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Indicator: School Readiness

Data and Data Discussion provided by Communities Count

Figure 1: Results of Bellevue EDI

Figure 2: Results of Highline EDI

Figure 3: Results of Shoreline EDI

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Upstream Indicators
  •   Physical and Mental Health Illness --- The percentage of King County adults with severe activity limitation increased between 1998 and 2007. This local finding is consistent with national trends. This local increase corresponds to worsening trends nationally.  (view data graph)
  •   Risk and Protective Factors in Youth --- Participation by King County schools in the Healthy Youth Survey has not been consistent and therefore limits what can be concluded. The percentages for King County 8th graders may or may not be representative. The 2004 figures show that most youth report having some level of certain protective factors in their daily lives. Many do not.  (view data graph)
  •   Quality Affordable Child Care --- In a 2007 countywide survey of households with children age 5 and under, 54% of the children in these households were reported to be in child care on a regularly scheduled basis. Meanwhile, 20% of school-age children (6-14) were in regularly scheduled child care. This is an increase from 2004.   (view data graph)
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Downstream Indicators
  •   Living Wage --- Almost half of all jobs do not provide enough income for a family of 4 with 2 full-time wage earners. Because this indicator is measured differently than in previous years, it is difficult to make comparisons.  (view data graph)
  •   Happiness --- Seattle ranked 45 out of 185 cities surveyed for emotional health in 2008. In 2009, Seattle ranked 83 out of 185 cities in emotional health. Seattle ranked 39 out 185 for Life Evaluation in 2008 and 35 in 2009.   (view data graph)
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Related Goals

Sustainability Snapshot:

Children are born learning. Children are ready to learn in school when they are able to adjust to the demands of a classroom, are comfortable exploring and asking questions, are able to listen to the teacher, and play and work well with other children. Research points to the importance of early learning opportunities in development and future success. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction reports that less than half of children in Washington State entering kindergarten are adequately prepared according to their teachers. (1)

Sustainability Trend:

To date only 3 school districts have carried out the EDI survey, Bellevue, Shoreline and Highline.

Data Discussion

The Indicator Defined

Community Level School Readiness In Three King County School Districts; Percent of Public Kindergarten Children Vulverable in One or More Categories of School Readiness or Unprepared for School or Most Prepared The EDI is a survey instrument completed for every child by kindergarten teachers half-way through the kindergarten year. What makes the data collection feasible is relying on what teachers have already observed about each child instead of requiring a time-consuming direct observation. This is why the survey is carried out mid year so that teachers have had time to observe each child over the first few months. Five areas of school readiness are measured: 1) physical health and wellbeing, 2) emotional maturity, 3) social competence, 4) language and cognitive skill, and 5) communication and general knowledge.

Data Interpretation/Evaluation

Three school districts in King County have implemented the Early Development Instrument (EDI) survey in order to provide their communities with evidence of how ready for school their kindergarten-age children are. Bellevue and Shoreline School Districts carried out the survey in 2004 and Highline School District in 2005. The same school districts repeated the survey in 2008.

There are two ways to compare local EDI results with results from the Normative Sample: 1.Percents of children falling in the bottom 10% on at least one (or at least two) of the 5 scales, and 2. Average (mean) scores on each of the 5 scales.

Results are reported and mapped along with neighborhood demographic information and selected local resources so that people and organizations in those neighborhoods can see where there are gaps in their children’s preparedness. There are no results for individual children, but only for communities of children. In this sense, the EDI maps provide “report cards on communities” because they report the percentage of children in each community that is ready to learn in school and the percentage that might have benefited from more help during the early years of their development.

“Most Prepared” designates those kindergarten children who score in the top 25% on the Early Development Instrument scales. “Unprepared” designates the children who score in the bottom 10% on the EDI scale. These children might be considered vulnerable or not ready in specific categories of development and suggests that they would have benefited from more help from parents and community during their early years. These cut-off points have been used by developers of the EDI survey.

In Bellevue, 29.6% of children scored not ready for school on at least 1 readiness domain and 14.1% on at least 2 domains. This compares to 27.2% and 13.6% of the International Normative cohort, respectively. Children who had attended preschool scored significantly higher than those who did not in all 5 domains. 295 (33.1%) children were English language learners. They scored significantly lower in all domains except physical health/well-being.


In Highline, 28.3% of children scored not ready for school on at least 1 readiness domain and 14.6% on at least 2 domains. This compares to 27.2% and 13.6% of the International Normative cohort, respectively. 49 (6.6%) children with special needs were assessed using the EDI. 81.6% scored low on at least 1 readiness to learn domain. Children who had attended preschool scored significantly higher in physical health/well-being, social competence, language/cognitive development and communication/general knowledge. 289 (41.7%) children were English language learners. They scored significantly lower in language/cognitive development and communication/general knowledge.

In Shoreline, 25.8% of children scored not ready for school on at least 1 readiness domain and 14.3% on at least 2 domains. This compares to 27.2% and 13.6% of the International Normative cohort, respectively. Children who had attended preschool scored significantly higher in language/cognitive development and communication/general knowledge. 62 (15.2%) children were English language learners. They scored significantly lower in every area except physical health/well-being.

Data Source and Limitations

Information on community-level school readiness is from a kindergarten teacher survey using the Early Development Instrument (EDI). The survey was conducted Spring 2004 (Shoreline, Bellevue), Spring 2005 (Highline) and February – March 2008 (all districts). A cultural validity analysis of the EDI for King County was conducted in 2005. While generally found to be valid, the EDI teacher training was adjusted to refine areas susceptible to cultural bias. Participation was voluntary, with teacher participation rates from 85% to 89% in 2004 and 2005. In 2008, school inclusion rates were 72% in Highline, 90% in Shoreline and 100% in Bellevue. Teacher participation by district ranged from 76% to 100%.

 

Neighborhood boundaries were based on a variety of factors: input from city and school officials, existing boundaries of incorporated areas, census block groups and population characteristics.

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