This study investigated associations of three teacher-reported health indicators--hunger, tiredness, and sickness--with kindergarten readiness skills in San Francisco Unified School District (N = 12,423; female = 48%; M[subscript age] = 5.47, SD[subscript age] = 0.30, range[subscript age] = 4.67--7.00; Asian American = 26%, Black = 5%, Latinx =…

The phrase "ready to learn" has been widely used and researched by scholars, policy makers, and education practitioners. School readiness, as a construct, has referred to the basic skills that children need to transition to elementary school. However, there is no consensus on which basic skills students should possess when entering…

Early academic achievement has been shown to predict high school completion, but there have been few studies of the predictors of early academic success focused on Latino students. Using longitudinal data from 750 Mexican and Dominican American families, this study examined a cultural model of parenting and early academic achievement. While Latino…

Preschoolers' inhibitory control and early math skills were concurrently and longitudinally examined in 255 Chinese, African American, Dominican, and Mexican 4-year-olds in the United States. Inhibitory control at age 4, assessed with a peg-tapping task, was associated with early math skills at age 4 and predicted growth in such skills from age 4…

Policy and academic interest in young children has grown substantially in recent years, prompted in part by advancements in the scientific understanding of early childhood and mounting evidence of the importance of early experiences for later development. Of particular concern is the finding that achievement disparities among different racial,…

Mothers' spontaneous teaching of their 4-year-olds was observed during block play in 230 dyads from low-income African American, Mexican, Dominican, and Chinese backgrounds. Blocks contained graphics that could be used to teach concepts in literacy, math, construction, or body/color. Coders noted how often mothers taught each of the concepts,…

Fifth- and sixth-grade aggressive and acting-out students from a Latino community were organized into two groups based on their classroom academic performance. Students who were rated as aggressive but were high on school learning reported more resiliency indicators than those low on school learning. Parental supervision was the key variable…