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Kindergarten Readiness in Wisconsin
Eric Grodsky, Yiyue Huangfu, H. Rose Miesner, and Chiara Packard
Kindergarten Readiness in Wisconsin
This work is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Institute for Education Sciences to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (R372A 150031). Views expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IES or DPI.
Kindergarten Readiness in Wisconsin
• What does readiness mean and how do we measure it?
• How large are the gaps by race/ethnicity and family income at kindergarten entry?– To what extent are racial/ethnic inequalities distinct from economic inequalities?
• What role might school and district factors play in kindergarten readiness?
Kindergarten Readiness in Wisconsin
• What does that mean?– Wisconsin lacks a clear definition of school readiness
– Implicit definition might be early literacy
• PALS was mandated but now up to the districts• Most still use PALS, but DPI no longer collects those data
Kindergarten Readiness in Wisconsin
• It’s not that we haven’t thought about it– Health and physical development– Social and emotional development– Language and communication– Approaches to learning– Cognition and general knowledge
Kindergarten readiness elsewhere
• According to the Northwest REL, 25 states in 2016 had legislative mandates for a Kindergarten entry assessment– Purposes:
• Inform instruction and professional development• Identify students for early intervention• Monitor levels of readiness and change across cohorts to inform policy
Kindergarten readiness elsewhere
• Domains:– approaches to learning and
self‐regulation– social and emotional development– language and literacy development– math
• Measurement: Teachers observation over first few weeks of school
Kindergarten readiness elsewhere
• Domains:– English& language arts– mathematics– personal care– physical development– social‐emotional skills
• Measurement: Ongoing teacher observation
Kindergarten readiness elsewhere
• Domains:– social–emotional development– physical development – cognitive development– language development– literacy– mathematics
• Measurement: Ongoing teacher observation (GOLD)
Measuring readiness using PALS
• Six domains in kindergarten– Alphabet recognition– Concept of word– Beginning sounds– Rhyme awareness– Letters sounds– Spelling
Variation in early literacy in WI
4.3%8.1%
87.6%
District level School level Student level
Within schools, between schools, between districtsShare of variance in PALS Fall K
Variation in early literacy in WI
Variation in early literacy in WI
Child poverty and race in the U.S.
Child poverty and race in WI
Conditional differences in K literacy
Conditional differences in K literacy
Beginning literacy skills and place
Inequality in beginning literacy skills and place
Conclusions
• Inequalities at the starting gate are substantial and strongly related to race/ethnicity and economic disadvantage– Form a foundation for unequal pathways through Wisconsin’s primary and secondary schools
Conclusions
• The challenges we face in reducing inequalities during the K‐12 years need not be as great as they are
• Improving the quality and equity of early childhood education in the state would go a long way toward reducing the challenges our families, children and educators confront
Conclusions
• We have the foundation for success– Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards
• Unlike standards in primary and secondary education, we do not assess them in a systematic way
Conclusions
• WE CAN DO THIS– Great people in the state, CESAs, districts and classrooms
– Nationally recognized scholars at the university eager to help
– Partnerships across different sectors of education• SLDS, MEP as a few examples
Conclusions
• WE CAN DO THIS– There are some real wins in Wisconsin– MEP report embargoed until Monday will show MMSD 4K enhances equity among students
• And Milwaukee’s 4K program is producing really exceptional results [in literacy]
Conclusions
Research practice partnerships
