ML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> gn="center">IMPROVE SCHOOL READINESS AND ACHIEVEMENT

The School Readiness Working Group proposes a coordinated set of programs and services for families and their children, birth to grade three, that are sufficiently powerful and accessible to improve school readiness and performance. The long-term goal is to reverse a widespread pattern of underachievement in California schools and close the achievement gap that affects many children across the state.

For infants and toddlers

RECOMMENDATION 1: Fund high-quality programs for all low-income infants and toddlers and enhance developmental screening in the earliest years of life.

“School readiness investments should encompass supports for the healthy, well-founded development of infants and toddlers, who are mastering the social, emotional, and cognitive skills required for success in school and beyond.”

Caring for Infants and Toddlers
The Future of Children, 2001

WHY?

In California, 1,500 babies are born each day.⁷ For each of these children, the path to school readiness begins long before entry into preschool or kindergarten. The prenatal period and the first three years of life have a powerful effect on children’s ability to learn and on the social and emotional development that underlie achievement.

Parents and educators have long known that infants and toddlers thrive when they have responsive care, individual attention, and enriching experiences. Now evidence from several fields, including neuroscience, cognitive science, and developmental psychology, has converged to show that efforts to meet these essential needs do not simply comfort young children; they affect the way children’s brains develop and lay the groundwork for later learning and achievement.⁸ Given these findings, high-quality health care and child care for infants and toddlers is a crucial aspect of school readiness.

California must respond to research showing that the quality of child care tends to be poorest exactly when children are the most vulnerable—in the first months and years of life.⁹ Moreover, low-income children, who have the most to gain from high-quality care, are the least likely to experience it. This can affect children’s life prospects, because children who experience substandard care in the early years have been shown to fare less well, in terms of development and readiness, than children who have had better quality care.¹⁰ It is therefore imperative that all settings, whether in or out of the home, meet children’s basic requirements and promote positive development. A recent study of child care quality in diverse California neighborhoods showed that a strong flow of state subsidy funds was associated with higher quality.¹¹

Preventive screenings and assessments are crucial for infants and toddlers. During these formative years, some children may show signs of having delays or of being “at risk” in their development. Early intervention services and supports can help many of these children enter school with their developmental issues resolved. For other children, the effects of disabling conditions will persist, but the supports provided to them and their families through early identification, services, and learning opportunities will have a positive impact on their developmental paths.¹²

By acting on this recommendation, legislators can address these problems:

Affordable, good quality infant and toddler care is scarce, especially in low-income communities. Many child care centers do not accept infants or toddlers, and working parents often find it difficult to find care for their very young children. Only one in 20 openings in licensed child care centers is available to children under the age of two.¹³ When parents do find providers, the quality of the care offered may be inadequate. Despite progress in recent decades, parents in California low-income communities continue to have fewer good quality child care options than parents in more prosperous areas.¹⁴

There is no systematic way to gauge children’s health and developmental status. Many infants and toddlers do not receive the health and developmental screenings needed to identify and address, in a timely way, medical problems, developmental delays, disabilities, or a developmental risk for disability. According to a 2001 study commissioned by the California Children and Families Commission, “Access to diagnostic and intervention services may vary for members of different population groups.”¹⁵ The statewide interagency data system needed to ensure accountability for these preventive health measures, as well as continuity of care, has not yet been established.¹⁶ The need for protecting confidentiality must be taken fully into account in the design of this system.

HOW?

Enact legislation to guarantee all low-income (or otherwise eligible) families access to subsidized, standards-based child development services.

Data demonstrate that the quality of care is poorest for infants and toddlers and that children who receive poor quality care do not achieve developmental and school readiness outcomes comparable to children who receive better services. Infant and toddler services, funded through a per-child allocation, should be available as a parental option and should include family child care, center-based care, and parenting information and support through School Readiness Centers. The guarantee should be phased in by 2010, starting in communities with schools that have an Academic Performance Index (API) in the bottom three deciles.

Enact legislation that establishes accountability in the health care system for providing comprehensive and continuous health and developmental screening and assessment services for all children, beginning at birth.

Children enrolled in Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, and many commercial health plans are currently offered periodic preventive health visits with developmental screenings and assessments. However, these screenings and assessments need a much stronger child development component, including psychosocial and cognitive measures. Furthermore, health care plans should be required to implement quality measurement tools to monitor health care providers’ delivery of screening and assessment services.

Data from comprehensive assessments at appropriate developmental milestones (e.g., collected from children at birth and at ages one, three, and five) should be documented in a statewide data system. These assessments will assist parents with early intervention plans, if needed. Health care providers must follow up with families and appropriate providers so that parents of children identified with disabilities, developmental delays, or learning needs receive whatever support is needed to obtain specialized services for their child.

For preschoolers

RECOMMENDATION 2: For the two years leading up to kindergarten entry, provide universal access to formal preschool programs that offer group experiences, standards-based curricula, and individualized transition plans to kindergarten.

“Efforts to reform and strengthen K-12 education cannot succeed without a concerted effort to support the people and improve the programs entrusted with the care and education of our youngest children.”

Council of Chief State School Officers
Early Childhood and Family Education, 1999

WHY?

Research demonstrates that high-quality preschool experiences can boost academic achievement in elementary school.¹⁷

Providing early care and education for children in low-income families has been a longstanding priority in California. Since 1965, the state has made part-day preschool programs, including Head Start and State Preschool, available to children who qualify based on family income.¹⁸ However, formal programs now serve only a fraction of the state’s three- and four-year-olds. Many children do not have access to the benefits of formal preschool experiences.

The case for universal, voluntary preschool beginning at age three has been advanced by policymakers, researchers, employers, parent groups, and education leaders because of its unequivocal link to children’s readiness for and long-term success in school, and because of its proven cost-effectiveness. Numerous national organizations have taken forceful positions on the long-term benefits of universal access to preschool for three- and four-year-olds, including the Council of Chief State School Officers, an organization representing the leaders of K-12 education, and the Carnegie Task Force on Learning in the Primary Grades.

The business community has also recognized the logic of investing in universal early learning programs. In 2002, the influential Committee for Economic Development, a national organization of business and education leaders, released a report entitled Preschool for All. This report called for universal, voluntary access for children ages three and up to preschool programs that meet recognized standards for promoting education and school readiness. The report stressed social and physical development as well as academic goals, and noted the importance of safe environments for children.¹⁹ These recommendations are being heeded as many states throughout the nation, following the lead of Georgia, New York, and Oklahoma, are considering or phasing in universal preschool policies.

California educators have long recognized the value of a high-quality preschool experience. In 1988, California’s School Readiness Task Force recommended voluntary, full-day preschool programs.²⁰ In 1998, a Task Force of distinguished educators, parents, researchers, and civic and business leaders from throughout California was convened by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to consider how to make preschool programs universally available over the next ten years to all three- and four-year-old children whose families want this option. In its final report, it noted that while quality programs exist in the state, resources to support these programs are limited, and too many children are on waiting lists. As a result, “Far too many California families have few choices, or no choice, in gaining access to high-quality developmental opportunities for their preschool children.”²¹ The need for universal preschool persists, but has not yet been met.

By acting on this recommendation legislators can address these problems:

When they get to school, California’s students are not achieving as well as they could or should. Achievement data underscore the need for school readiness. In 2000, 80 percent of California’s fourth graders scored below the proficiency level in reading set for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 85 percent scored below proficiency in math, and 86 percent scored below proficiency in science. About half of California’s fourth graders cannot reach the “basic” level in reading and math—a lower standard.²² The children who take these tests are about nine years old. We can no longer ignore their access to opportunities for high-quality learning in their first five or six years. All California children should have access to high-quality early learning
programs.

California is not doing enough to capture the gains that young children make before they come to school. A national study by the U.S. Department of Education estimated that, on average, one in five incoming kindergartners has difficulty adjusting to kindergarten. In high-poverty schools, the proportion is one in three.²³ Many professional groups, including the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of State Boards of Education, therefore recognize the value of providing transition activities, and advocate increased coordination between preschools and elementary schools.²⁴

California is missing opportunities to prepare children for a global society. To function in California’s multicultural setting, as well as in a global society, children need not only fluency in English, but also proficiency in at least one other language. Scientists have shown that young children are biologically primed for language learning.²⁵ Efforts to begin dual-language learning during the preschool years should be phased in as we expand the number of early childhood settings where effective dual-language instruction can occur. The goal is to make every California child bilingual and bi-literate, with evidence of progress by the end of the third grade.

HOW?

Enact legislation that phases in publicly funded universal preschool in a variety of settings for all three-and four-year olds whose parents choose to enroll them.

Preschool expansion should build on existing models of high-quality programs. It must create new spaces, beginning immediately in communities where schools have an API in the bottom three deciles, with spaces available by 2010 for all California children whose families choose to enroll them.

Enact legislation that requires all public elementary schools and subsidized child development programs to create individualized readiness transition plans for preschoolers entering kindergarten.

Such plans must include strong family and community components. The plans must also describe how to achieve continuity between home and school and pedagogical and curricular continuity between preschool and elementary school.

Enact legislation that requires the phasing in of dual-language learning for all young children in programs that receive public subsidies.

Given California’s demographics, globalization trends, and young children’s receptivity to second-language acquisition, all early childhood settings should foster dual-language learning, ultimately to make every California child bilingual and bi-literate, with progress evident by the end of third grade. To recruit and retain the qualified staff needed to implement this recommendation, the early childhood development funding formula should provide incentives for providers with dual-language proficiency.

For kindergarteners

RECOMMENDATION 3: Require kindergarten attendance for all children; phase in full-school-day kindergarten; and align preschool and kindergarten standards, curricula, and services.

WHY?

”Kindergarten must be included in any effort to promote early education for all children. Kindergarten is unfinished business and deserves our renewed attention.”

Kindergarten: The Overlooked Year
Report from The Foundation for Child Development

About a quarter of the states now require kindergarten attendance. A significant body of research, including a recent study by the National Center for Education Statistics, shows that during the kindergarten year, children gain social and emotional competencies that foster achievement as they move through school. At the same time, they make measurable gains in specific reading and mathematics knowledge and skills.²⁶ Based on these findings, children who do not attend kindergarten may be denied equal opportunity to succeed as they move through school.

Research also shows that children who attend full-school-day versus half-day kindergarten do better academically and socially during the primary school years.²⁷ Participation in full-school-day kindergarten versus half-day kindergarten results in higher academic achievement, especially in reading and math, and promotes good relationships with peers and teachers. Moreover, full-school-day kindergarten is advantageous for all children, not just children from low-income families. Studies also indicate that full-school-day programs have long-term positive effects, such as fewer grade retentions and higher reading and math achievement in the early school years.²⁸

By acting on this recommendation, legislators can address these problems:

Each year, tens of thousands of children miss the opportunities presented by kindergarten. California is missing an opportunity to give all children the best possible start in school and improve achievement in the primary grades.

Most kindergartners attend half-day programs—often lasting no more than two-and-a-half hours. At present, only a fraction of California’s kindergartners attend full-school-day programs. Limiting the number of children who have access to full-school-day represents another missed opportunity, since research indicates increased benefits are derived from full-school-day kindergarten.

Preschool and kindergarten standards are not aligned. California currently has a set of learning and development guidelines for preschool programs and a set of content and performance standards for kindergarten. The children affected by these standards are separated by just a few months in age, but the guidelines and standards are markedly different. The preschool guidelines stress developmentally appropriate instruction as well as social and emotional development; the kindergarten standards emphasize more narrow academic objectives, but kindergarten programs should also be developmentally appropriate. This disconnect can cause confusion for children, parents, and teachers. California needs a single, consolidated set of program standards for all publicly funded programs aimed at promoting all children’s school readiness. These program standards must recognize the developmental continuum that stretches from the early years through the primary grades and offer suggestions for easing children’s transition from one level of schooling to another.

Enact legislation to include kindergarten in the compulsory education system.

Kindergarten should be required, in keeping with provisions of legislation proposed in 2001 that would have mandated attendance in public or private kindergarten while allowing parents the option of delaying school entry for one year until their child is developmentally ready. Currently, 94 percent of California children attend kindergarten. With the more rigorous academic standards now in place, California needs to acknowledge the importance of kindergarten in giving all children an even start. They need adequate preparation before entering the primary grades, when children are often set on academic paths that can last a lifetime.²⁹ Kindergarten programs must meet the developmentally-based needs of the whole child.

Enact legislation to phase in full-school-day kindergarten for all California children, beginning in districts with schools with the lowest API scores.

Phasing in full-school-day kindergarten should begin immediately for communities with schools that have API scores in the bottom three deciles, and the program should be expanded significantly each year until all of California’s children have a full-school-day kindergarten experience. Kindergarten programs should be fully funded to provide appropriate facilities. Research indicates that in full-school-day programs, children spend more time in the types of learning activities that lead to improved achievement. Children experience higher standard scores in reading and math, less retention, better attendance, and higher ratings for many positive behaviors.

Enact legislation that directs the California Department of Education to require and support continuity between the standards and curricula for preschool and kindergarten.

These standards should balance social, emotional and cognitive outcomes and reduce the current disparities in standards and curricula. The standards should address the National Education Goals Panel’s five dimensions of a child’s school readiness.

For children in primary grades

RECOMMENDATION 4. Require “Ready Schools” plans to build on the gains that children have made during their early years.

“One of the key factors that contributed to program success was the duration and continuity of support received by CPC children from age three to nine... The continuity facilitated student transitions from pre-K to kindergarten and from kindergarten to the elementary school grades.”

Study of Chicago Child-Parent Centers (Abstract)
Journal of the American Medical Association, 2001

WHY?

Research has shown that the gains through high-quality preschool programs can fade out over time, unless significant follow-up occurs in elementary school. The good news is that gains can be sustained if elementary schools create literacy-rich, individualized, results-oriented programs that are aligned with the content and strategies used in high-quality preschool programs. This is true for all children, but especially for those at risk of academic failure.³⁰

The importance of follow-up in elementary school was a major finding of a landmark study published in the 2001 Journal of the American Medical Association. The study followed nearly 1000 children from low-income families who participated in the school-based Chicago Child-Parent Center (CPC) study from age three through age nine. The study found that, compared with similar children who were not in the program, participants had higher educational attainment (years of schooling) up to age twenty. CPC participants were less likely to be held back or referred for special education services. Children who stayed in the program longer (from preschool through second or third grade) were less likely to be held back or referred for special education than those who were in the program for a shorter time. The researchers attributed the CPC’s impact in part to its emphasis on reinforcing elementary school gains by coordinating preschool and elementary school instructional activities, reducing class size, adding teacher aides, increasing parent participation, and providing additional instructional supplies.³¹

In characterizing “Ready Schools,” the National Education Goals Panel stressed the importance of three kinds of continuity: between home and school; between preschool programs and elementary schools; and between classroom experience and children’s daily realities.³²

Strengthening continuity in children’s learning experiences can improve school success, thereby protecting state investments in preschool programs.

By acting on this recommendation, legislators can address these problems:

There is a disconnect between preschool and elementary school experiences. Currently, most elementary schools and preschools do not collaborate regularly and have few incentives for doing so. The schools relate to different delivery systems, have few resources for collaboration, and have different “cultures.” As a result, children entering kindergarten often encounter a classroom and expectations that are qualitatively different from their preschool experience, which can disrupt their learning and development.³³

Elementary school curricula often overlook key principles of early childhood development. Many schools do not plan activities and support services for early primary-grade pupils based on today’s best understanding of how young children develop and learn, how they benefit from rich language experiences, or how they develop emotional well-being and social competence. Children do not have the benefit of best practices that could help them become more able, confident learners.

HOW?

Enact legislation that requires all schools to implement standards-based rich learning experiences and support services in kindergarten through the primary grades to preserve and extend the gains that children have made in preschool.

Compelling research finds that the gains children make in preschools can be sustained if elementary schools create individualized services that provide family education, family literacy, and other family supports and that offer social, health, and nutrition services to children in addition to purposeful, standards-based curricula.

Enact legislation that requires all public elementary schools to create, submit, and/or revise a “Ready Schools” plan.

The National Education Goals Panel has developed and adopted research-based criteria for “Ready Schools” that should form the basis for each elementary school’s self analysis and improvement plan. (These criteria are listed on page 7). The plan’s purpose is to ensure that families, preschools, and schools collaborate to ensure children’s success in elementary school. Reviews should be conducted in alignment with existing school improvement plans, with reports submitted to the local school board and county superintendent of schools.

For children with disabilities and other special needs

RECOMMENDATION 5: Establish accountability and mandate professional development to ensure effective placements of children in inclusive and appropriate early childhood education programs with suitable child-adult ratios for children with disabilities and other special
needs.

“... the challenge of full inclusion for all children remains unrealized despite legal, research, and ethnical foundations for this practice.”

California Institute on Human Services,
Sonoma State University, 2001

WHY?

Children with disabilities and other special needs require special attention and support as they navigate multiple learning systems and environments. Research shows that when these children’s needs are addressed by caring, competent adults in mainstream settings, they stand to gain tremendous benefits, as do the children in their classrooms or groups who do not have disabilities.³⁴

Many strategies and models have been developed for teaching children with disabilities and other special needs in inclusive settings.³⁵ To apply these strategies, teachers and caregivers need a range of supports, including ongoing professional development. These supports are necessary because the goal is not simply to place children with disabilities in inclusive settings, but to support their participation and learning in a meaningful way in those settings.

By acting on this recommendation, legislators can address these problems:

There is limited accountability regarding appropriate placements. The intent of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) is to maximize opportunities for children with disabilities to be educated with their peers. Presently, it is difficult to determine the extent to which California’s young children are receiving appropriate services in the most inclusive setting possible for each child. Across the state, a patchwork of systems, programs, and agencies serve young children with disabilities and their families. In the absence of a coherent early care and education system, many children may not be receiving appropriate services, especially those from rural areas and those whose families speak languages other than English.

Too few early educators are qualified to work in or provide inclusive settings. Families whose young children have disabilities or other special needs face significant obstacles when they try to access child care. Several recent studies have identified a shortage of qualified providers as a major barrier.³⁶ Professional development is also needed to prepare teachers and providers to identify and serve young children who may not be diagnosed with a disability but who experience developmental delays or difficulties. Along with parents, early educators can help to spot problems early, avoiding the need for long-term remediation. This diagnosis can be especially important in communities where racial, ethnic, or linguistic factors contribute to the under-identification and under-reporting of disabilities.³⁷

There are no state guidelines for child-adult ratios in inclusive settings. Broad consensus exists that inclusion is the right approach for many children with disabilities and other special needs, but there are few guidelines or supports for making it happen. According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the inclusion of children with disabilities may necessitate additional adults or smaller group size to ensure that all children's needs are met.³⁸ California has no guidelines or supports for ensuring an appropriate ratio or group size in inclusive settings.

HOW?

Enact legislation to establish accountability for effective placement of children with disabilities and other special needs in inclusive and appropriate early childhood education programs.

Children with disabilities and other special needs should be served alongside other children. All programs serving young children must comply with family requests to enroll children with disabilities and provide for their effective education. All providers and families should have access to a multi-disciplinary team to consult with and train adults. The team should also be available to assess children and provide early intervention services to support inclusive and appropriate services.

Enact legislation that mandates professional development on educating children with disabilities and other special needs for educators who work with young children in publicly funded settings.

Child care providers report that they need training, onsite mentoring, and additional staff support to effectively serve children with disabilities and other special needs. Providers need training on how to better work with children and to obtain ancillary services that individual children qualify for under the law.³⁹

Enact legislation that establishes and funds appropriate child-adult ratios in mainstream settings that include children with significant disabilities.

The care and education of young children with disabilities often demands more adults per child than current ratios provide. The nature of the disability and the child’s needs should drive the ratio.

Table of Contents
Summary	Introduction	Improvements	Early Care
Family Support	Epilogue	Appendices	Members