Texas Early Learning Council Definition of School Readiness
According to the Improving Head Start for School Readiness
Act of 2007, the goal of the Texas Early Learning Council is
to improve collaboration between the early childhood sectors in
Texas and to improve school readiness of young children in
Texas.
In 2011, the Council sought to define school readiness for the
purposes of our grant. This definition represents a
collaboration of the members of the Council to develop a definition
of school readiness to be the benchmark for our work. At the
end of the Council's three-year grant, the Council hopes to have
produced resources for parents, providers, and policymakers that
will bring Texas closer to this definition.
Texas Early Learning Council Definition of School
Readiness
In March 2012, the Council adopted the following definition of
school readiness:
School readiness is the state of early development that
enables an individual child to engage in and benefit from
kindergarten learning experiences. Children are "ready" for school
when families, schools, and communities work together to ensure
their developmentally-appropriate, age-level success across a
variety of domains, including:
- Health
- Social and Emotional Development
- Language and Communication
- Emergent Literacy - Reading
- Emergent Literacy - Writing
- Mathematics and Numeracy
- Science
- Social Studies
- Fine Arts (Creativity)
- Physical Development
- Technology
Children's development is influenced by interactions among
a complex set of factors including biology, individual traits,
family and community relationships, and culture. Since children
develop at an individual rate and holistically in response to their
environments, they enter school with varied levels of
readiness.
Defining School Readiness
To arrive at this definition, the Council researched definitions
of school readiness adopted by other states. Read an analysis
of definitions of school readiness that was used to guide the
Council's definition, as well as resources from other states
below.
Useful Links
National Education
Goals Panel
Head Start Child
Development and Early Learning Framework
Getting Ready: Findings from
the National School Readiness Indicators Initiative
Head Start Approach
to School Readiness
Texas Definitions of School Readiness
Texas Administrative Code, Rule
§102.1002 (a)(12)
School ready or school readiness--A term that refers to a child
being able to function competently in a school environment in the
areas of early language and literacy, mathematics, and social
skills as objectively measured by state-approved assessment
instruments.
Texas School Readiness
Certification System (SRCS) Task Force
Children being ready to succeed by being able to function
competently in a school environment in the areas of early literacy,
early math, and social skills as objectively measured by Children's
Learning Institute approved assessments.