Federal accountability policy mandates that states administer standardized tests beginning in third grade. In turn, third-grade test scores are often viewed as a key indicator in policy and practice. Yet literacy struggles begin well before third grade, as do racial and socioeconomic disparities in children's literacy skills. Kindergarten…

Children should develop literacy skills that progress from learning to read to reading to learn as they move from kindergarten through early elementary. These skills support reading proficiency and build knowledge in all subject areas. Students who struggle with literacy skills as early as kindergarten often continue to read below grade level…

The practice of academic redshirting, or holding children back a year prior to their enrolling in kindergarten, continues to be a controversial practice. Although most studies investigating redshirting have used small statewide samples or older, nationally representative data sets, the current study uses population-level data from one state that…

In recent decades, K-12 school discipline policies and practices have garnered increasing attention among researchers, policymakers, and educators. Disproportionalities in school discipline raise serious questions about educational equity. This study provides a comprehensive review of the extant literature on the contributors to racial, gender,…