Does kindergarten readiness matter? Gaps in readiness are linked to gaps in academic achievement, plus a readiness intervention for English Learners that works

Kindergarten students entering San Mateo County (SMC) schools reflect the diversity of Silicon Valley. In 2006, 39 percent of kindergarteners were English Learners, representing 39 different languages. To identify the supports that these children need for school success, SMC conducted readiness assessments in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Now that these children are in later grades, they have a track record of standardized test scores in English and math. The cooperation of multiple school districts enabled ASR to link children's kindergarten readiness in social-emotional and academic areas to their subsequent academic performance. Children's achievement in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades mirrors the readiness gaps present at kindergarten – those who were near-proficient across all readiness dimensions at kindergarten far out-performed others on standardized tests. To better support the readiness of English Learners, SMC developed the Kickoff-to-Kindergarten (KTK) program. During the few summer weeks of this kindergarten-transition program, KTK participants demonstrate significant gains in all readiness areas, with the greatest benefits accruing to low-income English Learners who have no preschool experience. KTK graduates enter kindergarten with significantly higher scores than do non-KTK graduates, and they continue to make significant gains in all readiness areas over the course of their kindergarten year. We conclude from this line of work that readiness does matter. Readiness gaps present at kindergarten entry remain robust for academic achievement several years later. However, there are effective interventions that can be applied to better support readiness of children entering school, especially those who face the additional challenges of learning English.