About This Project

This page presents our school readiness work. The information presented below outlines our past and current efforts. Click on the Products tab to see the items we have developed about school readiness skills and routines. Each item may be downloaded or printed. Click on Training and Outreach to find out about our workshops. They include on-line learning and face-to-face at your location.

Over time, this project has striven to answer the following questions:

1. What is school readiness and why is it important to early educators?
2. What are the expectations  children experience when they begin kindergarten?
   
3. How can early  educators ensure that all children successfully enter and complete kindergarten?
   
4. What are the necessary teaching tools and practices that bring about ready children, ready families, and ready schools?
   

Past and current efforts have centered on:

• Determining the school readiness skills that children need to successfully negotiate the demands of kindergarten
• Describing the physical, social, and learning demands of kindergarten instructional routines
• Identifying early education teaching practices that help children to successfully engage in and learn from kindergarten-like instructional routines
• Translating research-to-practical information for use in prekindergarten and kindergarten programs.
• Examining and reporting on kindergarten readiness assessment practices across school districts in Indiana. 

Major Activities and Time Lines:

We have conducted research from 2007 through 2011 to determine the skills that are essential for children when they enter kindergarten. This work has expanded to identifying the common routines of kindergarten and prekindergarten and the skills children use in each.

Literature review and survey research:

The research began in 2007 with a review of the research literature to find out what other researchers have learned from their work related to school readiness skills. We used that information to create surveys that were sent to all of Indiana's public school kindergarten teachers. The survey research identified the skills kindergarten teachers considered to be important.

Kindergarten studies:

From the survey research we moved to observational studies of the skills expected in kindergarten classrooms. The study conducted in the fall 2010 during the first days of school enabled us to identify the common routines and skills needed in those routines.

Prekindergarten studies:

Now we are preparing to study the skills and associated routines of prekindergarten. This will be taking place in the fall 2011.

Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Tools and Practices:

In September 2006, the Early Childhood Center implemented research to identify current assessment tools and practices used by Indiana kindergarten teachers in assessing the school readiness of children and families entering kindergarten. This study also compared and contrasted current practices with best practices identified in the literature. Two hundred and seventy-eight kindergarten teachers in public and private schools throughout Indiana participated in the survey.

Products

School Readiness Skills and Classroom Routines

The First Days of Kindergarten and What They Mean for Preschool Teachers  

This paper describes what we found to be typical kindergarten instructional and classroom routines and the skills children need for success. It also includes implications for early childhood teachers. This paper presents the results of our fall 2010 research observations of the first five weeks of kindergarten.

Conn-Powers, M., Cross, A. F., & Dixon, S. D. (2011). The First Days of Kindergarten and What They Mean for Preschool Teachers.

Information for Teachers to Give Parents

One easy thing preschool teachers can do to help parents prepare children for kindergarten is to talk with them about helping their children to learn in their own family routines. This article offers topics and strategies for talking with families about ways they can work on essential kindergarten skills. This article builds on information from our school readiness observation studies. There are four tip sheets that can be given to parents (a) Morning Routines, (b) Mealtime Routines, (c) Community Routines, and (d) Bedtime Routines.

Building Bridges to School Readiness: Changing Expectations

Preschool and kindergarten are parts of the changing field of education. Current research and changes in policies are shaping our definitions of school readiness and have implications for how early childhood educators teach young children. This web presentation offers a 17 minute overview.

Cross, A. F., & Dixon, S. D. (2011). Building Bridges to School Readiness: Changing Expectations: Implications for Preschool.

New Information on School Readiness

It is important for us, as early childhood educators, to stay current with research to inform our understanding of young children and school readiness and to ensure that we use best practices. This paper attempts to clarify and synthesize the most recent studies by answering four questions. 1. What is a current definition of readiness? 2. Why is readiness and academic success so important? 3. Which skills are associated with later academic success? 4. What are the implications for early educators?

Cross, A. F., & Conn-Powers, M. (2011). A Working Paper: New Information on School Readiness.

Preparing Children for Kindergarten

Each of these papers focuses on a classroom routine and the critical skills children need for successful engagement and learning during that routine. Each one includes strategies early childhood educators can use to bridge preschool practices with kindergarten expectations. The papers summarize our spring 2010 research observing children in kindergarten classrooms.

• Conn-Powers, M. (June 2010). Preparing Children for Kindergarten: Learning Centers.
• Cross, A. F. (June 2010). Preparing Children for Kindergarten: Whole Class Instruction.
• Dixon, S. D. (June 2010). Preparing Children for Kindergarten: Seat Work.
• Traub, E. K. (June 2010). Preparing Children for Kindergarten: Arrival.

Tip Sheets for Early Educators on Promoting School Readiness

This document has eight tip sheets that offer ways teachers and parents can help children to (a) learn to recognize their names, (b) follow rules, (c) give first and last name, age, and gender on request, (d) recognize colors, and (e) follow directions. There are also tip sheets on the importance to children's kindergarten success of making sure children (f) are well-rested and (g) have a nutritionally sound diet.

Essential Skills for Kindergarten

This document presents our effort to identify common essential skills for children to have to successfully enter kindergarten. The skills included in this document represent emerging findings from research we have conducted with kindergarten teachers in Indiana. Together, these items provide a menu that kindergarten teachers, administrators, and community early education providers can use to assess what is critical for children to know within their community.

Early Childhood Briefing Paper Series: All Children Ready for School

Ready Child + Ready Family + Ready School = Successful School Readiness. This 2006 definition expanded understanding of school readiness to recognize the influence of families and schools on young children.The eight topics covered in All Children Ready for School series combined information from research literature and the authors' practical knowledge of the topics. Each is a four page paper.

• Ansaldo, J. (2006). Ready Schools. 
• Beard, C. (2006). Ready Families.
• Cole, P. (2006). Health and Physical Well-Being.
• Conn-Powers, M. (2006). Approaches to Learning. 
• Cross, A. F. (2006). Cognition and General Knowledge. 
• Dixon, S. D. (2006). Communication, Language, and Literacy.
• Hutter-Pishgahi, L. (2006). Social-Emotional Development.
• Bibliography for the Series.
  

Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Tools and Practices

An Analysis of Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Practices

Assessment of kindergarten readiness is being used to make decisions about children entering school. Organizations and researchers have laid out recommendations on some aspects of assessing school readiness, but little research has been conducted on other areas or the actual practices in schools today. A survey of teachers examined how and why schools are assessing kindergarten readiness. This academic paper discusses the results in comparison to practices recommended in the literature and offers implications for educators, policy-makers, and researchers.

Msyzak, J. P., & Conn-Powers, M. (2008). Kindergarten Readiness Assessment: An Analysis of Existing and Recommended Practices.

Teachers’ Use of Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Practices

This brief paper provides the results of a survey of the kindergarten teachers in Indiana. They were invited to participate in an online survey of their current practices for assessing school readiness of children entering kindergarten. The purpose was to gain a snapshot of current assessment practices and to compare these practices with those recommended in the literature. They responded to 30 questions asking how they assessed school readiness, what areas were assessed, who was involved, the types of decisions made, and the quality of their assessment process.

Conn-Powers, M., & Peters, J. (2007). Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Survey: Results.

Assessing School Readiness in Indiana (PowerPoint)

This presentation discusses the assessment practices used by kindergarten teachers in Indiana. The presentation was made at the Indiana Early Childhood Conference and other professional development events. The handouts are included.

Conn-Powers, M., & Peters, J. (2007). Assessing School Readiness in Indiana (PowerPoint).

Training and Outreach

Promoting School Readiness: Research to Practice

As we learn more about what constitutes the design of  effective early education, we are asked to reexamine our planning and teaching practices in order to be most effective and to best help children prepare for kindergarten. We are pleased to offer a collection of workshops that focus on ways preschool teachers can enhance children's learning and school readiness. The topics range from looking at the types of routines and learning opportunities children will experience in kindergarten, the importance of clear goals and objectives in designing instruction, and appropriate teaching and language practices during free play and other common routines.

Full descriptions of these workshops can be found in the "Training and Outreach" section of this website.

These workshops are available in full- or half-day sessions and can be tailored to meet the needs of the participants.

 

For more information or to request a conversation about the workshop send an email to eccenter@indiana.edu.