Kindergarten Readiness

1. Kindergarten Readiness Kindergarten Readiness Summit 2011 Dayton, Ohio

2. “There is no single overarching definition of readiness but rather a universal readiness construct to which a variety of indicators have been brought to bear.” • Blair et. al.

3. Child side of readiness: • Pre-literacy skills • Self Regulation • General cognitive ability • Language ability

4. Readiness also is tied to: • Family resources • Learning opportunities • Risk factors • Community support • The readiness of schools

5. “Simply put…school readiness refers to the state of child competencies at the time of school entry that are important for later school success.” • Kyle Snow: Kindergarten Readiness: Conceptual and Practical Considerations

6. Kindergarten Readiness • The Kindergarten Readiness-Literacy has been in place for 6 years; • The purpose of the assessment was to permit a comparison of the academic readiness of kindergarten students AND; • To provide teachers and administrators with information about children’s development reading skills at the start of school.

7. Kindergarten Readiness • In reality— • It is a 15 minute screening for one content area • Think of it as a thermometer • Not to be used as high stakes

8. Expanded Kindergarten Readiness Assessment • Review the research and identify any changes that should be made to current KRA-L elements: • Answering questions • Sentence repetition • Rhyming identification • Rhyming production • Letter identification • Initial sounds

9. Expanded Kindergarten Readiness Assessment • And add--------- • Mathematics • Social-emotional

10. Expanded Kindergarten Readiness Assessment • What does current research tell us? • What do the content experts tell us? • What are we learning from other states?

11. Early Learning Content Standards • Social Studies: completed • Science: completed • English Language Arts: pre-k in process • Mathematics: pre-K in process

12. Standards: “the Heart of Educational Equity” • Content Standards: define the knowledge, concepts and skills to be taught at each age or grade level. • …as social constructions they ideally represent a community compromise on what children should know and be able do to; • …standards say clearly that teachers are responsible for organizing the learning environment so that children learn.” B. Bowman 2006

13. Social Studies and Science Standards The revised standards are designed to include the essential concepts and skills to allow for instruction that fosters deeper understanding.

14. English Language Arts and Math • Fewer, clearer and higher standards that are aligned with college and work expectations; • Standards that have been internationally benchmarked; • Rigorous content and application of knowledge through higher-order skills; and • Evidence and/or research-based standards built upon the strengths and lessons of the current standards.

15. Social Studies and Science • Strands • Themes • Connections • Topics • Content Statements

16. Social Studies and Science • Strand refers to the “disciplines” within the content area. • Social Studies: History, Geography, Government and Economics • Science: Earth and Space Science, Physical Science and Life Sciences

17. Early Learning Content Standards: Social Studies and Science Themes relate to the focus of the content for a particular grade level. Social Studies Themes: Pre-K: The Classroom Community K: A Child’s Place in Time and Space Science Themes: Pre-K: Observations of the Environment K: Observations of the Environment

18. Early Learning Content Standards: Social Studies and Science Content Statements: The essential knowledge to be learned at each grade level. Social Studies: Heritage: Personal family stories and traditions support the understanding of heritage. Science: Observations of objects and materials: Color, shape, size weight and texture are some examples that can be used to describe and/or sort objects and materials.

19. Early Learning Content Standards: Social Studies and Science • Topics: The topics are the main focus for content for each strand at that particular grade level. • Social Studies Topics for Pre-K: • Historical thinking and skills; Heritage • Spatial thinking and skills; Human Systems • Civic participation and skills: Rules and Laws • Scarcity; Production and consumption

20. Early Learning Content Standards: English Language Arts and Math English Language Arts: Strands Topics Standard Statements Mathematics: Domain Standard Statements

21. Early Learning Content Standards: English Language Arts • Key ideas and details • Craft and structure • Integration of knowledge and ideas • Range of reading and level of text complexity • Print concepts • Phonological awareness • Phonics and word recognition • Fluency • Text types of purpose

22. Early Learning Content Standards: English Language Arts • Production and distribution of writing • Research to build present knowledge • Comprehension and collaboration • Presentation of knowledge and ideas • Conventions of standard English • Knowledge of language • Vocabulary acquisition and use

23. Early Learning Content Standards: Math • Counting and cardinality • Number, number sense and operations • Operations and algebraic thinking • Meaning of operations • Measurement and data • Geometry

24. Social Emotional Development • Self awareness • Self management • Social awareness • Relationship skills • Responsible decision-making skills

25. Early Childhood Education • Children are rarely exposed to any content specific instruction—more so for math and science. • Of 676 state funded programs: • 15% consistently rated at high levels of emotional support and classroom organization; relatively high for instruction. • 19% had low levels across all 3 elements of quality. Hamre & Pianta et. al. (2007)

26. Early Childhood Education • “Quality” • Clear expectations • Monitoring for problems: proactive vs. reactive • Redirecting behavior • Praise rather than call attention to misbehavior • Increase student engagement • Create efficient routines at the start of school • Offer interesting activities, centers and materials

27. Early Childhood Education • Children are active in their own learning • Advancing conceptual understanding through higher order thinking skills • Providing quality feedback to children through back and forth exchanges • Modeling language • Promoting peer conversations • Using content specific instruction

28. Why do this? • Children may: • Spend up to 10 hour per day • 5 days per week • 50 weeks per year • In out of home care settings This amounts to 12,500 hours of time before age 5; Or the equivalent to the number of hours spent in elementary and secondary education.