The following definition is an excerpt from the Full Report of the Ready for School Goal Team.
School readiness is a puzzle with two pieces:
The readiness puzzle can only be "solved" if the two pieces fit together. We can improve the fit by enhancing both the condition of children as they enter school and the capacity of schools to educate the full range of children who attend them. Each piece of the puzzle is important in the Ready for School Goal Team definition of school readiness. The condition of children as they enter school, schools' capacity to educate all children, and the supports to improve both pieces of the readiness puzzle are described in this definition.
School readiness as described here should not be confused with eligibility for school. All children who meet the legal age requirement are eligible—indeed, they are legally entitled—to enter kindergarten.
Condition of Children
When we think of the condition of children as they enter school, we must consider children's development and learning in 5 areas:
Health and physical development includes children's physical development (for example, rate of growth), health status (for example, ability to see and hear), and physical abilities (for example, ability to move around the environment, assisted or unassisted).
Social and emotional development includes children's feelings about themselves and others, ability to form relationships, interest in and skills needed to maintain positive relationships with adults and children, ability to understand the perspective and feelings of others, and skills needed to get along well in a group setting (for example, conflict resolution skills).
Approaches toward learning includes curiosity, enjoyment of learning, confidence, creativity, attention to task, reflection, and interests.
Language development and communication includes verbal and nonverbal skills to convey and understand others' meaning (for example, speaks clearly or uses a nonverbal system of communication) as well as early literacy skills (for example, aware of print, understands that writing means something). These skills and competencies apply to all languages; we should expect children who do not speak English in the home to demonstrate these skills in their primary language before they do so in English.
Cognition and general knowledge includes basic knowledge about the world (for example, knows own name, knows basic science concepts) and other cognitive competencies like early mathematical skills (for example, knowledge of numbers, shapes, and simple patterns), and basic problem solving skills (for example, understanding of similarities and differences).
These 5 areas are linked together. Often, development in one area affects development in another. Thus, no single area adequately represents children's condition as they enter school.
Children's development varies widely at age 5. Thus, we should not expect all children to reach a common "standard" of readiness. Children from various cultures and with various experiences will express their competencies differently and should be expected to show different patterns of development. The same is true for children with disabilities.
Capacity of Schools
"All children will have an opportunity to enhance their skills, knowledge, and abilities by participating in classrooms that are sensitive to community values, recognize individual differences, reinforce and extend children's strengths, and assist them in overcoming their difficulties."
Schools are responsible for accepting and addressing the learning needs of all children who are old enough to enter kindergarten. Teachers and administrators must have the knowledge, resources, and supports to ensure that they are ready to teach children who come to school with a broad range of skills.
We have identified four cornerstones of Ready Schools:
Additionally, teachers and administrators in ready schools establish a nurturing atmosphere, use a curriculum that provides meaningful contexts for learning and addresses the five areas of development described above, and support practices that address the unique ways in which young children learn. Schools also build strong positive relationships with families and partner with preschool teachers, community programs, and higher education to ensure that they are able to educate all children.
Supports for School Readiness
Each of the two pieces of the readiness puzzle—children and schools—is supported by families and communities. The condition of children at school entry depends upon their early experiences. The people and environments in children's lives shape their readiness for school. As children's first and most important teachers, parents' relationships and interaction with their children form the critical foundation for lifelong learning. Parents should have access to information and support in their role. With so many working parents, many children participate in some type of out-of-home early care and education before entering kindergarten. All children should have access to high quality early care and education programs that help prepare them for school. Communities are responsible for providing the health care, early care and education, training, and other support services young children and their families need.
The capacity of schools to educate all children also depends on their collaboration with families and communities to obtain supports such as professional development, physical facilities, materials, and equipment.