For the first time, Chicago public schools will formally measure just how ready little learners are for kindergarten, by piloting a new readiness measurement, according to a story in Catalyst.
Unlike a standardized test, the tool will gauge how children are ready through a series of observations over time, and by measuring their understanding of concepts such as which words rhyme, the story notes. The tool will help educators gain a better understanding of the quality of the pre-school education a child received.
It would be interesting to see what other school districts do to formally evaluate kindergarten readiness, especially in states where there is no publicly funded pre-kindergarten. There are checklists and exams and quite a few resources that are aimed at helping parents and educators answer the question.
The new assessment tool in Chicago comes as important questions are being raised about the quality of U.S. preschool programs, especially Head Start, which serves more than a million students and is under scrutiny after a major study found gains students make fade by third grade. Experts hope the new readiness tool the Chicago Public schools plans to use will help gauge just how effective half-day programs like Head Start are.
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at 10:40 am
It is one thing to ask if children are ready for kindergarten. It is another, to acknowledge that in addition to high quality preschool programs, preventing fade out means that this quality for children has to be sustained through kindergarten and the primary grades. We do have data on how to close the opportunity gap. Learning in the context of; low teacher child ratios from preschool through the third grade, positive and nurturing relationships between teachers and children, knowledge and application of developmentally appropriate practices, and family engagement are but a few of the complexities which, combined with many others, have served to close the gap and create equitable education.
Yes, the question is, to some extent, about helping young children be ‘ready’for kindergarten. It is much more a question of whether or not we are willing to make our policies and systems, ready for young children. The gap is in place before children enter kindergarten and it becomes wider as children proceed through school. This is an instructive data point.
The questions that focus responsibility on levels which exert influence and manage resources may serve children (and out GNP) more expeditiously. For example, are policy makers ready to be informed by pedagogical knowledge of learning? Are leaders willing to look and learn, globally at educational models with high literacy rates? Are leaders and citizens ready to provide fiduciary support for the teacher/child ratios we know make the difference? Are school districts ready to inform themselves with knowledge of child development and to see this knowledge reflected in daily operations? Are teachers and educators ready to be responsive and sensitive to each and every child who shows up in their classroom?
The CAYL Principals’ Toolkit offers policy perspective and vision, school based practices for leaders, family and community levers, and provides a number of tools that ask: Are adults ready for young children in schools?
at 1:24 pm
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