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Kindergarten Readiness: Is Your Child Ready for School?
Introduction
Traditionally, Kindergarten was considered an opportunity for children to socialize and
learn the skills necessary to begin a formal education. Over the last few decades, however, there
has been an increasing concern by parents, teachers, researchers, and policymakers over the
question of whether children are “ready” for school. Even though Goal 1 of the National
Education Panel called for all children to be “ready for school” by the year 2000 (National
Education Goals Panel, 2002), there is little consensus on how “ready” should be defined or how
it is to be measured. One factor that is being considered in the readiness of kindergarten is
preschool. Research clearly shows that children who arrive to kindergarten with stronger
cognitive, language, social and behavioral skills have a smoother transition their first year of
school (Bellisimo, 1995).
Kindergarten readiness can affect a child’s self-esteem, motivation and future success in
school. Some parents are choosing to delay their child’s entry into kindergarten for a year. This
practice is believed to have increased in recent years due to rising academic expectations for
kindergarten and the fear of high stakes testing since the passage of No Child Left Behind
(NCLB) in 2001 (Frey, 2005). By offering another year in community preschool or in a public
school Pre-K program, children are given “the gift” of maturity to develop the skills needed to do
well. The practice of voluntary delay is much more common than in the past. The most current
estimates available that are nationally, about 7%-9% of children begin kindergarten a year later
than the age at which they are eligible (Entwisle, 2010).
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How do you know your child is ready for kindergarten? In the past, the only factor
parents needed to consider was age and birth date. Many preschool programs use to fit the
curriculum and expectations to the development of each individual child. This approach focused
on stimulation appropriate to their learning needs and abilities which would help ensure your
child will learn at his or her own pace and develop during the year and be ready for their first
formal year of education. Unfortunately, today’s rigors of kindergarten have made it more
difficult to prepare a child. Some of the issues we are facing are reduced funds and subsidies for
Pre-K programs and high academic expectations with increased class sizes.
Kindergarten preparedness goes beyond attending preschool and a child’s eligibility age
but, now includes factors such as gender, early experience, developmental maturity and poverty.
Should the emphasis of “ready” be placed on the child who gets assessed or the schools
themselves to be ready to meet the needs of an increasingly diversity of young learners?
Literature Review
The following literature review will address four key areas of kindergarten readiness:
chronological age and/or developmental age, prior preschool experience, the child’s sex,
prepared schools and holding out. Many factors have been examined in the efforts to determine
what affects kindergarten readiness. Research suggests that a child’s relative age of entry into
formal schooling, prior experience and gender play an interactive part on the ability to construct
and reconstruct knowledge in a way that is consistent with the expectations of formal curricula
(Gullo & Burton, 1992). Children enter kindergarten with a varying abilities, comprehension,
and degrees of preparedness. Furthermore, the same research indicates that more resources
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should be devoted to developing Kindergarten programs that better support the learning and
development of children with diversified strengths and weaknesses.
First, I will discuss the research the effects a child’s age makes upon entry to school.
Second, I will examine the research communicating the importance of preschool. Third, I will
evaluate the research done on the biological factors of gender. Fourth, I will explore the research
that suggests the factors of readiness for children entering Kindergarten should be placed on
“Ready Schools”. Finally, I will critique the research discussed in the literature and present my
personal response to it.
Chronological/Developmental Age
Although children may meet a specific age requirement, there are two concerns regarding
eligibility. First, there has been a major concern that not all five year olds are “ready” for
today’s Kindergarten (Uphoff & Gilmore, 1986) based on their eligible age and that
developmental age should be considered. This is due primarily to the academic demands being
placed on children by the curriculum and rigors of testing. Academic readiness for Kindergarten
includes a child’s ability to perform basic academic tasks, such as counting recognizing letters,
and communicating effectively (Harnish, Martin, Fabes & Reiser, 2007). A child’s development
is irregular and sporadic. Readiness gaps have been attributed to family life and parenting,
home-school connectedness, community resources, and lack of social skills. For example, some
children may have participated in various out-of-the home care experiences, had access to
literature, can recognize letters, numbers, and shapes, while others have not been read to
frequently in the home, have not had social interaction or participated in the kinds of activities
that would seem to promote success in Kindergarten.
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Secondly, do older children benefit more from their Kindergarten experience than
children who are younger? This question has developed into the common practice of “holding
out”, “holding back” or “redshirting” in which parents delay their age eligible children’s entry
into kindergarten for one more year (Ackerman & Barnett, 2005) in order to gain the skills
needed to handle their first formal year of education.
The assumption that some children are not mature enough to participate in kindergarten
are mixed. Some studies suggest that the developmental levels of children who are closest to the
cut-off dates lack maturity. For example, young kindergarten students are more likely to have
low work related skills, such as listening to directions and complying with teacher demands
(McClelland & Morrison, 2000). A small study in Chicago of children in kindergarten who did
and did not meet the cut-off date showed that the younger children in the group had lower test
scores and had difficulty processing the information needed to take the tests (Bisanz, Morrison &
Dunn, 1995). Many of these children lacked the ability to communicate and pay attention, their
ability to take turns and be sensitive to other’s feelings.
In addition, chronologically young children continue to perform at a disadvantage in
comparison to their older peers. For example, one of the earliest studies exploring the issue
looked at the Metropolitan Achievement Test scores of 100 younger and older kindergarteners.
The results of this study showed that 13% of the younger students equaled those of their older
classmates, whereas the remaining 87% fell below standards (Carter, 1956). This trend has since
continued. Math and reading skills are often challenging on a young child’s inability to process
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information. On the average, children with little or no amount of preschool or prekindergarten
experience lacked mental arithmetic skills and ability to conserve numbers (Bisanz, et al., 1995).
A case study by Gullo and Burton (1992) was conducted to determine whether older
children in kindergarten benefit from the school experience than children who were younger.
One hundred and four kindergarteners participated in the study (52 boys and 52 girls) in a
Milwaukee school district to establish a connection between kindergarten age and readiness and
were selected by lottery. In addition to the test, a survey was sent home asking if the child
attended preschool. Kindergarten readiness was determined using the Metropolitan Readiness
Test (MRT) during the school year. Age was examined in two ways. For the regression
analyses, age was viewed as a continuous variable (in months). For analyses of variance, age
was viewed as a categorical variable using the following criteria to divide the children: (a.) those
who started kindergarten at 5 years, 6 months or below and (b.) those who started kindergarten
when they were older than 5 years, 6 months.
The MRT is a norm-referenced test designed to assess important knowledge and skills
required for reading and math. The multi-skill battery included: auditory- beginning consonants
and sound letter correspondence, visual- visual matching and finding patterns, language- school
language and listening, quantitative- mathematical concepts and operations, and a composite
readiness score- the sum of auditory, visual and language. For this investigation, only the MRT
composite and quantitative scores were used in the analyses for reading and math. The research
indicated that significant main effects were found for age of entry and length of preschool
experiences combined versus age of entry with no experience. The findings indicate that there
were no differences between the older and younger children by the middle of their kindergarten
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year. It was further suggested that children who entered kindergarten somewhat young, had a
year of preschool to negate the age effect.
Prior School Experience
The most hopeful approach for supporting kindergarten readiness is preschool.
Participation in a preschool or prekindergarten program can positively influence a child’s first
year of academic schooling. Preschool can be defined as those programs serving children not old
enough to attend elementary school (Gullo & Burton, 1992). Many preschool and state funded
Head Start programs offer a variety of early childhood educational philosophies that include
combine learning with play on a developmentally appropriate level. One large component of
quality is teacher education/instruction.
Preschool quality is contingent on a variety of structural factors, such as the number of
children in a classroom, teacher-child ratio, and the physical environment of the center. Quality
relies on the types of learning the children participate in and the interactions they have with their
teachers and classmates. The importance of preschool quality is demonstrated in many studies.
For example, the large scale Cost, Quality & Child Outcomes Study found that attending higher
quality programs was correlated with better language scores and math skills for those children
who attended a state funded prekindergarten program (Mugnuson, 2004). One assumption is
likely related to the fact that teachers in state funded programs are required to obtain a
Bachelor’s Degree whereas many teachers in private preschools need a minimum requirement of
twelve college units in Early Childhood Education. Research on the effects of varying preschool
experiences (public or private) has been somewhat limited to studying populations of children
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who are in need of intervention (Goffin, 1989) or examining the different effects of specific
curriculum models (Powell, 1987).
The defining of “ready” will always depend on who is defining- the school or parent.
The demands that a given kindergarten program should be taken into account. There is no
question that preschool can enhance a child’s social and cognitive development, but when is the
right time to expose a child to preschool? Even though preschool can begin at any age prior to
elementary school, many parents are delaying their children an extra year from kindergarten to
maximize their learning. This practice is often referred to as “holding out” (holding back) an
age-eligible child for kindergarten. One of the prevalent reasons parents give for delaying entry
one year into formal education is they felt their child was simply not “ready” based on the
assumption they were not mature enough to participate in or benefit from the rigors of an
academic program (Bellisimo, Sacks & Mergendoller, 1995). An examination of data from the
Early Childhood Longitudinal Study in 1999 showed that children who entered kindergarten a
year older than their peers had higher math and reading achievement scores in both the fall and
spring of the kindergarten year.
Preschool experiences not only include social and cognitive developmental readiness, but
also the relationship between the teacher and the child. Kindergartener’s with prior school
experience also reflects their ability to play cooperatively and establish friendships. Research by
the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in 2007 indicates Preschoolers
who develop successful relationships with their teachers and peers ultimately become more
motivated towards engaging in learning activities (Birch & Ladd, 1997). Further research has
also shown that teachers have a significant influence on young children’s school readiness and
adjustments, such that children who experience warmer and closer teacher-child relationships in
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the early years tend to have fewer behavioral problems, like school more and perform better
academically than children who do not encounter preschool (Birch & Ladd, 1997). For example,
Birch & Ladd (1997) found that secure teacher-child relationships were positively associated
with self-directedness and assertive social skills. This finding supports the idea that positive
early school relationships encourage class room participation and engagement in school related
tasks, which draws other peers to them and improves their social and emotional development
needed for school readiness.
A case study by Palermo (2007) was conducted to determine whether prior preschool
experience influenced a child’s readiness for kindergarten. Participants were 95 kindergarten
children from random schools in a major metropolitan area in the southwestern United States
using a convenience sampling procedure. Written consent was obtained for 98% of the
participants. Approximately half of participants (48%) were girls. Data were gathered in the fall
of the kindergarten school year. Parents completed questionnaires regarding their child’s prior
school experiences and teachers filled out questionnaires regarding academic readiness, behavior
and social skills.
The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that preschool was related to the
readiness of kindergarten. The distributions of variables found that children who attended
preschool displayed prosocial behavior and high levels of prior knowledge whereas children with
no preschool experience exhibited aggressive behavior, peer exclusion and teacher-child
dependency. The descriptive data (Palermo, 2007, p. 411) found that, on average, children in
this sample (76%) tended to have a positive experience in kindergarten. The data correlated with
the number of children who attended preschool.
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Gender/Sex Differences
Along with age and prior preschool experiences, gender is a characteristic that can have
an influence on a child’s kindergarten readiness. Even though a child’s sex is a biological
attribute, being a boy or girl will lead to various social and intellectual experiences in a given
environment. Because boys and girls construct knowledge differently (Gullo & Burton, 1992),
differences in rates of maturation between boys and girls put boys at a disadvantage, both
academically and socially. Lack of maturity can lead to classroom behavioral issues such as
class disruption, uncooperative play and an inability to follow directions. Ultimately, boys who
have entered kindergarten at a younger age have been found more likely to be retained in
kindergarten compared to girls and are possibly due to both lower academic performance and
greater behavior issues (Meisels & Liaw, 1993).
Gender differences at the early childhood level can manifest themselves in many forms.
For instance, previous research by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1990) suggested that
because the majority of early childhood teachers are females, there may be a feminization of the
curriculum during these years, possibly leading to detrimental effects for boys. The same study
also revealed that behavioral and academic expectations of a given school environment favored
girls over boys and in return many teachers tended to spend more time working with girls.
Additional attentions in the classrooms give girls the advantage in reading achievement (Gullo,
1990).
Cultural and societal expectations can also shape performance. Teachers and parents in
the United States tend to expect girls to perform better academically, especially in reading (Lehr,
1982), whereas those in other cultures see holding out as an opportunity to give their sons an
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edge over other children in leadership and sports if they are older and more competent than the
other children in their class. While boys, in general, may begin schooling at a disadvantage
compared to girls due to differences in maturation, socialization, and prior experiences; these
differences often diminish or reverse themselves in later years (Maccoby & Jacklin, 1984).
A case study by Willson & Hughes (2006) was conducted to determine whether
gender/sex influenced a child’s readiness for kindergarten. Participants included 1481
prekindergarten students (54% boys and 46% girls) in the Miami School Readiness Project. All
students were eligible to start kindergarten the following school year according to their birth
date. During the fall of their 4 year old pre-k year, children were individually assessed for
school readiness by their pre-k teachers via a norm-referenced development assessment. Scores
were used to measure three domains: cognitive (counting and matching), language (naming and
comprehension), and fine motor (writing and manipulation). Teachers and parents completed the
Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) prior to the initial assessment to determine the
child’s socioemotional strengths or protective factors, which consisted of three sections:
initiative, attachment and self-control.
Overall, delayed kindergarten entry was very rare for children in the area attending pre-k
programs. Only (0.5%) entered kindergarten a year later than suggested by their birth date. Of
the 0.5%, 100% of the children were boys. It is clear that voluntary delayed entry into
kindergarten is prevalent amongst boys. The results correlated with teacher and parent DECA
assessments providing additional support to the data. In a separate study by Bellisimo (1995), it
was suggested that gender was not a single factor in determining kindergarten readiness, but in
combination with other aspects such as age and/or previous school experience.
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Ready Schools and Holding Out
The question is not just “is a child ready for school?”, but also if the school is ready to
meet the diverse needs of all age eligible kindergarten children. And if they are not, is holding
back their child an extra year from school a result of the schools not being prepared? It has
already been established that age, prior experience and gender can make a child’s adjustment to
kindergarten difficult, but research from the National Center for Family and Community
Connections with Schools has found that early care and education programs that have family
components can boost children’s educational success (Ackerman & Barnett, 2005). For
example, partnering families with the community. Libraries and museums can provide and
extend out of school enrichment opportunities.
Seventeen states are participating in the School Readiness Indicators Initiative. The goal
is to develop transition initiatives and community partnerships not only with school districts, but
on a state level. The initiative does not define readiness solely as a set of traits within an
individual child, but instead, it identifies three characteristics of a “ready school” (Gonzalez,
2002). These characteristics help close the information gap between parents and schools. The
first characteristic focuses on transitional issues such as cultural, linguistic and contextual
restraints. This will require schools to have a variety of highly qualified professional staff, as
well as environments that are conducive to learning (Gonzalez, 2002). Staff must also have
positive expectations about children’s abilities to learn and succeed in school.
The second characteristic concentrates on teaching and learning, and mirror the literature
on effective schooling (Newman, 1996). Specifically, ready schools support the professional
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development of all those who interact with children. Some strategies include monitoring and
adjusting curriculum according to the child’s needs. These educational approaches not only
provide support to staff to accommodate diversified teaching, but also solicit parental
involvement.
The last characteristic addresses that ready schools recognize that children can benefit
from support outside of the school, including nonacademic supports relating to healthcare,
nutrition and social services (Ackerman & Barnett, 2005). These services can provide parents
with the tools that they need to make informed decisions. Studies show that differences in
children’s cognitive, language and social skills upon entry to kindergarten correlate with
families’ poverty status, parents’ educational levels or ethnic backgrounds, and children’s health
and living environments (Ackerman & Barnett, 2005). By giving families information, it may
not guarantee there will not be risk factors, but it will provide the necessary support for healthy
growth and development.
A quantitative study was conducted by Bellisimo, Sacks and Mergendoller (1995) to
research the practice of holding back (“holding out”) children who are eligible for kindergarten
by examining the prevalent reasons parents give for delaying entry one year into formal
education in a single Northern California County. 15.1% of all age-eligible children within 30
schools in the San Francisco Bay area were older than their classmates as a result of being held
out of school in 1992 (Bellisimo, et al, 1995) and have fluctuated by 2% from 1988 to 1992. The
most significant factor was that parents felt their child simply was not “ready” based on the
assumption that they were not mature enough to participate in or benefit from the rigors of an
academic program and that schools were simply not ready to modify or accommodate a diversity
of learners.
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The variable of this study is to determine whether there was a change over time (between
1988 and 1992) in the proportion of parents holding children out of kindergarten and to explore
school and family characteristics thought to be associated with this phenomenon (Bellisimo, et
al, 1995). Is there a relationship between parents holding back their age eligible child from
kindergarten to gain experience and being socially and cognitively ready for entry to
kindergarten the following year? Therefore, the research design would be correlational.
The study was conducted in one county in the San Francisco Bay area. The county was
demographically diverse with the majority of the population being middle class or above. It
included suburbs and local farms. Within the county, there were 12 public school districts.
These districts had 35 elementary schools which contained 82 regular kindergarten classrooms
and 14 prekindergarten classrooms. Of the initial 35 schools, 30 of those schools would be
participating in the study (four of the schools contained four small one-room schools, one school
did not offer kindergarten and one elementary school did not open up until after the study- these
schools were omitted). The population of boys and girls attending kindergarten in September
school year 1988-89 (N=1776) and September school year 1991-92 (N=1908) which initially
produced sample sizes September 1988 (n=313) and September 1991 (n=320). Of those
children who were 68 months of age or over, it was noted between those who were retained or
repeating kindergarten (1988 N=72; 1991 N=39) and those who were older as a consequence of
having been held out of school (1988 N=243; 1991 N=148). Ultimately, students who were
retained were excluded from the study. The sample size used resulted in 1988 n=148 and 1991
n=108. The sample was obtained from school records using the birthdates of all children
entering kindergarten in September, 1988 and September, 1991. Each child was then calculated
an age based on months.
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The sample was obtained through simple random sampling from the various school
districts within the county. Random sampling would give each school an equal probability of
being selected for the study. The researchers conducted surveys and interviews. Surveys were
given to kindergarten teachers within the 30 schools to assess attitudes which might be pertinent
to holding out and interviews of parents of kindergarten children in 4 of the schools selected.
Teacher surveys for the school year 1988-89 contained seven “school readiness” questions which
indicated the common basis why age eligible children should not enter kindergarten. The
teachers’ responses were based on a 5-point scale ranging from definitely to definitely not. The
same survey was given to teachers for the 1991-92 school year to evaluate if teacher attitude had
changed over time. The 1991-92 survey included an additional seven questions which addressed
academic expectations regarding math and reading. These questions were also based on a 5point scale.
The results indicated that the number of children being held out declined in 1988
and 1991. Boys in 1988 averaged 166 out of 861 (19.3%) and the girls averaged 77 out of 843
(9.1%) compared to 1991 where boys averaged 111 out of 975 (11.4%) and girls 37 out of 894
(3.7%). The figures report that girls were held out 53% less than boys in 1988 and 69% less
often than boys in 1991 (Bellisimo, et al., 1995). Holding out patterns were also examined
between the initial 30 participating schools. The majority of the decline between 1988 and 1991
came from 7 of the 30 schools. Table 3 shows significant declines, the percentage of held out
students in 1988 and 1991, and the accompanying chi-square statistics (Bellisimo, et al., 1995)
on page 215.
The findings suggest that teacher expectations and responses on the questionnaires did
not predict which schools decreased holding out patterns between 1988 and 1991 and did
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correlate with the data, but to some extent did influence a parents’ decision to hold their child
back. Parental perceptions and their answers during interviews did appear to have played a role
in holding out decisions. The results accurately reflected the data and showed a connection of the
same results in a previous study by Shephard (1988) which confirms expectations and ideology
with holding out patterns.
The study revealed an internal validity threat of experimental mortality in which 14 of the
schools being studied lost state funded prekindergarten classes between 1989 and 1991. The
researchers did consider the possibility that any loss might explain a decline of holding out
patterns, but this interaction was not significant enough to affect the data or its’ results. No other
threats appeared to be present.
In conclusion, it is revealed that between 1988 and 1991, the practice of holding out
children of kindergarten when they are age eligible declined progressively each school year by
2%. The finding is in direct contrast with what might have been expected if kindergartener’s
“escalating academic demand” (Shephard & Smith, 1988) was continuing. Although, the gender
difference confirms the findings of previous research demonstrating a higher holding out rate for
boys, and socioeconomic status was only confirmed for boys and not girls. It is further believed
that students who were retained only benefited from retention socially and emotionally (Doyle,
1989). Academically, students who were held out did not achieve significantly better than
students who were not retained.
Conclusion
This literature review explored research in four key areas of kindergarten readiness:
chronological age and/or developmental age, prior preschool experience, gender/sex, and
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prepared schools and holding out. Overall, the goal of determining whether a child is ready for
school is based on several factors. It is acknowledged that all children enter school at various
stages of development based on their experiences. Preparing a child for entry into formal school
begins with exposure to early childhood education programs such as prekindergarten or Head
Start. The quality of these programs should include well educated and trained teachers.
Finally, after reviewing the literature, it is evident that each child’s abilities are
different. I agree with the research that proposes that children who arrive to kindergarten from a
transition from preschool have stronger cognitive, language, social, and behavioral skills than
those with no prior school experiences. Although the research discussed specific factors
contributing to readiness, I felt one of the most promising feature was the forming of a
relationship between the schools and parents by providing resources based on a families specific
needs. It was encouraging to know that many policies have been instituted beyond the district
level and being established state wide. As with any initiative effort, merely creating a guideline
or strategy does not necessarily mean its goals will be accomplished. Good policymaking on
readiness begins with an assessment of the resources in place and the capacity of organizations to
collaborate in supporting children’s readiness for school. As a current prekindergarten teacher, I
will continue to research my topic and educate myself as I will face a variety of challenges. As a
future elementary school teacher, I will take into consideration the diversity of my students and
give each individual student what they need.
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