This research review summarizes the current research literature regarding Gesell screening. It also explores the controversy over whether developmentally unready children should be held out of kindergarten, retained at the end of the kindergarten year, or placed in pre-kindergarten or pre-first grade classes. A seven-page bibliography on…

Attendance in U.S. preschools has risen substantially in recent decades, but gaps in enrollment between children from advantaged and disadvantaged families remain. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999, we analyze the effect of participation in child care and early education on children's school…

This booklet lists ways that parents; employers; teachers, administrators, and principals; and grandparents, neighbors, and concerned citizens can help America reach the National Educational Goals. First, the booklet summarizes the National Educational Goals in the areas of school readiness; school completion; student achievement and citizenship;…

This videotape, with accompanying discussion guide, addresses issues of young children's learning readiness and the readiness of the school to teach young children. The 50-minute videotape, for use as a stand-alone instruction video in one sitting or as an accompaniment to group discussions or to a self-study program, is geared toward informal…

The purpose of this tool kit is to provide guidance, tools, and resources that will assist communities in building culturally and linguistically competent services, supports, programs, and practices related to young children, their families. By offering services in culturally and linguistically meaningful ways, communities can engage all families…

A large and growing body of research supports the critical relationship between early childhood experiences and successful life-long outcomes. Assessing the readiness of children as they enter school is a high priority. This report describes findings from Year Two of the assessment of school readiness with a larger random sample of children…

Intended to foster communication among parents, teachers and school administrators, this brochure presents lists of questions parents may ask concerning school programs and policies, particularly at the beginning of the school year. Questions are organized by different levels of schooling from pre-kindergarten to high school. Pre-kindergarten…

This pamphlet is designed to serve as a prompt for principals and teachers to help them anticipate questions parents might ask when they send their children to school for the first time or when they enroll their children in a different school. The pamphlet can also serve as a checklist for parents as they become involved with their children's…

Written by members of a consulting team engaged to evaluate a school district's kindergarten program and make recommendations for the future, this report chronicles the district's progress in coming to more fully understand goals and problems related to kindergarten education. Specifically, the report presents the evaluation team's examination of…