Noting that there are special considerations to take into account when creating appropriate and effective programs for young children, this issue of Progress of Education Reform focuses on early childhood care and education. The report is intended for use by policymakers who are considering implementing and/or reforming early care and education…

Research on early childhood education, child development, and school readiness is used to support the argument that formal schooling for children under 8 or 10 years old is less desirable than home-based instruction. Research on neurophysiology, social-emotional development, cognitive development, school entrance age, parental potential, and other…

Notes that the practice of delaying school entrance for summer-born children, especially boys, to give them some academic advantage, is not substantiated by sufficient research. Describes a subsequent study indicating higher achievement for children held-out than those entering school on time. Argues for more research and consideration of the…

Discusses four educational methods designed to deal with the risk of kindergarten failure. Methods include increased provision of prekindergarten programs; adoption of a later school entrance age; a developmental placement system; and a continuous progress plan with multi-age groupings. (BB)

Discusses background information, research, and educational implications related to kindergarten readiness. Topics that receive particular attention are testing, placement, and curricular practices and age of entry into school. (BB)

This article: (1) profiles kindergarten policies and practices currently implemented in district schools; (2) analyzes the research supporting the major policy alternatives for six common kindergarten and school entry age issues that all school districts must address; and (3) identifies the optimum policy option alternative for each issue based on…

A recently implemented program in a decentralized provincial district of Papua New Guinea delays the entry of children into English-medium primary school for two years, during which time the children are taught literacy in a village-based school in their indigenous language, a pidgin, with the local customs and culture as the basis of the…

The effects of age at entrance into school on subsequent elementary school performance were studied in a cohort of children who started grade 1 in the Dallas school system (Texas) in fall 1981. Most of the subjects were born on or after September 1, 1974 and before September 1, 1975; the spread of ages was 1 year. A total of 3,028 male and 3,019…

Reported are findings and recommendations of Delaware's 1986 Governor's Early Childhood Education Study Committee. Most of the committee's work was carried out by five focus groups, each of which investigated one of these topics: (1) the first 60 months of life; (2) child care; (3) 4-year-old pilot programs; (4) a curriculum for 4-year-olds; and…

THIS INVESTIGATION WAS DESIGNED TO ASSESS THE INFLUENCE OF AGE OF ENTRANCE INTO THE FIRST GRADE ON ARITHMETIC ACHIEVEMENT. THE SCORES ON ARITHMETIC ACHIEVEMENT TESTS WERE COMPARED FOR 378 LATE AND EARLY ENTRANT BOYS AND GIRLS IN THE FIRST TO SIXTH GRADES. THE LATE ENTRANTS WERE BETWEEN 8 AND 9 MONTHS OLDER THAN THE EARLY ENTRANTS. THEORETICALLY,…

This pamphlet contains addresses by Francis Keppel, Calvin E. Gross, and Samuel Shepard, Jr. before a 1964 public meeting called by the Council for Basic Education on the problems of educating the disadvantaged child. Questions and responses from the audience are included. (NH)

Some parents have chosen to delay their children's enrollment in kindergarten by a year because of individual differences in the pace and pattern of children's development. In other situations, some schools recommend delaying a child's school entry based on "readiness" testing or require that some kindergartners attend kindergarten for a…

Research that bears on the issue of school entry policies is summarized in this report. The focus is on the age children should be to enter kindergarten and the potential benefits of delaying school entry for all or some children. The research reviewed uses three methodologies: (1) comparing outcomes for children who have delayed entry by a year…

Describes ways in which well-intentioned efforts to protect young children from inappropriate school practices have had the opposite effect. Readiness testing, retention, transition classes, tracking, and increased entrance age are discussed. Alternative strategies are proposed. (BB)

Notes that achieving school readiness for all children by the year 2000 will require a reconceptualization of the concept of readiness. Reviews some of the relevant history of readiness as an area of inquiry, and details the issues surrounding readiness, including school readiness versus learning readiness, and chronological age of entry versus…