In order to help Illinois policymakers and education administrators assess whether the State's public high school graduates are ready to enter and succeed in college, the IERC is undertaking a six-year longitudinal study of the Illinois Class of 2002. This first report shows that only about one third of the Class of 2002 is college-ready, and that…

The goal of the Success By Six program was to provide seamless, universal services to young children in a rural county in order to prepare them for a successful kindergarten experience. The process evaluation describes the implementation of interventions in the community and collaborations of community agencies. This rural community faced a number…

Purpose and Methods: This report is the second benchmark study to assess the system of supports for school readiness. The data for this study was collected in the fall of 2006 on 537 entering kindergarten children and their families in eight representative schools across the County. The ecological model and methods from the first study, which was…

Parental reports of 585 children's childcare experiences during the year preceding kindergarten were used to index the extent of children's involvement in three types of childcare: center-based (e.g., daycare center, Head Start, preschool), informal (e.g., relative-based or sitter-based) and parental. Childcare choices covaried with household SES,…

The field of early childhood holds promising keys to unlocking many of the mysteries in learning. Educators in the field, given the right tools, have the potential to have a profound impact on the long-term success of their students. The design of this curriculum comes directly out of the incredible possibilities set in motion while exploring…

This conference proceedings and executive report includes summaries of two invited meetings and a report on a regional conference, including sample session summaries. Two statewide university systems collaborated around issues of K-16 outreach, research, and best practices for supporting underprepared students across the state of Minnesota. This…