For the past two years, E3 Alliance has completed the most comprehensive, multi-domain regional study of Kindergarten Readiness in the state of Texas. This study allows our region to identify student school readiness across multiple competencies in both academic and social-emotional development, as well as determine the demographic and experiential factors most correlated with readiness.

1. FOOD FOR THOUGHT
ASSESSING KINDERGARTEN READINESS
IN CENTRAL TEXAS
Laura Koenig, MPAff
Amy Wiseman, Ph.D.
© E3 Alliance, 2013

2. E3 Alliance is a Catalyst For Educational Change in
Central Texas
Vision
The Central Texas education system will be strong
and aligned, enabling each student to succeed from
“cradle to career,” thereby ensuring regional
economic prosperity
Mission
E3 Alliance uses objective data and focused
community collaboration to align our education
systems so all students succeed and lead Central
Texas to economic prosperity
E3 Alliance serves as the
Central Texas regional P-16 Council
© E3 Alliance, 2013

3. E3 Alliance Cradle-to-Career Continuum
Goal One: Goal Two: Goal Three:
All children enter Kindergarten Eliminate achievement gaps while All students graduate college &
school ready improving overall student career ready & prepared for a
performance lifetime of learning
Early Pre-K & Elementary Middle High School Higher
Career & Life
Childhood Kindergarten Grades Grades Grades Education
Central Texas’ strategic plan to build the strongest educational pipeline in the country
Goal Four:
As a community, Central Texas prepares children to succeed
© E3 Alliance, 2013

4. © E3 Alliance, 2013 4

5. How do you define
KINDERGARTEN READINESS?
© E3 Alliance, 2013 5

6. Kindergarten Readiness
© E3 Alliance, 2013

7. Kindergarten Readiness Assessment
• Representative of the 2008 Texas Pre‐K
Guidelines
• Developmentally appropriate and measurable
• Aligned to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
• Multidimensional
• Validated
© E3 Alliance, 2013

8. A different perspective
WHAT DO TEACHERS THINK ABOUT
READY, SET, K! ?
© E3 Alliance, 2013 8

9. Easy to Use and Understand
Was Guide and assessment easy to use and understand?
100%
Teacher Responses
80%
60%
56%
40%
44%
20%
0 0
0%
Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly Agree
Disagree
Survey of 2012 Kindergarten Teachers using
Ready, Set, K! © E3 Alliance, 2013 9

10. Assessment is Realistic and Helps
Teachers Know Students
Is the Assessment Realistic and Helps Teacher Know Students
100%
80%
Teacher Responses
60%
58%
40%
42%
20%
0 0
0%
Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree
Survey of 2012 Kindergarten Teachers using
Ready, Set, K! © E3 Alliance, 2013 10

11. Teachers Consistently Put Training into
Practice
Do teachers practice new knowledge and skill learned in
training?
100%
Teacher Responses
80%
60%
58%
40%
20% 25%
11%
0% 7%
Never Occasionally Frequently Consistently
Survey of 2012 Kindergarten Teachers using
Ready, Set, K! © E3 Alliance, 2013 11

12. Teachers Report Time and Effort for
Assessment
How much additional time and effort does the assessment and
response to intervention take?
100%
80%
Teacher Responses
60%
40%
45%
20% 30%
17%
0% 9%
a lot of additional some additional very little no additional work
work work additional work
Survey of 2012 Kindergarten Teachers using
Ready, Set, K! © E3 Alliance, 2013 12

13. Majority of Teachers Report it Very
Beneficial to Teaching
How beneficial to teaching and instruction was the assessment?
100%
80%
Teacher Responses
60%
55%
40%
36%
20%
3%
0% 7%
Not helpful Not very helpful Somewhat Very Beneficial
Beneficial
Survey of 2012 Kindergarten Teachers using
Ready, Set, K! © E3 Alliance, 2013 13

14. What Teachers Say…
“It allows me to decided how to proceed with
the instruction of my students.”
“It gave me a clear picture of the level and
abilities that my students should have when
they enter kindergarten.” “It's a great reference when you
are stumped over a student.”
“It was nice to see Pre K standards to help
analyze more of Kindergarten standards.” “Tell lawmakers that Pre K
is important.”
Survey of 2012 Kindergarten Teachers using
Ready, Set, K! © E3 Alliance, 2013 14

15. THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF
READINESS
© E3 Alliance, 2013 15

16. Assessing Kindergarten Readiness
• Three years of data collection (2010‐12)
• 11 Central Texas School Districts, 41 schools
• 2820 Kindergarten students
2% Asian
12% Black
60% Hispanic
25% White
• 68% Low Income
• 39% English Language Learner
• Data weighted to represent region
Ready, Set, K! participants 2010-2012 © E3 Alliance, 2013 16

17. Almost Half of Central Texas Students
Not Ready for Kindergarten
Kindergarten Readiness, Central Texas 2010-2012
Not Ready Ready
47% 53%
E3 Analysis of Ready, Set, K! weighted data © E3 Alliance, 2013 17

18. Fewer Low Income Students Kinder Ready
Kindergarten Readiness, Central Texas, 2010-2012
100%
Percentage of Kindergartners
80%
60% 66%
40%
42%
20%
0%
Low Income Non-Low Income
E3 Analysis of Ready, Set, K! weighted data © E3 Alliance, 2013 18

19. Dramatic Increase in Child Poverty
120% Child Poverty Growth Rate
107%
100%
% of Poverty Growth
80%
60%
40%
40%
29%
20%
0%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
-20%
United States Texas Central Texas
Kids Count Data Center, Central Texas: Bastrop, Blanco,
Caldwell, Gillespie, Hays, Travis and Williamson Counties © E3 Alliance, 2013 19

20. More Asian and White Students Ready
Kindergarten Readiness, Central Texas, 2010-2012
100%
Percentage of Kindergartners
80%
60% 68%
64%
40% 44%
40%
20%
0%
Asian Black Hispanic White
E3 Analysis of Ready, Set, K! weighted data © E3 Alliance, 2013 20

21. More Girls Ready for Kindergarten
Kindergarten Readiness, Central Texas, 2010-2012
100%
Percentage Kindergartners
80%
60%
60%
40%
43%
20%
0%
Boys Girls
E3 Analysis of Ready, Set, K! weighted data © E3 Alliance, 2013 21

22. RELATIONSHIP OF PRE‐K
AND KINDERGARTEN READINESS
© E3 Alliance, 2013 22

23. Students Who Attended Any Pre‐K are
> 4X More Likely To Be Ready
Likelihood of Kindergarten Readiness With Pre-K, 2010-2012
Overall Readiness
Social-Emotional
Language & Communication
Emerging Literacy
Mathematics
1X 2X 3X 4X 5X
Times Student More Likely Ready if Attended Pre-K vs. No Pre-K
E3 Logistic regression odds ratios
from Ready, Set, K! weighted data © E3 Alliance, 2013 23

24. Any Pre‐K better than no Pre‐K
For Both Low and Non‐Low Income Students
100% Kindergarten Readiness, 2010-12
Percentage Kindergartners
80%
70%
60% 66%
54%
40% 45% 48%
20%
18%
0%
Low Income Non-low Income
Home or with Relative ISD Pre-K Child Care Center Pre-K
E3 Analysis of Ready, Set, K! weighted data © E3 Alliance, 2013 24

25. PRE‐K UTILIZATION
BY ELIGIBLE CHILDREN
© E3 Alliance, 2013 25

26. 76% of Eligible Children Attend ISD Pre‐K
Pre-K Enrollment, Central Texas, 2010-2011
Percent of Pre-K Eligible Children
100%
12%
24%
80%
60%
40% 76% 79%
20%
0%
Regional Data Weighted Sample
ISD Pre-K Child Care Center Pre-K
Head Start Home or w/ Relative
Regional data from Education Research Center, University
of Texas Austin
© 3
Sample from E3 analysis of Ready, Set, K! weighted data E Alliance, 2013
26

27. Hispanic Students Enrolled in ISD Pre‐K in
Highest Proportion
Pre-K Enrollment, Central Texas, 2010-2011
100%
10% 11%
Percent of Pre-K Eligible
21%
80%
Children
60%
40% 83%
75%
63%
20%
0%
Black Hispanic White
ISD Pre-K Child Care Center Head Start Home or with Relative
E3 Analysis of Ready, Set, K! weighted data © E3 Alliance, 2013 27

28. Most Children Not in Pre‐K are Hispanic
Children not attending any Pre-K, Central Texas, 2010-11
Black
White 11%
18%
Asian+Other
8%
Hispanic
63%
E3 Analysis of Ready, Set, K! weighted data © E3 Alliance, 2013 28

29. Return on Investment
$30
Million
Source: Taylor et al. (2006)
Bush School of Government and Public Service
Texas A&M University
© E3 Alliance, 2013 29
Based on 2011‐2012 E3 Analysis of ERC and K‐Readiness Data

30. How has
PRE‐K CHANGED?
© E3 Alliance, 2013 30

31. Prekindergarten Early Start Grant 2009‐2011
To prepare students to enter kindergarten on or
above grade level by:
– Outreach to eligible prekindergarten students
– Providing quality prekindergarten services
• high quality, developmentally appropriate and rigorous
curriculum
• continuous student progress monitoring
• professional development for teachers
– Creating and implementing a School Readiness
Integration Partnership
TEA – Prekindergarten Early Start Grant © E3 Alliance, 2013 31

32. Decrease of $7.93 Million to Region
Changes from 2010 to 2012 in District Pre‐K Practices
% of Districts Participating in Study
100%
80%
82%
73%
60%
40%
20% 27%
0%
Reduced Pre‐K Increased Student to Increased Class Size
Coordination Teacher Ratio
Region XIII and E3 Alliance Surveys 2010; 2012 © E3 Alliance, 2013 32

33. Model for Promoting School Readiness
Low Intensity Resources High Intensity
AGES Prenatal Parenting
Preventative Health Home Visiting
Services Education and Services
0 Support
Peer to Peer Parent Early Head Start
Research based,
Connection
two generation
Parenting education Case Management
Resources and Support
High-quality early
Educational Media care and education Head Start
Enrichment Series Based Adult Education
Activities Parent Education and Career
Classes with Training
Books in home
evidence base
High Quality Pre-K Education
5
Modified from Success By 6, UWGA, Austin Early
Childhood Services Pipeline Model © E3 Alliance, 2013 33

34. Improving Readiness
• Enroll the remaining 12% of eligible children
who currently do not attend Pre‐K, into Pre‐K
programs
• Improve quality of Pre‐K programs to
maximize impact on child readiness
• Invest in researched based programs for
children and families prior to Pre‐K enrollment
• Gather data on child outcomes to help
determine best investment strategies
© E3 Alliance, 2013 34

35. SAVE THE DATE!
Upcoming Food For Thought:
Bright Spots Study for
English Language Learners
… an interactive discussion
Tuesday April 30th
8:00‐10:00am
ACC’s Eastview Campus Auditorium
www.e3alliance.org
© E3 Alliance, 2013

36. The conclusions of this research do not necessarily reflect the opinions or official position of the Texas Education Agency,
the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, or the State of Texas.
www.e3alliance.org
© E3 Alliance, 2013