The assessment landscape is varied and complex. Because assessments serve many purposes, they can take multiple forms depending on what they are measuring and how they are used. The intended purpose behind each assessment influences its design, and the design influences how assessment data can be used by students and their families, school,…

Many preschool teachers may be aware of the need to support motor skills and physical activity for their students but they are not sure how to actually achieve this goal. Often preschoolers' only motor time includes recess or a short movement with music activity during circle time, with limited or no structured motor curriculum. This article…

Despite evidence for the substantial benefits of school readiness among children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), most lack access to any pre-primary education at all, let alone high-quality preprimary education. In this article, we discuss obstacles and example of solutions to providing universal access to "high-quality"…

Policymakers and educators continue to grapple with issues of persistent achievement gaps in student performance at third grade and beyond. As they do, they look for ways to create a more seamless system of education that is "connected from one stage to the next -- reducing the chances that students will be lost along the way or require…

Visual supports are content provided in a visual manner that help people to navigate and/or make sense of the world around them. The use of visual supports has been identified as an evidence-based practice (EBP), with evidence of its effectiveness when used to address challenging behavior, school readiness outcomes, joint attention outcomes, or…

Based on recent research and in collaboration with expert panelists, the What Works Clearinghouse™ (WWC) has provided practical recommendations for preschool educators to use to help prepare young children benefit from learning opportunities they will encounter in school. The "Preparing Young Children for School Practice Guide" details…

Students often arrive at school not ready to learn due to stress and trauma. In order to thrive in school, students need to know that within the school is an intentional, multi-layered system of caring. This manuscript details strategies at the individual, classroom, and school level. Having targeted strategies to assist students is essential in…

E3 Alliance is a regional, data-driven education collaborative based in Austin, Texas. They are helping to build the strongest educational pipeline in the country to drive regional economic prosperity. They are focused on educational systems change, and use data to inform those efforts. Given that their approach to supporting educational…

A primary goal of North Carolina's Quality Rating Improvement System is to encourage early childhood education sites to maintain and improve their programmatic and educational quality. Because higher quality sites can better support young children's school readiness, it is important for education leaders to understand the complex factors that may…

This Research-to-Policy Resource List provides resources in the "Research Connections" library on statewide KEAs [Kindergarten entry assessments]. It does not address local KEA efforts or broader issues related to child assessment more generally. The first section presents publications that discuss issues surrounding the development and…

Every year, children enter PreK and kindergarten with varied early education experiences, and the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the problem. The need to respond to students' changing situations gives school districts and states an opportunity to reconsider how they are helping children and their families make the transition into kindergarten.…

Play is a critical milestone that contributes to the learning and development of young children in multiple ways and is essential to their well-being. Play is also considered as a central component to promote school readiness and incorporates pre-literacy, language and numeracy skills. However, play deficits seem to be acutely apparent in…

The challenges and successes of planning, implementing, and evaluating a nature-based four-year-old kindergarten program are shared as well as a description of the first years of the program that is designed to enhance the students' academic, physical, social, and emotional development. In addition, a description of how the partnership among a…

Contemporary Froebelian-inspired early childhood education in the United States is challenged by government regulation and accreditation requirements that have arisen alongside neoliberalism in education. Using Critical Policy Analysis and case study examples from a preschool in Atlanta, Georgia, this paper examines the influence of neoliberalism…

One of early childhood teachers' first questions of parents with regard to school readiness is whether the child knows the ABCs (Hyson & Tomlinson, 2014). Crucial pre-reading and writing skills, such as oral language, phonological awareness, print awareness, and alphabet letter recognition, are important to children's cognitive development…