Determinants of School Readiness

"There is not room for two feet in one shoe." - Greek Proverb

Determinants of School Readiness

First Five LA, in partnership with the Rand Corporation, conducted a study of Los Angeles families on the key factors that determine whether a child will be adequately prepared to begin elementary school.  The report of this study, "Are L.A.'s Children Ready for School?"  offers these key findings:

*  The key factors are the educational level attained by the child's mother and the level of poverty in the child's neighborhood.

*  Most Los Angeles-area 4- and 5-year old children have the basic skills needed to begin school. But children with poorly educated mothers, along with children living in poor neighborhoods, are at a disadvantage when they start school.

*  Children of mothers who completed high school scored better on preschool reading and math tests "strong indicators that children are more ready for school " than children whose mothers did not finish high school.

*  Even if parents are not well educated and live in low-income neighborhoods, they can take action to improve their children's school readiness. Parents can read to children themselves or arrange for other adults to do so; provide challenging books, games, and puzzles; help children learn to count and figure out math problems; and participate in reading and other programs at the public library. Providing warm and consistent parenting is also important for school readiness.

*  A child's behavior is affected by the type of neighborhood he or she grows up in. Young children in low-income neighborhoods have higher levels of sad behavior and aggressive behavior than do children in higher income neighborhoods. These types of behaviors have significant negative effects on children's ability to learn. Scarce public funding for school readiness programs should be targeted toward children whose mothers are the most poorly educated and to those who live in poor neighborhoods.

*  When taking socioeconomic status into account, a family's ethnicity and immigrant status was not linked to school readiness.
 
*  Access to early learning experiences and other advantages "regardless of ethnicity and immigrant status" can help prepare all children for school.

To obtain a copy of the full report, go to the First 5 LA web site at: www.first5.org.

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