The majority of children from lower income families enter elementary school well behind their peers in reading, math, and general knowledge. Poor academic achievement in the early grades is associated with a range of social problems such as failure to complete high school, increased risk of unintended pregnancy, increased criminal activity, and…

Early childhood education can level the academic playing field for Latino children entering school by supporting what parents are doing at home to teach their children the skills necessary to succeed. Yet, only 20% of Latino children under the age of 5 are enrolled in preschool. Many Latinos don't understand why early childhood education is…

This article identifies similarities and differences between Head Start parents of European American and Puerto Rican backgrounds regarding their socialization goals and expectations concerning the early educational experiences of their pre-school children. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 60 parents (30 European American and 30…

This article documents the challenges that young children face as they move from kindergarten to first grade and the important role that elementary school counselors can play in working with students, parents/caregivers, and teachers during this critical period of development. Research- and practitioner-based recommendations for effective…

Recent research provides evidence of the strong connections between quality of play in preschool years and children's readiness for school instruction. Mature play, characterized by imaginary situations, multiple roles, clearly defined rules, flexible themes, language development, length of play, helps students' cognitive development. (Contains 12…

Reports results of Dutch study of presuppositions about teachers' diagnostic skills in determining school readiness. Lists a sequence of 5 different levels of functions and behaviors of 13 cognitive functions used in the study. Concludes that teachers accurately judged the cognitive levels of children who were shown less school ready by an…

This paper is the result of collaboration among early childhood education researchers from different cultures on opposite sides of the globe. The project sought to identify what practitioners in both preschool and primary school settings in Iceland and Australia regarded as successful transition to school practices. Independently developed surveys…

Supports articles in this "Educational Leadership" issue by Robert Salzer and by Lorrie A. Shepard and Mary Lee Smith concerning overtesting for developmental maturity and school readiness. Underlines differences between screening and readiness tests and sets out criteria for selection and usage--to determine appropriate services for young…

Several large-scale research efforts imply that improving instructional quality rather than assessing student readiness is a better way to promote student performance in the early grades. (Contains 12 references.) (Author/MLF)

The present study identified higher order relationships among teacher assessments of approaches to learning and emotional and behavioral adjustment constructs for low-income urban preschool children. It examined the unique contribution of these dimensions to cognitive and social competencies and risk of poor academic outcomes. Analyses of a large…

Summarizes school readiness and retention research issues, including youngest first graders' performance, entrance age policies, voluntary decisions to wait an extra year, assessment of children's readiness, and the negative effects of kindergarten and first-grade retention. Concludes that age disadvantages are seldom serious and usually disappear…

Minimum language skills for kindergarten success are described and defined as "school readiness language." A school-readiness-language checklist gives a procedure for documenting a child's level of language skill. Specific techniques are presented to remedy documented gaps within the context of the kindergarten classroom. (Author)

Presents findings on academic success of early entrants to school that show children younger at school entrance often have academic problems that last throughout their school careers. Suggests changing the cutoff dates for school entrance and using better developmental assessment to determine children's readiness to enter school. (MD)

Research suggests that delayed entry into kindergarten has a better chance than kindergarten retention of helping at-risk children avoid school failure. Educators are cautioned to take into account the interactions among race and ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and age. Some researchers view full-day kindergarten as one way of providing…

A mother of one set of boy-girl twins observes that boys and girls use different strategies for learning. Contends that educators and child development specialists need to reevaluate the criteria they use to determine readiness for school. (MLF)