession of four cognitive and early literacy school readiness skills: (1) recognizes all letters; (2) counts to 20 or higher; (3) writes name; and (4) reads or pretends to read.

Data Source

Chandler, K., Nord, C. W., Lennon, J., & Liu, B. (1999, November). Statistics in Brief: Home Literacy Activities & Signs of Children's Emerging Literacy, 1993 and 1999. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Based on National Household Education Survey, 1993 and 1999 analyses. (Table 2) http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000026

Raw Data Source

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Survey (NHES), "School Readiness Parent Interview," 1993, and "Parent Interview," 1999. http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/getpubcats.asp?sid=004

Approximate Date of Next Update

Unknown

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