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Everybody wants their child to succeed in school.  It has never been more important.

Half of 5-year-olds in MN aren’t ready for Kindergarten.

According to a Minnesota Department of Education study, “Developmental Assessment at Kindergarten Entrance 2009”, more than half of Minnesota 5-year-olds are not fully prepared for Kindergarten.  Here’s how the study is conducted: volunteer kindergarten teachers are specially trained to observe incoming 5-year-olds and measure their readiness in five areas.   This same study has been conducted for the last several years and the results vary little from year to year. In other words, we’ve got to do better. (To see the whole report, go to http://education.state.mn.us/mdeprod/groups/earlylearning/documents/report/017119.pdf)

What happens to those who aren’t fully prepared?  

A recent study by Pearson Foundation found that 73% assume that if a child is not ready for kindergarten, they will acquire the needed skills in elementary school.  Not true.  In fact, too many of those who enter unprepared never catch up. By third grade, only 70% of Minnesota kids are reading at grade level.  Our teachers are doing heroic work, but clearly, one of the smartest ways to improve the reading level of third graders is to improve the school readiness of our kindergartners. 

Think about the classroom consequences when half the children are not prepared for school.  

When teachers have to spend so much time helping those who are behind, it holds back the whole class, and affects those who are ready as well.  It’s a problem all parents need to be concerned about. 

To learn more about the long term consequences for Minnesota’s quality of life and workforce development, go to “about us.”