 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Vani Kumar, MPP1, Lisa M. Thompson, MPH1, Carol Sutherland, PhD, MPH2, and Neal Halfon, MD, MPH3. (1) Center for Healthier Children, Families, and Communities, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 10945 LeConte Avenue, Suite 1401, Los Angeles, CA 90095-6939, 310-825-8042, vkumar@mednet.ucla.edu, (2) Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Development, California State University, Channel Islands (CSUCI), One University Drive, Camarillo, CA 93012, (3) Schools of Public Health and Medicine, UCLA, 10833 Le Conte Ave, 61-254 CHS, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Background: Evidence shows that children entering kindergarten physically healthy with adequate socio-emotional and cognitive skills, benefit more from learning opportunities. Choosing a holistic school readiness assessment (SRA) can be difficult, because the majority of reviews have focused on assessment of academic achievement, special needs, or psychometric measures. Tools that take a holistic approach on children’s school readiness can help plan and evaluate curriculum, programs, and policies for young children and their families. This survey reviews tools that take a holistic approach and makes recommendations on selection criteria.
Method: Reviewed 28 SRA tools and recorded characteristics including: intended uses, training requirements, scoring, field-test results, child, family/parent, and school domains, person collecting data, time required, method of collection, age of child, when and where collected, and unit of analysis. Univariate and bivariate descriptive statistics and graphs depict survey results.
Results: Seventy-nine percent of tools were used to assess school readiness, 57% screen for special needs, 54% individualize curriculum, 46% report to parents, 32% test academic achievement, 18% evaluate a particular strategy, and 11% assess schools being ready for children. Ninety-six percent of tools assess language/communication, 89% socio-emotional development, 79% academic achievement, 79% physical development, 64% approaches to learning, 64% healthy and safety knowledge, 32% physical health, and 11% artistic ability.
Discussion: Criteria to consider for selection of an SRA include the validity at the individual vs. population level, uses, and the political and economic feasibility of implementation.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Children, Policy/Policy Development
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.