"Children Entering School Ready to Learn-School Readiness Information for School Year 2007-2008," a report by MSDE's Division of Early Childhood Development, revealed modest, steady progress in all demographic subgroups. Maryland students entering kindergarten fully prepared for learning increased by 1 percent from 2007 to 2007, up to 68 percent. That is up 19 percentage points since the baseline year of 2002.

"Children who have a good start in learning before they begin kindergarten do better in school," said Nancy S. Grasmick, State Superintendent of Schools. "It is clear that this message is getting out to most households, but every family needs to know how important this is."

The annual MSDE study reflects portfolio assessment information on kindergartners' readiness levels in social and personal areas, language and literacy, mathematical thinking, scientific thinking, social studies, the arts, physical development, and health.

The MSDE study found improvement across demographic categories in the percentage of student ready for kindergarten work. For example:

• School readiness levels for English Language Learners went up six percentage points between 2006 and 2007, from 49 percent to 55 percent.
  
  
• The improvement in school readiness for low-income children-students receiving free or reduced price meals-was one percent overall, from 58 to 59 percent.
  
  
• The percent of special education students deemed fully ready for kindergarten remained flat at 43 percent, but that is 13 points higher than it was when the survey project began in 2002.

The study results highlight the importance of high-quality early learning opportunities. Children who spent time in early-care settings started school better prepared for learning that those who remained at home or in the homes of relatives, the research found. Children enrolled in pre-K programs (70 percent fully ready for kindergarten), child care centers (72 percent), and non-public nursery schools (83 percent) the year prior to kindergarten exhibited stronger school readiness levels than those who were at home or in informal care settings the year prior to kindergarten.

In the "State of Preschool 2007" report released last month, the National Institute of Early Education Research found that Maryland has been strengthening access to quality pre-K programs. The report said that Maryland ranks 10th in the nation in preschool access for four-year-olds.

Maryland's annual school readiness report is the result of legislative action to gauge the progress on school readiness skills of incoming kindergartners. This year, more than 2,000 kindergarten teachers used portfolio-based assessment to document their students' performance in their classrooms during the first eight weeks of school.

Kindergarten teachers evaluated and rated student performance between Nov. 5 and Nov. 21, 2007, using the early childhood assessment protocol and specific guidelines that were developed by MSDE. The assessment information in the report reflects scores for each of the seven domains of learning, such as literacy, math, and social skills, as well as the composite score of all domains.

MSDE is a national leader in the evaluation of early childhood learning, establishing an annual evaluation of what entering kindergartners know and are able to do. The complete School Readiness report is available on the MSDE website, www.MarylandPublicSchools.org.