Earlier this month, The University of Virginia Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (UVA CASTL) released their final report as part of Virginia’s Kindergarten Readiness Project (VKRP), a two-year study commissioned by the Virginia Legislature and E3: Elevate Early Education.
VKRP implemented and evaluated a comprehensive readiness assessment, which provides the Commonwealth, districts, schools and teachers with valuable information about children’s skills not only in literacy, but in math, social skills and self-regulation—which are highly predictive of educational and professional success.
THE BOTTOM LINE?
The data tells us that 34% of children arrive at kindergarten unprepared in one or more critical learning domain (literacy, math, self-regulation and social skills).
VKRP assessed over 2,000 kindergarten students drawn from 100 classrooms and 44 schools within 16 districts across the eight superintendents’ regions of Virginia.
The sample was recruited to be representative of the students attending kindergarten in Virginia and to be diverse with regard to geographic regions, and child demographic characteristics.
This multi-skill estimate falls in stark contrast to Virginia’s current rates of readiness based solely on literacy through the Phonological Literacy Assessment Screening (PALS), which estimates 12.5% of students enter kindergarten unprepared.
This higher estimate of children entering kindergarten “not ready” reflects the reality that kindergarten teachers are responsible for supporting children whose abilities vary across learning domains.
Additional findings:
Percent of Students “Ready” or “Not Ready” by Domain
Decades of research demonstrate the ways in which children’s self-regulation and social skills are foundational to later school and life success. For instance, self-regulation has a greater influence on a student’s academic performance than his or her intelligence.
A child who enters kindergarten without basic skills in literacy, but who can pay attention in the classroom and persist through challenges, is more likely to respond to instruction than a child without these important self-regulation skills.
The chart above reveals that children enter school less “ready” in self-regulation and social skills than in literacy and math:
• 20% of children entering kindergarten in Virginia face challenges with social skills.
• 16% lack the self-regulation skills needed in the classroom environment.
Additionally, many teachers are faced with classrooms in which a large percentage of children are not well prepared for the daily tasks of kindergarten:
Variability Across Classrooms in the Percent of Students “Not Ready”
• One-third of kindergarten classrooms have more than 40% of students unprepared in at least one key learning domain. (In the figure above, adding the last 3 columns together equals one third of the classrooms in our sample). These classrooms present particular challenges for teachers as they work to support learning for all students.
The report also revealed who is at greater risk of not entering kindergarten ready:
- Schools serving more economically disadvantaged students had more children identified as “not ready.”
- More boys were identified as “not ready.”
- Children with an IEP.
- Children of Black, Native American, Hispanic and other races and ethnicities were also more likely to be identified as “not ready” in comparison with whites.
- Significant percentages of children, regardless of their demographic backgrounds, enter kindergarten unprepared in at least one key learning domain
Our Strategy:
Our strategy began by commissioning a study in 2011 conducted by a government relations firm to gain a better understanding of where the issue of early education stood in our state among legislators. What we learned is that we need to:
- Define the problem.
- Analyze and articulate programs, funding and outcomes for children, birth to age five to inform budget and policy decisions.
- Prove that investment in early education leads to improved academic outcomes in the K-12 system.
The first step was to define the problem and bring a data-driven approach to the issue of early education. VKRP gives our state a better understanding of the skills our kindergartners come to school with and without. A comprehensive kindergarten assessment can be a powerful tool for teachers, parents and policy makers.
Now we know 34% of our kids enter kindergarten not ready. It is time for a solution and strategic investments in early education!
The Solution:
Tell policy makers to:
- Implement a voluntary, statewide rollout of a comprehensive readiness assessment to equip teachers and parents with information and strategies for each student in kindergarten. The assessment data is tied to key teaching strategies that allows etchers to tailor instruction for each child from kindergarten through third grade.
- Analyze and articulate programs, funding and outcomes for children, birth to age five to inform budget and policy decisions.
- Equip and empower parents and teachers of young children with information and strategies to help children enter school with a strong foundation.
- Implement evidence-based quality models that are effective, cost-sustainable and produce strong outcomes for children.
Want to learn more? Click below to download the Executive Summary and Full Report:
Want to hear what others are saying?
Click here to view the latest press coverage on VKRP.