Kindergarten Readiness

" What do you think we can do to improve these scores?"

Suggestions- At all elementary schools, designate two or three times a week, after school from 6PM to 8PM- gather some reading volunteers + voluntary reading staff, gather the parent(s), the students at the schools and conduct reading classes. Looks like, from the school data breakouts, that we have some of the poorer performances coming out of the lower income neighborhoods.

OR

At each elementary school, have the students remain after school for additional reading tutoring and make the school day an hour or two longer. Parents might object- after work, have them come to the classroom to help their child read and take them home after additional class.

OR

Have elementary schools compile an instructional DVD for the child to learn at home and keep the parents off the school's back for altering their schedule. Problem is, parent(s) might not make the child sit down and watch and practice with the video. No guarantee here.

OR

Have Saturday school reading options with the parent(s) bringing the child to their elementary school to participate and to monitor their child's reading skills. So as not to pay overtime to the teachers, have the instructors be qualified volunteers. Perhaps able seniors would participate. JMO

What is the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment-Literacy? (KRA-L)
The KRA-L is a short assessment that will be given to all kindergarten children.

The KRA-L is made up of activities that include:

• Answering who, what, when, why and how questions;

• Repeating sentences;

• Identifying words that rhyme;

• Giving a word that sounds the same as another word (rhyming production);

• Identifying letters; and

• Listening and identifying the beginning sounds of words.
 The six skills were selected to assess because developing them is important to becoming a good reader.
For more information go to:
http://www.southwestschools.org/crosby/danner/KRAL/whatiskraland%20kindrgartenreadinesslist.htm

Ok call me stupid,ignorant whatever, but I thought kindergarten was to prepare kids for the following regular school.  

I agree Vivian,I think learning starts at home and should continue. But it sounds like from the original posting that kids should know how to read before they get to pre-school. I'm all for teaching them young but how young is to young ? And isn't that what pre-school is for ? Teaching them and preparing them for whats to come ?

Vet

Many of these young ladies did not have a mother in their lives and therefore did not learn any life skills. We give them food stamps and assume that they know how to buy and cook a meal.  It took me a year to teach them how to make their food stamps last the entire month. We assume they know how to do laundry and sew a button on a shirt. We assume they know how to solve simple health and social problems with their children.
They really don't know they should be reading a book a week to their children while they are young or teach their children to sit still and listen...and the list goes on and on...we just assume they know how to break the cycle that they are in.