School readiness

As it has since 2002, last fall MDE, in concert with the Human Capital Research Collaborative, a partnership between the University of Minnesota and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, surveyed a representative cross-section of the state’s elementary schools to obtain a picture of school readiness of kindergartners who began school in the fall of 2010.

Working with incoming kindergartners, researchers gathered data on five types of development necessary to ensure school success: physical development; the arts; personal and social development; language and literacy; and mathematical thinking.

They didn’t test the tots per se, but looked for markers like hand-eye coordination, self-care, and knowledge of shapes, ability to participate in dance and other artistic play, etc. In order to be deemed ready, kids had to display 75 percent of desired markers.

Sixty percent of 2010-2011 kindergartners were judged ready.
Seventy percent were physically developed,
59 percent displayed desired language and literacy skills,
56 percent displayed developed personal and social skills and arts proficiency and
52 percent showed mathematical thinking.

Source: Minnesota School Readiness Study

http://www.minnpost.com/learningcurve/2011/11/28/33405/to_close_achievement_gap_better_start_early