No description available.

No description available.

Learning-related behavioral and academic skills upon kindergarten entry, sometimes referred to as kindergarten readiness, is a construct of growing importance in education, having implications for early learning and eventual achievement. Much of the research on entry skills has been limited to initial status only with inferences drawn about preparedness for school. In this study, I examine the relation among kindergarten entry skills in literacy and mathematics as well as outcomes measured at the end of the kindergarten school year. Two extant datasets were used—learning-related behavioral ratings and academic proficiency skills scores from a fall administration of a statewide kindergarten entry assessment and interim-formative assessment data collected for a subsample of students in the spring of the same academic year. The assessments were analyzed for their factor structures (using both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses) as well as a hypothesized structural model. Factor analyses tested and confirmed the underlying structure and relations among items and measures included in the state entry assessment. Follow-up structural modeling confirmed the measurement model and concurrently estimated the effects of entry skills on emergent literacy and math skills measured in the spring, while accounting for student-level demographic characteristics. Results indicated that the state’s entry assessment measured three distinct skillsets: self-regulation and social-interpersonal learning-related behaviors, and academic proficiency. Importantly, kindergarten entry skills explained a large proportion of variance in spring emergent literacy achievement, beyond that of learning-related behavioral skills and student demographic characteristics. In contrast, these entry skills explained far less variance in spring math achievement. These findings are interpreted in the context of existing theory and recent empirical research.

A considerable amount of research has been done surrounding education in classrooms from kindergarten to Grade 12, but little research has been done surrounding early childhood education (ECE) beginning with birth to age 4. As a result, research is needed that examines interventions aimed to improve the quality of early childhood education for young bilingual learners at the earliest stages of schooling. The present study examines current efforts to serve the specific population of young bilingual children entering classrooms in an urban school district in North Texas. The focus of this study includes the access and examination of quality ECE programs (defined by the extent to which bilingual children have access to bilingual education programming). The present study also observes the visibility of young bilingual children who receive services that are responsive to their characteristics, experiences, and specific needs. Lastly, this study used a multiple regression analysis to examine the Kindergarten Early Assessment test that has been put in place to measure the school readiness performance of bilingual children in this urban district. Specifically, the analysis included program type, language of assessment, socio-economic status and gender variables.

No description available.