Assessing students at kindergarten entry allows teachers to effectively plan instruction that meets individual student needs, and those of the class as a whole. Maryland uses Ready for Kindergarten (R4K): Maryland's Comprehensive Early Childhood Assessment System, a single coordinated system for measuring the knowledge, skills, and behaviors and identifying the needs of young children. R4K has two components: (1) Early Learning Assessment (ELA); and (2) Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA). Maryland is one of more than 40 states using assessment tools to measure children's readiness for success in kindergarten. The compiled statewide and jurisdictional data released annually by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) indicate overall kindergarten readiness, as well as average scale scores in each domain and overall readiness for student populations by gender, race/ethnicity, and prior care setting, and for students receiving special services, including children with disabilities, English learners, and students from low-income families. Of the more than 64,000 children that entered Maryland's kindergarten classrooms in school year 2018-2019: 44% are from low-income households, 15% are English learners, and 9% have an identified disability. The KRA 2018-2019 data show: (1) 11 of Maryland's 24 jurisdictions exceeded the statewide average: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Queen Anne's, Somerset, and Worcester Counties; (2) 13 jurisdictions exhibit readiness levels below the statewide average (fewer than 47% demonstrate readiness); (3) More than 28,000 kindergarten children live in one of these jurisdictions, 44% of all kindergarteners; and (4) In six of these jurisdictions, the majority of kindergarteners (>50%) may be eligible for Free and Reduced Price Meals (FaRMs), suggesting a greater than average level of child poverty. [For "Ready for Kindergarten: Maryland's Early Childhood Comprehensive Assessment System. The 2018-2019 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Technical Report," see ED594322. For "Readiness Matters: Equity Matters. 2017-2018 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Report," see ED589988.]