Since 2000, Vermont has surveyed kindergarten teachers about their students' knowledge and skills within the first six to ten weeks of school. The effort to measure school readiness is a collaborative project of the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) and the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Health. Teachers were asked to assess the readiness of each child in their kindergarten class based on questions organized under five categories or domains: social and emotional development; knowledge and approaches to learning; communication; cognitive development; and physical health and development (wellness).

Kindergarten readiness is a difficult concept to measure. Vermont's concept is multidemensional; it includes social and emotional development, communication, physical health, cognitive development, knowledge, and approaches to learning (e.g. enthusiasm, persistence, and curiosity). Vermont's concept also reflects the belief that readiness is interactional: students need to be ready for schools and schools need to be ready to accomodate diverse needs of each and every child.

The 2021 - 2022 Ready for Kindergarten! Survey Report marks the sixth year of deployment of the new survey instrument, changes in scoring methods, and criteria used for identification of students as "ready".  In 2021-2022, 85.36 % of all students statewide identified as kindergarten ready, with 64% being within category four­ - ready and performing independently group - and 21% of students are within category three - ready and practicing group. This data demonstrates a slight 1% decrease in overall readiness.

Comparisons between R4K!S data and results of previous kindergarten readiness surveys are not valid.

A child's readiness for kindergarten is an important proxy measure for many factors that influence health and development up to the age of six years. Research shows there are large gaps in kindergarten readiness among children living in poverty whose families have less resources, and approximately six out of 10 children across the U.S. start kindergarten not ready to learn. Addressing those disparities means recognizing that experiences from the earliest moments of life influence children’s readiness to succeed in school.[1]

Kindergarten readiness is a corresponding Healthy People 2030 objective EMC- D01 (developmental status): Increase the proportion of children who are ready for school. This indicator is also part of the 2019-2023 State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) that documents the health status of Vermonters and the population health indicators and equity goals that will guide the work of public health through 2023. 

The kindergarten readiness survey has been conducted as a collaborative venture between elementary school principals and teachers, the Agency of Education, and the Agency of Human Services, including the Department of Health and the Department for Children and Families.

The health of a mother leading up to pregnancy, her nutrition and health behaviors, and the prenatal health care she receives may have a profound influence on the health of the baby. Further, the quality of the relationship between the mother and/or caregiver and child, and the child's home environment and early care and education opportunities, strongly affect the child's early development and opportunities for learning.

Vermont has an Early Childhood Action Plan with a primary goal of increasing kindergarten readiness.

In the graph above, the data is by school year (not calendar year). The year indicated on the chart represents the 2nd half of the school year; for example, the data for 2022 is for the 2021-2022 school year.

The survey consisted of 34 items across the domains of physical development and health, social and emotional development, approaches to learning, communication, and cognitive development. To complete the survey, the teacher rates each child's skills as beginning, practicing, or performing independently on 28 items and judges if hunger, illness, or fatigue in hibit the child's learning on the remaining six physical development and health-related items. A total score approach was used to assess a student’s overall ability. A student was identified as ready if their total score placed them in the ready and practicing or ready and performing independently range.

Prior to 2015-2016, kindergartners were only considered ready if they were rated practicing or performing independently on all 30 questions in all domains. Data are therefore not comparable across recent years.

Further details on methodology used for the kindergarten readiness survey are available.