A balanced assessment system is vital to the instructional process in all schools. This system includes both formative and summative assessment measures. Both assessments provide data that can inform curriculum design and the instructional process. The purpose of this study was to examine the predicative validity of formative diagnostic and…

In Wisconsin, increased academic performance has been a general assumption supporting the institutionalization and public funding of early childhood instruction. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between attendance in public four-year-old kindergarten and elementary level reading performance. This study…

Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Birth Cohort are used to analyze the factors that lead to the reading readiness of children who participate in nonparental care the year prior to kindergarten (N = 4,550), with a specific focus on Latino children (N = 800). Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis demonstrates that reading…

This descriptive study provides a snapshot of the correlations between a child's learning experiences a year before entering kindergarten and the reading/literacy skills a child has entering kindergarten. Early literacy assessment scores were used to evaluate the effectiveness of four categories of learning experiences prior to entering…

Duncan et al. (2007) presented a new methodology for identifying kindergarten readiness factors and quantifying their importance by determining which of children's developing skills measured around kindergarten entrance would predict later reading and math achievement. This article extends Duncan et al.'s work to identify kindergarten readiness…

This study is a population-based investigation of children's school readiness with a national sample of low-income children, utilizing data from the Family and Children's Experiences Survey (FACES; 2000-2003). Guided by a developmental ecological framework, we posed 3 research questions: (a) How do children's early school readiness skills in the…