Kindergarten Readiness

  • Kindergarten Readiness

    One of DCYF’s child outcome goals is that children should be ready for kindergarten. Each year over 75,000 children enter kindergarten in Washington’s public school system. Across all income groups, 55% of children in Washington are ready for kindergarten (as measured by the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills assessment). Children from higher income families are most likely to be ready for kindergarten, while children from middle income and lower income families are ready for kindergarten at lower rates.

    VIEW THE EDUCATION RESEARCH & DATA CENTER’S EARLY LEARNING FEEDBACK REPORT

    READ THE REPORT ON ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN CHILDREN’S PARTICIPATION IN SUBSIDIZED CHILDCARE AND KINDERGARTEN READINESS

    Kindergarten Readiness, by Household Income Group (Relative to Federal Poverty Level), 2023-2024 School Year

      Mosaic chart showing kindergarten readiness by household income group, relative to the federal poverty level, for the 2023-2024 school year. Among all children, 55% were ready for kindergarten in 6/6 WAKids domains, but a greater proportion of children from higher income families were ready for kindergarten, while a smaller proportion of children from lower income families were ready for kindergarten. Among the 55,000 children from families greater than 185% of the federal poverty limit (FPL), 69% were ready for kindergarten in 6/6 domains of the WAKids assessment. Among the 1,000 children from families making between 110% and 185% of the FPL, 52% were ready for kindergarten in all 6 of the WAKids domains. And among the 11,000 children from families making under 110% of the FPL, 45% were ready for kindergarten in all 6 WAKids domains
     
    Child Outcome Goal
    Early Learning