Entering kindergarten is one form of accelerating one's path through schooling. The unique needs of young learners require policies for early entrance to kindergarten to be flexible, and options for parents to be accessible and equitable across school districts and communities. In this article, the author discusses state policies for early…

Children enter kindergarten with a wide range of previous education experiences: Some have participated in pre-K programs: private, state-funded, or part of Head Start. Others have spent time in a family child care setting or in informal arrangements with family, friends, and neighbors. Regardless, this transition is fraught with stress and…

Two consequentially related education policy topics in the United States are kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs) and the growing number of students who are "English learners" (ELs). In this study, I compared the content of, and home language use policies for six state KEAs, all of which were comprised of items from the GOLD®…

The start of kindergarten signifies the beginning of elementary school and everything that may come with it: a new building, new teachers, new expectations, and a different routine and culture. These new students transition into kindergarten from different settings, bringing with them a variety of assets and experiences. From a holistic…

A growing number of states are interested in tracking the readiness of children entering kindergarten. In 2010, just seven states (Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota, and Vermont) collected Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) data for the purposes of aggregating data at the state level. Since this time, most states report…

The Healthy Schools Campaign (HSC) has worked at the intersection of education and health for the last 15 years, supporting schools, districts, states and national stakeholders as they work to create healthy schools where children can learn and thrive. In the fall of 2017 the Healthy Schools Campaign engaged RESOLVE, a D.C.-based nonprofit…

A state department of education requested information about other states' efforts implementing Kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs). Reviewing experiences from other states implementing KEAs will help inform stakeholder discussions and decision points as they procure a KEA tool; specifically, identifying key data points and reporting; and…

Social competence is seen as a critical aspect of academic and social success; however, the construct is often minimized to a set of social skills or the absence of negative behaviors. The current study aims to broaden the understanding of social competence by incorporating the factors associated with the development of social competence and the…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2016 describes Colorado's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Colorado will implement to address those challenges. Guided by the vision of the Early Childhood Colorado Framework (their vision, goals, and priorities for a…

This paper examines research that can inform policies aimed at building the capacity of early care and education programs to promote parent engagement in linguistically diverse families. The key questions addressed include: 1) What factors affect linguistically diverse families' access to early care and education programs?; 2) What do we know…

This hearing serves as a first in a set of hearings focusing on early learning. In his opening statement, Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, strongly encouraged members of this committee on both sides of the aisle to hold roundtables and have discussions on early learning in their local…

The Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) program, authorized by Congress in 2011, is designed to improve the quality of early learning and development programs for children from birth through age 5. This discretionary grant program is administered jointly by the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2015 describes Colorado's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Colorado will implement to address those challenges. Guided by the vision of the Early Childhood Colorado Framework--the vision, goals, and priorities for a unified…

This fact sheet provides demographic information for the young Dual Language Learner (DLL) population in Colorado, based on Migration Policy Institute (MPI) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) data pooled over the 2011-15 period. DLLs, defined as children ages 8 and under with at least one parent who speaks a language…

The 2020 Census risks undercounting thousands of young Colorado children, depriving communities of federal funding and political representation for the next decade. Children under age 5 are more likely to be missed by the census than any other age group, with children of color, non-English speakers, and kids living in high poverty communities at…