Learning is a cumulative process and at every step of the way students are being taught the skills in order to advance to the next grade level. Once behind, it is hard for most students to catch up because the curriculum doesn’t slow down. The earlier one falls behind, the harder time a child will have as s/he moves to the next level. If students fail to achieve the standards required to move onto the next grade, they will likely suffer the emotional and social difficulties of being held back a grade. The more students struggle with academics, the higher the likelihood they will eventually drop out of school altogether.
Tracking kindergarten readiness is important because it provides a look into the level of preparation students have had before their first day of kindergarten. There is an abundance of research showing the connection between early life language and math skills and positive outcomes later, such as successful careers, good health, and law-abiding behavior.
Skill acquisition prior to kindergarten can come from a few sources: the child's home, private preschool, or publicly supported preschool In Washington State, the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) was created and is funded at the state level. Head Start and Early Head Start provide similar services via federal-level funding. The ECEAP specifically “helps prepare low-income 3- and 4-year-olds for success in school and life [and is] focused on the well-being of the whole child by providing in-depth nutrition, health, education, and family support services.”
For several years, the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS) has been used to assess readiness. Its goal is to give instructors and parents some insight into the learning capabilities of each child at the start of kindergarten. With this knowledge, instructors can individualize some of the curriculum to the learning abilities of their students. Only state-funded, full-day kindergartens participate in the kindergarten readiness assessment.
This indicator measures the share of incoming kindergartners who demonstrate readiness in multiple domains. The domains are: social/emotional, physical, language, cognitive, literacy, and math. Within each of these six categories, the grading system asks whether the skills are typical of: birth to 2 year old children; 2-3 year old children; 3-5 year old preschool children; or typical of 5-6 year old kindergarteners. Specifically, the indicator gives the share of the incoming students who “demonstrate characteristics of entering kindergartners” for zero, one, two, three, four, five, and all six domains. The assessment is based on the observations of the teacher and is completed for every student by October 31. This is early enough in the school year so the results can be immediately applied to the specific needs of each student. to be shared with the students' families. The assessment is designed to understand the readiness of incoming kindergartners and thereby offer any needed support to help the student be successful. It is not seen as a determination whether the child should enter kindergarten.
This indicator provides the average for all school districts in Walla Walla County. Washington State is offered as a benchmark. Detailed information by school district can be found in the “Download Section”.