Create High Quality, Integrated B-8 System

Kindergarten readiness is an outcome indicator for DCYF’s strategic priority to create a high-quality, integrated B-8 system. Each year about 80,000 children enter kindergarten in Washington’s public school system. Across all income groups, about half 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. DCYF has a goal to reach 90% kindergarten readiness for all children.

Note: Kindergarten readiness is also reported as a Child Outcome Goal.

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), 2019-2020

 

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Kindergarten Readiness, by Household Income Group (Relative to Federal Poverty Level), 2019-2020

Sources: Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (2019). Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (WaKIDS) [2019-2020]. & U.S. Census Bureau (2019). American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS).
Notes: The federal poverty level (FPL) is a measure of income used by the government to determine eligibility for certain federal programs. FPL is based on annual income and household size. For example, the FPL for a family of four in the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) is $26,500. For each additional person in the household, add $4,540. Programs like Head Start and the National School Lunch Program use these federal poverty guidelines to determine eligibility in their programs. Some programs determine financial eligibility based on the percentage of FPL (i.e., if a family/household makes less than 110 percent, 130 percent, or greater than 185 percent of the FPL, they may be eligible for certain programs), as seen in this chart above. For more information on the FPL and poverty guidelines, see https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty-guidelines.
Indicator Type: Outcome

Washington State has more than 5,300 licensed or certified child care facilities, including licensed child care centers, licensed family home child care programs, and licensed school-age programs. DCYF is tracking the licensed capacity of Early Achievers enrolled providers as a driver for expanding preschool access and associated kindergarten readiness.

READ THE REPORT FROM CHILD CARE AWARE OF WASHINGTON

Total Licensed Capacity for Non-School-Age Children, by Early Achievers Enrolled Provider Type, SFY 2017-2021

 

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Total Licensed Capacity for Non-School-Age Children, by Early Achievers Enrolled Provider Type, SFY 2017-2021

Source: DCYF. (August 2021). Early Achievers monitoring reports [July 2016-June 2021]. WACompass.
Notes: This chart has been updated with State Fiscal Year counts, replacing some previously reported data that were calculated for the Calendar Year. Point in time data, taken the last day of the state fiscal year.
Indicator Type: Driver

DCYF monitors quality ratings of Early Achievers providers as a balancing indicator for our priority to create a high-quality, integrated B-8 system. Early Achievers uses an easy-to-understand rating system to track quality improvement of participating early care providers. At the end of the 2021 state fiscal year, we estimate that over 71,000 non-school-age children were served in settings rated 3 or higher.