{"id":1043,"date":"2015-05-19T09:11:42","date_gmt":"2015-05-19T13:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/?p=1043"},"modified":"2015-11-17T11:17:18","modified_gmt":"2015-11-17T16:17:18","slug":"05_19_2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/05_19_2015\/","title":{"rendered":"New Data Finds Nearly Half Of Students Ready For Kindergarten"},"content":{"rendered":"

More Rigorous Standards Reveal Achievement Gaps<\/em><\/h3>\n

For Immediate Release \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Contact: William Reinhard, 410-767-0486<\/p>\n

Baltimore, MD<\/p>\n

Maryland\u2019s new Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) finds that nearly half of Maryland\u2019s incoming students in the fall of 2014 were fully ready for learning. The data, released today in a report presented to the Maryland State Board of Education, offers a new baseline for assessing kindergarten readiness to help elevate readiness for all Maryland school children.<\/p>\n

The report, Readiness Matters!<\/em>, found that 47 percent of incoming kindergartners were fully ready to begin learning.\u00a0 Another 36 percent were \u201capproaching\u201d readiness, while 17 percent were \u201cemerging.\u201d\u00a0 The results uncovered gaps in readiness between certain student groups. The report provides insights into readiness and children\u2019s experience with various forms of pre-K experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cPreparing our youngest learners to be successful means getting them on track\u2014and keeping them on track\u2014as we gauge their progress in an age-appropriate way,\u201d said State Superintendent of Schools Lillian M. Lowery.\u00a0 \u201cAs we do so, we must continue to address readiness gaps across the board, so that all students have the chance to succeed in school.\u201d<\/p>\n

MSDE worked with local educators to develop the KRA, and has since engaged educators, including kindergarten teachers, to strengthen the assessment process.\u00a0 For example, next year\u2019s version of the KRA will be 20 percent shorter, with some of the more time-intensive items removed. An enhanced reporting feature will be in place in 2015-16 when teachers can get on-time reports of their students\u2019 skill levels.<\/p>\n

MSDE has worked with school systems to improve access to technology and Wi-Fi for teachers working with the KRA, and MSDE will provide additional professional development for teachers.<\/p>\n

More than half of White and Asian-American children are entering kindergarten ready to learn — 57 and 53 percent, respectively.\u00a0 But only 43 percent of African-American students are fully prepared for kindergarten and just 27 percent of Hispanic students are kindergarten-ready.\u00a0 The data also revealed that students from low-income households, those for whom English is a second language, and students with special learning challenges.<\/p>\n

The KRA measures the skills and behaviors that children should learn prior to entering kindergarten. It combines age-appropriate, standardized performance tasks that measure students\u2019 specific skills, along with focused observations of children\u2019s work and play, to best understand what each entering kindergartner knows and is able to do in four key areas: social foundations; physical well-being and motor development; language and literacy; and mathematics.<\/p>\n

This assessment replaces the Maryland Model for School Readiness (MMSR) assessment, in use since 2001. The new assessment is needed to put young students on a path toward meeting Maryland\u2019s more rigorous Pre-K through 12th grade college and career ready standards. The KRA sets a new baseline for tracking student progress in future years, aligned to the higher standards. The results are not<\/em> directly comparable to the MMSR, which found in 2013 that 83 percent of kindergartners entering school in 2013 were \u201cfully ready\u201d to learn.<\/p>\n

Readiness Gaps<\/u><\/p>\n

The KRA reveals gaps in kindergarten readiness, including gaps among low-, middle- and upper-income households, including:<\/p>\n