Sixty beginning first-grade students in an urban school district in South Carolina participated in a study investigating the relationship between representational competence and the ability to perform first-grade learning tasks. Representational competence may be defined as the ability to use representations of reality (such as pictures, symbols,…

This document reports the preliminary results of the Fall, 1980 administration of the Cognitive Skills Assessment Battery (CSAB) to all first grade students in South Carolina. This battery was administered in accordance with the mandate of the 1978 Act 631 of the state legislature. The CSAB is an individually administered readiness battery…

The effects of educational stimulation on creative thinking ability and the relationships among verbal and figural creativity, intelligence, and school readiness were investigated in a sample of 123 first grade children. The educational stimulation consisted of special advanced instruction in physical education, music, art, social studies, and…

The Beery-Butkenica Developmental Test and the Caldwell Test were the best predictors. Combining the academic performance with visual-motor integration results at age seven years yielded 89 percent accuracy of prediction at age nine years. The false-positive rate represents the problem of mislabeling children as school failures. (Author)

This paper, one of several written for a comprehensive policy study of early childhood education in Illinois, examines and summarizes the literature on the problems of young children in adjusting to starting school full-time and describes the nature and extent of their difficulties in relation to statewide educational policy. The review of studies…

Evaluated the Screening Test of Academic Readiness (STAR) using a sample of 28 third graders. The third graders' scores on the Peabody Individual Achievement Test were correlated with their total STAR scores from prekindergarten testing. Results showed the STAR is a useful instrument for predicting third grade achievement. (Author/JAC)

Assessed the reading and mathematics abilities of kindergartners and first graders in the fall and spring of the school year. Found that younger first graders made as much progress over the year as older first graders and more than older kindergartners. Findings demonstrated that entrance age was not a good predictor of learning or academic risk.…

Describes the First Step to Success early prevention program for preventing development of antisocial behavior patterns among young, at-risk children. The program's three modular components are coordinated and delivered by a school psychologist who serves as a consultant to teachers and parents. Reviews the risk factors and family conditions…

Much interest exists among parents and researchers regarding the benefits and drawbacks of delaying kindergarten entrance to acquire academic advantage ("redshirting"). How evident is this assumed advantage at the kindergarten level and beyond? The authors evaluated large-scale test data from Grades K-8 to investigate the difference in performance…

Austin Independent School District provided full-day prekindergarten to 5,196 4-year-olds in 2008-2009 at 66 schools. Seventy percent or more of students made measureable gains on a test of receptive vocabulary, and average gains showed growth about two times greater than that expected for 4-year-olds after a 7-month period.

Information presented in this paper was used as a rationale for implementing a developmentally appropriate primary education program in the Redwood City School District, Redwood City, California. The purpose of the paper was to emphasize the need for intensifying the entry level program for students in order to insure a successful school…

Literature was reviewed for the purpose of locating an instrument or procedure for use in assessing children's readiness for the first grade. The major part of this report consists of annotated bibliographic citations concerning: (1) effects of age on school placement; (2) advisability of screening for readiness; (3) reviews of screening…

The Michigan School Readiness Program (MSRP), a state-initiated and state-funded preschool program, serves more than 20,000 four-year-olds identified as being at risk for school failure each year. A longitudinal evaluation followed 2 cohorts selected from 7 sites from kindergarten through Grade 3 for Cohort 1 and through Grade 2 for Cohort 2. Each…

The conversion of an "old school bus" in the late 1960s into a mobile library is discussed. The conversion was an element of educational service developed cooperatively between a regional educational laboratory and a rural school system. The project endeavored to improve the early experiences of future students, many of whom would have…

This paper, which presents preliminary analysis of data from stage one of the Australian Early Childhood study, examined the effects of nonmaternal care in the first year of life on children in their first year of school. The author tested the hypothesis, proposed by John Bowlby and others, that long periods of nonmaternal care in the first 12…