Children Entering School Ready to Learn The Maryland School Readiness Report what the school readiness data mean for Maryland’s children Kent County

The Greatest Chance for Learning 90% of brain development occurs before age 5 The brain depends on early experiences to grow Early learning experiences build school readiness School Readiness A child’s ability to successful carry out kindergarten work Birth to Five a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

Maryland Model for School Readiness (MMSR) An annual assessment on what each kindergartener knows and is able to do in the following domains: Language & Literacy Mathematical Thinking Physical Development Scientific Thinking Social & Personal Development Social Studies The Arts How does Maryland Assess Readiness? About the MMSR

Maryland Model for School Readiness (MMSR) Children are identified as: Fully Ready: Consistently demonstrates the skills, behaviors, and abilities, which are needed to meet kindergarten expectations successfully. Approaching Readiness: Inconsistently demonstrates the skills, behaviors, and abilities, which are needed to meet kindergarten expectations successfully and requires targeted instructional support in specific areas. Developing Readiness: Does not demonstrate the skills, behaviors, and abilities, which are needed to meet kindergarten expectations and requires considerable instructional support in specific areas. How does Maryland Assess Readiness? About the MMSR

Statewide Highlights Maryland Model for School Readiness, Key Trends in Maryland Strong short-term gains. Stunning long-term improvements. 83% of Maryland kindergarteners are fully school-ready, up 34-points from and 2 points more than last year. Statewide full readiness level higher than projections in the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant. Maryland experienced pronounced gains across all Domains of Learning. Focus on Language & Literacy is paying off. All children show higher achievement. African-American and Hispanic kindergarteners made substantial gains – higher than statewide overall gains. Children attending a PreK program the year prior to matriculating to kindergarten are highly prepared.

Kent County Demographics Facts About Young Children

84% of the County’s kindergarten students are fully ready for school. Kent County’s kindergarteners outpace the statewide readiness level, currently at 83%. Significant School Readiness Gains Maryland Model for School Readiness, Source: Maryland State Department of Education

84% of the County’s kindergarten students are fully ready for school, up from 83% in Only 1% of the County’s children are developing readiness – fewer than 5 students require considerable support to do kindergarten work. Stunning Improvements Maryland Model for School Readiness,

Source: Maryland State Department of Education Increased Readiness Across All Domains Maryland Model for School Readiness, Kindergarteners show the greatest gains in: Scientific Thinking (79% fully ready, up 42 points from ) Kindergarteners demonstrate the strongest readiness in: Physical Development (94% fully ready) The Arts (90% fully ready)

Source: Maryland State Department of Education There is a direct correlation between increases in Language & Literacy skills and improvements in overall school readiness. 75% of kindergarteners are fully ready in the area of Language & Literacy, a 25- point gain since Investments in Language & Literacy Pay Off Maryland Model for School Readiness,

Source: Maryland State Department of Education Big Gains for “STEM” Disciplines Maryland Model for School Readiness, The domains aligned with the “STEM Disciplines”– Science Technology Engineering and Math – saw gains higher than the countywide average (1 point): Mathematical Thinking (79% fully ready, a 25-point gain) Scientific Thinking (79% fully ready, a 42-point jump) Despite the gains, about 40 kindergarteners (21%) require targeted or considerable support to successfully complete work in Science domain.

Source: Maryland State Department of Education 71% of African-American children are fully school- ready. 75% of Hispanic children are fully school-ready. All Children Show Higher Achievement Maryland Model for School Readiness, Not Tracked in * Fewer than 5 Students

Source: Maryland State Department of Education 89% of females are fully school-ready in , up from 84% in While a smaller percentage of males (79%) are fully ready in , they are within 5 points of the County average. Good Progress Among Males & Females Maryland Model for School Readiness,

Source: Maryland State Department of Education Increases Among Low-Income Children Maryland Model for School Readiness, % kindergarteners from low-income households (Free and Reduced Priced Meal status) rose to full readiness, up from 76% in These gains bring children from low-income households within 3 points of the countywide average. 68% of the County’s kindergarteners are from low- income households.

Source: Maryland State Department of Education Substantial Progress Among ELL Maryland Model for School Readiness, % of English Language Learners (ELL – children whose first language is not English) are fully ready, up from 44% in These gains bring ELL within 10 points of the countywide average. 11% of the County’s kindergarteners are ELL. * Fewer than 5 ELL in and **

Source: Maryland State Department of Education Good Gains Among Children with Disabilities Maryland Model for School Readiness, % of children with disabilities are fully ready, a 1 point more than last year. Children with disabilities within 21 points of the countywide average. 5% of the County’s kindergarteners have an identified disability or receive services through an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). * Fewer than 5 Children with Disabilities in *

Children from Low-Income Households 81% of Kent County’s kindergarteners from low-income households are fully ready in , compared with 91% of children from mid- to high-income households. The 3-point gain from reduced the readiness disparity between children from low-income households and their peers from 13 points to 10 points in English Language Learners 74% of Kent County’s English Language Learners are fully ready in , compared with 86% of their English-proficient peers. The 30-point gain from narrowed the disparity between English Language Learners and their English-proficient peers from 40 points to 12 points in Children with Disabilities 63% of Kent County’s children with disabilities are fully school-ready in , compared with 85% of children without disabilities. The readiness disparity between children with disabilities and their peers decreased from 25 points in to 22 points in Readiness Disparities for At-Risk Children Maryland Model for School Readiness,

Source: Maryland State Department of Education NOTE: Some prior care settings have enrollment criteria. For example, Head Start Centers and public PreK almost exclusively serve children from low-income households and children with disabilities—two subgroups that have consistently had significantly lower school readiness than Maryland kindergarteners as a whole, and are considered at risk. Prior Care Enrollment Predominate Care Prior to Kindergarten 62% of the County’s children who matriculated to kindergarten in attended a public PreK program. This year, Kent County enrolled 122 students in its public PreK program.

Source: Maryland State Department of Education Improvements For All Prior Care Settings Maryland Model for School Readiness, Child Care Centers saw a 17- point increase from to 92% fully ready in % of children previously enrolled in PreK programs are fully ready, up from 80% in * Fewer than 5 children enrolled in specified prior care setting.

Source: Maryland State Department of Education Children previously enrolled in PreK (85% fully ready) exceed the countywide readiness average (84%) and show greater long-term improvements (a 5-point gain, compared with 1 point). Children with PreK experience outperform their low-income peers (81% fully ready). Because public PreK programs serve a high percentage of low income children, this data is significant for addressing the achievement gap. PreK Makes a Difference Maryland Model for School Readiness,

Investments Race to the Top PreK Full-day Kindergarten Accreditation & Credentialing Judy Center Partnerships Jurisdictional Actions Community Commitment Research & Policy Monetary Support Why has Maryland Improved? Long-term Investments

Maryland Awarded $50 million Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge Funds 24 Local Early Childhood Councils Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System: Maryland EXCELS Quality Capacity Building in support of Maryland EXCELS Promoting early learning standards, aligned with statewide Common Core Standards, to all early childhood programs Expanding PD and workforce development Developing a Comprehensive Assessment System (in collaboration with Ohio) Innovative early interventions Family Engagement Leadership in Early Learning Academies Linking early childhood data with Maryland’s longitudinal data system Looking Ahead What does the future hold?

Maryland’s New Benchmarks & Ambitious Goals 92% of kindergarteners fully school-ready by 2015 Narrowing of school readiness gaps among at-risk populations Collective Action Through Maryland & Jurisdictional efforts, we are on track to achieve all Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Fund goals Looking Ahead What does the future hold?