• References

The greatest benefit of this study is that it provides the first-ever look at a nationally representative sample of kindergarten children upon entry into school. As it evolves over time, this study will give us answers to questions about which there has been anecdotal evidence at best and speculation at worst. For instance, until now the data most often quoted on the subject of school readiness were from a highly informal and unscientific survey of kindergarten teachers by Ernest Boyer in which more than one-third of children were said to be "unready" (Boyer 1991). Even this first report of findings indicates that such a statement is not just a vast oversimplification but is actually inaccurate. ECLS-K will fill the vital need for information to guide decisionmakers on this important topic.

A second strength and benefit of the study is its use of a comprehensive definition of "school readiness" drawing on the multidimensional construct as understood by professionals in child development and early education and as used by the Goals Panel and many states in their readiness initiatives. In keeping with its comprehensive definition, the study used multiple measures and sources of information, which not only make the findings more reliable and robust (since 4- and 5-year-old children are notoriously challenging research subjects), but also permit additional levels of analysis that will be essential if the study is to make a real contribution to improving the lives of children. For example, differences in parents' and teachers' perceptions of their children's behavior—which in this report are only described—can be further analyzed and used to inform both teachers and parents.

The findings confirm much of what we previously thought but also challenge some of our frequent assumptions. Clearly, the findings support the perception of many kindergarten teachers that the children in their classes are increasingly diverse. The full extent of individual diversity cannot be gleaned from these aggregated data. However, the rich database will permit complex analyses, providing perhaps the best opportunity ever to examine relationships among variables of children's experience and their competencies.

Taken at face value, the study again finds the oft-reported differences in achievement among children with various risk factors (such as a single-parent family, low income, and low level of mother's education) or from different racial and ethnic groups. Given that minimal analysis has been done on the relationships among these variables, the findings should be taken with extreme caution. Family risk factors tend to correlate with one another. For example, having a single parent is often correlated with lower family income or lower levels of maternal education. The presence of multiple risk factors has more impact than any particular factor alone. Similarly, African-American and Hispanic families are more likely to experience poverty or to have lower levels of maternal education in this country.

Nevertheless, the study demonstrates that many differences among groups are already present upon entry into school (although they tend to increase during the school years). This finding substantiates the fact that kindergarten is too late to intervene in the educational trajectory for many children at risk. Additional support is required not only for preschool and Head Start, but also for intervention programs that target younger children and their parents, such as Early Head Start and high-quality child care for infants and toddlers.

One finding that is not surprising at all is that, in general, younger children perform less well than older children. This is not surprising given that the age difference at kindergarten entry may equal a year of experience, experience is essential for learning, and much of what is measured in the study is developmental in nature. In the past, the reality of age effects has led some policymakers to raise entrance ages and many parents to keep their children out of kindergarten. Advice to policymakers: It would be unfortunate and regressive if this study reignited the entrance age arguments. The study substantiates that diversity among kindergartners is the norm and that age is only one dimension of it. The study found that some of the youngest children were in the higher quartiles of performance, proving that age alone is an inadequate criterion for judging school readiness.

Now to the relatively surprising findings. For the first time, on a large scale, the study gives us a picture of "what children know and can do" at kindergarten entry. These data strongly suggest that most children are better prepared to succeed in school than many have thought. But clearly more needs to be done for children who have multiple risk factors in their experience. These are clearly the children who most need to be in school. Therefore, the results of this study should not be used to set standards for kindergarten entry, but rather to improve early intervention, inform curriculum development, and enhance the professional development of teachers.

Despite the differences in achievement identified between groups, the study finds that there are some children who at this early age "are beating the odds"; they are in the top quartile on various measures despite the presence of risk factors in their backgrounds. Further analysis of this subgroup should prove fruitful in identifying the mediating factors in their environments, especially those that have implications for policy or practice in early childhood settings. The study has the great potential of following these children over the course of their elementary schooling to see what critical factors do or do not continue to help them beat society's expectations.

Such an initial report, which by its nature is descriptive rather than analytic, runs the risk of leading to overly simplistic conclusions. Such conclusions would do an injustice to the study as well as to its subjects, since both are far more complex that this initial report reveals. But future analyses have great potential to further enlighten us all.