Santa Barbara School Readiness Scale: School Readiness Needs of Latino Preschoolers in Santa Barbara County Study completed and written by: Renee Pavelski Pyle, Ph.D. Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital, Stanford University Report compiled by : Jennifer Greif, Michael Bates, & Michael Furlong Center for School-Based Youth Development Gevirtz Graduate School of Education University of California, Santa Barbara For: Santa Barbara School Readiness Scales School Readiness Needs of Latino Preschoolers in Santa Barbara Introduction In the fall of 1989, President George Bush and the 50 governors met for the first Education Summit held in nearly 100 years (Meisels, 1998) and established eight “National Education Goals.” First among these goals was the following: “All children in America will start school ready to learn” (National Education Goals Panel, 1991). Beliefs about School Readiness Absent generally accepted and empirically documented criteria of what young children should know and be able to do when they are 4- or 5-years old (Bredekamp, 1992), parents and preschool teachers must rely on their explicit and implicit beliefs regarding readiness as they prepare children for school. Few studies have systematically compared the beliefs of parents, preschool teachers, and kindergarten teachers about what children should know and be able to do at school entry (Gredler, 1992). The few studies examining parents’ and teachers’ readiness beliefs found that the groups had different concerns. For example, kindergarten teachers were more likely to emphasize a child’s ability to not disrupt the class; families and providers emphasized schoollike skills such as knowing English, knowing the letters of the alphabet, and counting; while childcare providers were most likely to emphasize problem-solving skills. Readiness in Diverse Populations Current research is further limited in helping us understand readiness in high-need communities UCSB Prop-10 Evaluation Center (Piotrkowski, Botsko, & Matthews, 2000); we lack information regarding school readiness within lowincome communities (Holloway, Rambaud, Fuller, & Eggers-Pierola, 1995). More than 2 million Latino children attend California schools, outnumbering non-Latino White students by approximately 90,000 (California Department of Education, 2000). The growth in the population of Latino students has been accompanied by increased awareness of the difficulties many Latinos experience in school. For Latino children, difficulties in school are primarily manifest in the lower academic performance and alarmingly high dropout rates compared to their non-Latino peers. Parent Involvement Current research suggests a strong positive relationship between student achievement and parent involvement for Latino families (Lopez & Cole, 1999). The benefits of parental involvement in the educational process have been well documented (e.g., Taylor & Machida, 1994). In addition to promoting children’s academic achievement, parent involvement has been shown to have positive effects on related behaviors such as student self-competence, self-esteem, school adjustment, and classroom behaviors. Despite strong empirical support for parent involvement, research has found that Latino parents are significantly less involved in their children’s education than Anglo and AfricanAmerican parents (Klimes-Dougan, Lopez, Nelson, & Adleman, 1992). 2 Santa Barbara School Readiness Scales Consequences of Current Readiness Practices Kindergarten screening tests have been found to over identify ethnic minority children and those from the lower socioeconomic (SES) groups as being unready for school (Ellwein, Walsh, Eads, & Miller, 1991). Minority students and children from lower SES backgrounds are much more likely to be retained than white middle-class students throughout elementary school, including nonpromotion to first grade (Cosden, Zimmer, & Tuss, 1993). Best Practices Approach A key problem exists in attempts to evaluate the “whole child.” Current assessments ignore such critical elements as their environment, context, and conditions. Readiness has not encompassed critical environmental variables so that the burden of proof rests on the child to prove they are “ready” for school (Meisels, 1995). Exploring these contextual variables in a sample of Latino children and families is pragmatic for both practical and theoretical reasons. Research Questions 1. How are Latino preschool children rated on school readiness indicators (social emotional development, language development, and approaches toward learning)? - Does Approaches Towards Learning significantly predict kindergarten success variables? - Does parental knowledge of who can help them access educational services significantly predict kindergarten success variables above and beyond the child-focused variables? - Does parental comfort in going to their child’s school and talking to their teacher significantly predict kindergarten success variables above and beyond the child-focused variables? - Which of these factors best predicts kindergarten success variables? Method Participants were 112 preschool children who attended a summer immersion, school readiness program before entering kindergarten in Santa Barbara County. Eighty-eight percent chose to complete the questionnaire in Spanish. Mothers completed 73.3% of the questionnaires, fathers completed 22.5% and 4.2% were completed by both parents. The final sample included 112 students: 58 males (51.8%) and 54 (48.2%) females. The average age was 5.4 years at the start of their kindergarten year. Seventeen teachers (15 female teachers, two male teachers) participated in this study, 13 were Caucasian and four were Latino. Variable 2. How do parents rate their knowledge of who can help them access educational services for their family, and how comfortable do they feel going to their child’s school and talking to his or her teacher? - How much help do parents report wanting to assist their child at home with school-related tasks? 3. Can kindergarten success variables be predicted by a child’s social/emotional development, language development, approaches towards learning, or their parent’s knowledge of who can help them access educational services and comfort level in accessing these services? - Does Social Emotional Development significantly predict kindergarten success variables? - Does Language Development significantly predict kindergarten success variables? UCSB Prop-10 Evaluation Center Gender (N = 112) Male Female Ethnicity (N = 112) Latino Parent’s Education Level (N = 112) No High School Some High School Graduated High School Some College Graduated College Preschool Experience (n = 102) None One Year More than One Year ESL Status (n = 92) LEP FEP English Only N % 58 54 51.8% 48.2% 112 100% 62 3 20 17 10 55.4% 2.7% 17.9% 15.2% 8.9% 32 69 1 31.4% 67.6% 1.0% 85 4 3 92.4% 4.3% 3.3% Children spent five hours in class each day for the duration of the program. Teachers provided English oral language and listening activities (e.g., music, 3 Santa Barbara School Readiness Scales stories, tapes, big books, poetry) and pre-literacy activities to their students. They introduced experiences to prepare children for learning behaviors appropriate to a kindergarten setting (i.e., sitting together in a circle while listening to a story, how to hold a pencil, turn-taking, etc.). School Readiness Measures Santa Barbara County Healthy Start Teacher Questionnaire This teacher questionnaire was developed for the study and asked questions to measure school readiness domains: physical health, fine and gross motor skills, approach to learning, socio-emotional development, and language/communication. Santa Barbara County Healthy Start Family Questionnaire This questionnaire was developed for the study to measure parents’ perceptions of readiness variables. It was administered in Spanish and English. Kindergarten Success Measures Social Skills Rating System The Social Skills Rating System (SSRS; Gresham & Elliott, 1990) is a norm-referenced, nationally standardized, cross-informant rating scale system designed to screen children and youth suspected of having social and academic problems. It measures three domains: Social Skills, Problem Behaviors, and Academic Competence. Oral Reading Assessment Level-Jimerson (ORAL-J) The Oral Reading Assessment Level-Jimerson (ORAL-J; Jimerson, 2000) examines pre-reading skills and also determines how fluently a student reads text aloud. School Archival Records Search The cumulative file (school record) for each student whose parents gave consent was reviewed in the spring with the School Archival Records Search (SARS; Walker, Block-Pedego, Todis, & Severson, UCSB Prop-10 Evaluation Center 1991). The SARS guides school professionals through a process of coding and tracking variables designed to predict future “at risk” status of students, including: number of schools attended; demographics, attendance, achievement test information, school failure (i.e., retention or failure of school subjects), disciplinary contacts, within-school referrals, certification for special education, placement out of regular classroom, receiving Chapter I services (i.e., within school services), out-of-school referrals, and negative narrative comments. Findings Research Question 1: Teacher Ratings of ChildFocused School Readiness Indicators Teachers rated the sample as significantly higher on Social Emotional Development than Language Development and Approaches Toward Learning. Additionally, teachers rated Approaches Toward Learning as significantly higher than Language Development for students in this sample. Approaches Toward Learning relates to learning behaviors, such as being curious and enthusiastic about school activities. This result is consistent with the newly developing English language skills of these children. Approaches Toward Learning measures non-verbal behaviors that facilitate participation and learning in the classroom. Children can perform well along this domain without using any verbal language skills. Research Question 2: Parent Ratings of Knowledge, Comfort and Need for Help Most parents (83.2%) reported that they would like help to assist their child at home across all areas of educationally related tasks. Yet, almost 54% of parents noted that they do not know who could help them find educational services for their family, and 9.1% reported feeling uncomfortable going to school and talking to their child’s teacher. Although over 90% of parents reported feeling comfortable, only 54.9% have actually met and talked to their child’s teacher and 46.8% have gone to parent meetings or workshops at their child’s school. 4 Santa Barbara School Readiness Scales Other studies suggest that parents work schedule and lack of bilingual communication at school are significant barriers to parent involvement for Latino families. Results suggest that there is a disconnect between parents report of comfort in going to their child’s school and talking to their teacher and the frequency with which they have actually met with and talked to the teacher. Research Question 3: Predictive Power of Child- and Family-Focused School Readiness Variables on Kindergarten Success Child-focused results. Data indicate that Language Development was the most significant child-focused school readiness variable for this sample. Language Development predicted Academic Competence and Social Skills standard scores from the Social Skills Rating System. Social Emotional Development was not a significant predictor of school readiness. The significance of Approaches Toward Learning indicates that basic classroom tasks such as drawing a story, using pencils and paintbrushes, and expressing curiosity and excitement about school are significantly related to teachers’ ratings of readiness for first grade. This finding suggests that focusing on academic standards is not necessary for kindergarten students to be deemed successful. Rather, these students need support in developing basic learning skills and fostering positive feelings about their school experiences. The non-significance of Social Emotional Development is surprising considering the research illustrating its significance in predicting kindergarten success. However, this sample is unique to the literature that has focused primarily on Caucasian and African American samples. Perhaps, for this sample, the effects of Language Development are preeminent such that language skills are a necessary precondition for appropriate social emotional development. These results suggest that language development should be a continued focus of future research to better understand school readiness within the Latino population. UCSB Prop-10 Evaluation Center Family-focused results Parents’ comfort going to their child’s school and talking to their teacher emerged as a significant predictor of both teacher ratings of a child’s reading for first grade and ORAL-J sounds correct score. Most of the parents in this sample (88%) completed the Family Questionnaire in Spanish and 55.4% did not have any high school education. Research suggests that parents’ limited English proficiency and lower level of formal schooling relative to United States standards may reduce their comfort and ability to help their children with academic tasks (Edwards, 1990). Data from this sample suggest that parents’ comfort in going to their child’s school and talking to the teacher may impact their child’s performance at the end of kindergarten. This finding suggests that there are ways in which schools and communities can intervene to promote kindergarten success. At the Start of Kindergarten Variable Mean/ Freq. SD min max Teacher Questionnaire Variables Approaches Toward 2.73 .33 1.8 Learning Language Development 2.24 .55 1.0 Social Emotional 2.65 .37 1.5 Development Family Questionnaire Variables Find Services Yes = 46.2% (n = 51) No = 53.8% (n = 61) Feel Comfortable Yes = 90.9% (n = 100) No = 9.1% (n = 11) 3.0 3.0 3.0 At the End of Kindergarten SSRS Variables Social Skills 101.70 14.8 40 Standard Score Academic Competence 95.76 10.9 62 Standard Score Problem Behavior 99.68 11.7 84 Standard Score Yes = 90.9% (n = 100) Will the child be ready st No = 9.1% (n = 11) for 1 grade? ORAL-J Variables (one year later) Letters Correct-Spring 36.7 14.2 1 District Scores for 39.9 16.5 0 Letters CorrectSpring Sounds Correct-Spring 21.3 6.1 0 District Scores for 22.3 6.5 0 Sounds CorrectSpring 130 115 135 71 100 30 55 5 Santa Barbara School Readiness Scales Implications There are several implications of recognizing that school readiness is an outcome of an interactive process. First, it may be difficult to assess a particular child’s “school readiness” except when that child is immersed in the challenges of the primary grade classroom. Prior assessments of school readiness outside of the context of school may be poorly predictive of how children will fare when they reach the classroom door because the school has a large impact on how they and their parents adjust to and function within this environment. Second, kindergarten and primary grade teachers should become more aware of the developmental needs young children retain from the preschool years that underlie their initial success in school. By regarding these early experiences in developmental (rather than academic) frameworks, educators can foster the personal qualities that contribute best to young children’s long-term academic success. Third, data from Hypothesis 3 suggests the significance of understanding school readiness as an interaction of the child with the family, school, and community and therefore the benefits of relationships to learning. Because young children's scholastic and social lives are linked in the early primary grades, it matters a great deal how parents feel about interacting with the school, and how children feel about themselves and the teachers and peers with whom they share the school day. Moreover, relationships that parents and children experience with the school are essential, sometimes because of their continuing influence on children after they begin school, and sometimes because of the social and emotional resources they provide to families to allow them to be the best resources for their children. In each case, this positive connection, facilitated by transition coordinators and school psychologists, provides young children and their families with some of their best resources for school success. References Bredekamp, S. (1992). Assessment alternatives in early childhood. In F. L. Parker, R. Robinson, S. Sambrano, C. S. Piotrkowski, J. Hagen, S. Randolph, & A. Baker (Eds.), New directions in child and family research: Shaping Head Start in the ‘90s (pp. 15-36). Washington, DC: Sage. California Department of Education, Educational Demographics Unit. (2000). Enrollment in California Public Schools by Ethnic Group, 1981-82 through 1997-1998, Dropout Rates in California Public Schools by Ethnic Group, 1985-86 through 1996-97, Number of Limited English Proficient Students in California Public Schools, by Language, 1993-97. Retrieved September 28, 2001, from http//www.cde.ca.gov/ftpbranch/retdiv/demo/ reports/booklets/I6cens97/htm Cosden, M., Zimmer, J., & Tuss, P. (1993). The impact of age, sex, and ethnicity on kindergarten entry and retention decisions. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 15(2), 209-222. Edwards, P. A. (1990). Strategies and techniques for establishing home-school partnerships with minority parents. In A. Barona & E. E. Garcia (Eds.),Children at risk: Poverty, minority status, and other issues in educational equity (pp. 217-236). Silver Spring, MD: National Association of School Psychologists. care? Low-income mothers’ views on preparing their children for school. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 10, 451-473. Jimerson, S. R. (2000). Oral Reading Assessment Level – Jimerson. Author: University of California, Santa Barbara. Klimes-Dougan, B., Lopez, J. A., Nelson, P., & Adleman, H. S. (1992). Two studies of low-income parents’ involvement in schooling. The Urban Review, 24, 185-202. Lopez, A., & Cole, C. L. (1999). Effects of a parent-implemented intervention on the academic readiness skills of five Puerto Rican kindergarten students in an urban school. School Psychology Review, 28(3), 439-447. Meisels, S. (1995). The work-sampling system: Reliability and validity of a performance assessment for young children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 10, 277-296. Meisels, S. J. (1998). Assessing readiness. (Report No. 3-002). Ann Arbor, MI: Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. Retrieved September 15, 2001, from http://www.ciera.org/products/meisels-1998/reports32.html Ellwein, M. C., Walsh, D. J., Eads, G. M., & Miller, A. (1991). Using readiness tests to route kindergarten students: The snarled intersection of psychometrics, policy and practice. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 13, 159-175. National Education Goals Panel. (1991). The national education goals report. Washington, DC: Author. Piotrkowski, C. S., Botsko, M., & Matthews, E. (2000). Parents' and teachers' beliefs about children's school readiness in a high-need community. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15(4), 537558. Gredler, G. R. (1992). School readiness: Assessment and educational issues. Brandon, VT: Clinical Psychology Publishing. Taylor, A. R., & Machida, S. (1994). The contribution of parent and peer support to Head Start children’s early school adjustment. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 9, 387-405. Gresham, F. M., & Elliott, S. N. (1990). Social Skills Rating System: Manual. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service. Walker, H. M., Block-Pedego, A., Todis, B., & Severson, H. (1991). School Archival Records Search: User’s guide and technical manual. Longmont, CO: Sopris West Holloway, S. D., Rambaud, M. F., Fuller, B., & Eggers-Pierola, C. (1995). What is “appropriate practice” at home and in child UCSB Prop-10 Evaluation Center 6 Santa Barbara School Readiness Scales Development of the Santa Barbara School Readiness Teacher Questionnaire Development of Scale Items The Santa Barbara County Healthy Start Teacher Questionnaire was developed after reviewing 13 national- and state-level readiness assessments and recent research relating to common indicators of school readiness. The author compiled a list of the most frequently measured domains and the questions that were asked to measure each domain; these included: physical health, fine and gross motor skills, approach to learning, socioemotional development, and language/ communication. A list of 35 questions was developed from this research and brought to focus group meetings. Representatives from each of the four Healthy Start agencies in Santa Barbara County that provide early intervention services reviewed the questions and suggested changes according to their needs and programs. After three meetings over six months, a final draft was presented to this group for review. Minor changes were made and the instrument was piloted with three preschool teachers from three different schools. Data Collection At the end of the first week of the summer program, teachers were given the Santa Barbara County Healthy Start Teacher Questionnaire and an instruction sheet completing the assessment. Scale Analysis Responses from all 249 preschool students were used for item analysis and exploratory factor analysis. A principal components analysis was completed on the first 15 items. The last six items UCSB Prop-10 Evaluation Center were not included in the principal components analysis because they were developed for the teachers to “red flag” those children who were lacking in basic needs (i.e., sleep, nourishment, appropriate clothes, good physical health). These items were included to determine the presence or absence of risk factors. Family advocates followed up with students whose teachers rated their basic needs as inadequate. These analyses indicated that the most parsimonious and interpretable summation of the item pool was provided by a three-factor solution (see Figure 2). A scree analysis showed that the percentage of variance accounted for by these factors flattened out after the third factor. Kaiser’s Measure of Sampling Adequacy was 0.89 and thus satisfactory. Eigenvalues of the factors were above 1.0. These factors accounted for a substantial portion of the inter-item variance (67.73%). Using parallel analysis (Horn, 1965; as cited in Zwick & Velicer, 1986), the empirically derived results of the factor analysis were compared to the randomly generated results from a series of Monte Carlo simulations of the data. The averaged results of four Monte Carlo runs indicated that the three-factor solution was significantly different than what would be expected by chance and therefore a statistically meaningful representation of the variables. These factors, in order of variance explained, were labeled Social Emotional Development (48.6%), Language Development (10.3%), and Approaches Toward Learning (8.5%). The cohesion of the resultant factors was tested by examining Cronbach alpha scores that ranged 7 Santa Barbara School Readiness Scales from 0.84 to 0.89. The first factor is the aggregation of six items relating to social-emotional adjustment (i.e., initiating with and responding appropriately to others). The label of Social-Emotional Adjustment was assigned to this factor and its cohesion was excellent (alpha = 0.86). The second factor, consisting of four items, measures language development (i.e., communicates verbally, listens to stories, draws pictures to tell a story; alpha = 0.89). The label of Language Development was given to this factor. The third factor is the summation of five items relating to learning behaviors such as being curious and enthusiastic about school activities (alpha = 0.84). The label of Approaches Toward Learning was assigned to this factor. Conclusion In summary, this instrument has emerged as an adequate measure of the common, child-focused readiness domains of social/emotional adjustment, language development, and approaches towards learning. References Teisl, J. T., Mazzocco, M. M., & Myers, G. F. (2001). The utility of kindergarten teacher ratings for predicting low academic achievement in first grade. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34(3), 286-293. Tramontana, M. G., Hooper, S. R., & Selzer, S. C. (1988). Research on the preschool prediction of later academic achievement: A review. Developmental Review, 8, 89-146. Zwick, W. R., & Velicer, W. F. (1986). Comparison of five rules for determining the number of components to retain. Psychological Bulletin, 99(3), 432-442. Results of Principal Components Analysis for Teacher Scale FACTORS ITEMS I II III Com Social-Emotional Adjustment 1. Child plays and works cooperatively and appropriately. 0.81 0.22 0.10 0.72 2. Child responds appropriately to others. 0.76 0.36 0.13 0.73 3. Child initiates appropriate interactions with others. 0.72 0.42 0.15 0.71 4. Child adapts to planned activity changes. 0.69 0.31 0.32 0.68 5. Child can walk and run with ease. 0.58 -0.20 0.48 0.61 6. Child is able to separate appropriately from caregivers most days of the week. 0.55 0.01 0.49 0.55 Language Development 7. Child demonstrates knowledge that print carries the message in a picture book. 0.16 0.82 0.25 0.76 8. Child orally retells a familiar story. 0.14 0.79 0.36 0.78 9. Child listens with interest and understanding to stories. 0.34 0.78 0.14 0.75 10. Child communicates his/her needs and thoughts verbally. 0.34 0.72 0.29 0.71 Approaches Toward Learning 11. Child draws pictures or symbols to tell a story. -0.01 0.42 0.72 0.69 12. Child is able to use objects such as pencils, scissors or paint brushes. 0.19 0.21 0.72 0.59 13. Child is curious in approaching new activities. 0.26 0.33 0.69 0.65 14. Child is enthusiastic about coming to school. 0.34 0.21 0.68 0.63 15. Child can follow simple two-step directions. 0.42 0.39 0.53 0.61 Eigenvalues 7.34 1.55 1.27 a 48.98 10.30 8.48 Percentage variance explained by rotated factors a Total variance accounted for by the factor structure was 67.73%. UCSB Prop-10 Evaluation Center 8