The Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), was first launched in 1997 as a periodic longitudinal study of program performance. Successive nationally representative samples of Head Start children and their families,…

By exploring the kindergarten program found in two public elementary schools in a middle-class neighborhood in central Alabama, a study examined age at school entry as a critical factor in achievement in Alabama kindergartens. The sample consisted of 100 kindergarten students (53 boys/47 girls; 96 white/4 black)--77 were 63 months or older, and 23…

The following criticism of current practices for determining reading readiness are discussed: (1) the variables measured by readiness tests are in many cases unrelated to instruction, (2) while the variables measured are correlated with reading achievement, this association does not attribute causality, and (3) the criterion selected for measuring…

The purpose of this study was: (1) to determine to what extent teacher rankings of reading readiness compare with reading readiness test results, (2) to determine to what extent teacher rankings of reading readiness compare with pupil socioeconomic status, and (3) to determine to what extent readiness test results compare with pupil socioeconomic…

This study investigated (1) the difference, if any, between the achievement in reading readiness of younger kindergarten children (4 years 9 months to 5 years 1 month upon school entrance) and older children (5 years 5 months to 5 years 8 months at entrance), (2) whether kindergarten positively affects the reading readiness achievement of children…

Findings concerning the relationship of perceptual-motor and oral-language organization to later reading achievement are discussed in relation to a predictive battery of 15 tests. It was concluded that the predictive efficacy of the tests depends on the degree to which they measure integrative ability rather than on the specific skills measured.…

In this study, mothers predicted their preschoolers' prereading skills beyond chance expectation. (MKM)

Evaluates the effectiveness of reading readiness tests in predicting readiness for reading instruction and in diagnosing deficiencies of prerequisite skills for reading; reports the results of a survey on the use of reading readiness tests in 15 school districts. (GW)

Examines the following: the history and current status of the assessment of prereading skills or reading readiness in the United States, recent research findings with implications for readiness testing, future directions for prereading measures, and classroom implications of prereading assessment research. (GT)

Teachers make false assumptions about concepts five-year-olds can understand. (JH)

The School Readiness Rating Scale was developed to help teachers organize their suggestions to parents about how parents can help their children prepare for beginning reading experiences. The scale surveys five important aspects of readiness for beginning reading: visual perception, visual motor perception, auditory perception and discrimination,…

The Concepts about Print (Sand) and Record of Oral Language (ROL) tests were administered three times to 29 male and 27 female kindergarten children as part of a study to determine the reliability and concurrent validity of the tests. The Sand and Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT) were administered to the returning participants (27 males and 24…

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of a systematic auditory training program on the auditory discrimination ability and reading readiness of 55 white, middle/upper middle class kindergarten students. Following pretesting with the "Wepman Auditory Discrimination Test,""The Clymer-Barrett Prereading Battery," and the…