Kindergarten unreadiness for children in poverty contributes to an early and persistent achievement gap in elementary school that can evolve into an opportunity gap in adulthood. This study explored the effect of the federally funded Preschool Development Grant program on school readiness for marginalized children in Southern Arizona. The…

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®…

This brief, prepared as part of Morrison Institute for Public Policy's Spotlight on Arizona's Kids project, outlines evidence-based services that help reduce or prevent child abuse and neglect, including home visiting, parent education, domestic violence services, and substance abuse treatment.

Despite longstanding attempts to intervene in their early social and academic development, Latino students' traditionally low achievement levels have not improved over time. Many believe success has been impacted by limited preschool participation as fewer than half of eligible Latino preschoolers are enrolled and actively benefitting from…

This study examines the psychometric properties of two assessments of children's approaches to learning: the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) and a 13-item approaches to learning rating scale (AtL) derived from the Arizona Early Learning Standards (AELS). First, we administered questionnaires to 1,145 randomly selected parents/guardians…

Governors recognize that promoting school readiness is a key strategy for preventing school failure and subsequent costs to society in the form of remedial education services, health and social services, criminal justice services, and lost tax revenue. Supporting the readiness of young children at risk for school failure is critical to the…

"School Readiness Indicators: Making Progress for Young Children" was a multi-state initiative that used child well-being indicators to build a change agenda in states and local communities in order to improve school readiness and ensure early school success. The central premise behind this initiative was that top-notch school readiness…

"R&D Alert" covers issues affecting schools in the Western Regional Educational Laboratory's four-state region--Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah--and throughout the United States. This issue focuses on early childhood education. While the importance of early childhood education has long been recognized, traditional ideas of …

Based upon the view that Arizona's future workforce cannot meet competitive demands if children are not ready to learn at school entry, the Arizona School Readiness Task Force examined ways to improve child care and early education. This report presents the task force findings and recommendations to improve learning opportunities. The report…