ERIC ED494970: Safe, Healthy and Ready to Succeed: Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators

2006·0.29 MB·English

by  ERIC

Safe, Healthy and
Ready to Succeed
Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators
State School Readiness Board
Governor’s Offi ce for Children, Youth and Families
2006
Safe, Healthy and Ready to Succeed:
Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators
Written by Donna E. Migliore, School Readiness Associate
State School Readiness Board
Governor’s Offi ce for Children, Youth and Families
Phoenix, AZ
Copyright 2006 by State of Arizona
All rights reserved. Permission is given to reproduce this report, in whole or in part,
for educational or personal use, provided such copies are not disseminated for profi t
and each copy bears the statement, “Copyright 2006 by State of Arizona. All rights
reserved. Used with permission.”
Published 2006
For additional copies of this report contact:
State School Readiness Board
Governor’s Offi ce for Children, Youth and Families
1700 W. Washington Street, Suite 101
Phoenix, AZ 85007
[phone]
http://www.governor.state.az.us/cyf/school_readiness/index_school_readiness.html
Edited by
Irene Jacobs
Executive Director and Senior Policy Advisor to the Governor
Governor’s Offi ce for Children, Youth and Families
Prepared through the efforts of the
State School Readiness Board
Governor’s Offi ce for Children, Youth and Families
Karen Ortiz
Director
Sandy Foreman Jennifer Johnson
Early Care and Education Policy Analyst Head Start Collaboration Director
Donna E. Migliore Alicia Smith
School Readiness Associate Senior Policy Advisor for Professional Development
Judy Walruff Gail Spry
Early Childhood Health Systems Coordinator Administrative Coordinator
Acknowledgements
The State School Readiness Board would like to thank the members of
the Key Performance Indicators advisory team for their assistance in
preparing this report.
Marilee Dal Pra
Senior Program Offi cer
The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust
Marie Mancuso
Deputy Associate Superintendant
Standards Based Teaching and Learning,
School Effectiveness Division
Arizona Department of Education
Donna Migliore
School Readiness Associate
State School Readiness Board
Governor’s Offi ce for Children, Youth and Families
Dana Naimark
President and CEO
Children’s Action Alliance
Karyn Parker
Director
Success by Six
Valley of the Sun United Way
Wayne Parker
Director of Research and Evaluation
The Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust
Kathy Reimer
Director of Research and Evaluation
Children’s Bureau
WestEd
Ginger Ward
Executive Director
Southwest Human Development
Nancy Welch
Associate Director
Morrison Institute for Public Policy
Karen Woodhouse
Deputy Associate Superintendent
Early Childhood Education
Arizona Department of Education

Safe, Healthy and Ready to Succeed: Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators
i
Executive Summary
S
chool readiness promotes the School Readiness Action Plan
academic success and positive and are intended to track factors
future outcomes for children. that affect school readiness on a
Children who are ready to learn statewide scale.
when they enter school score
Key Performance Indicator
better on standardized tests, have
lower rates of grade retention, and Findings Summary
graduate from high school more
often than children who are not Child Readiness

ready for school.
(cid:122) Only thirteen percent
(13%) of Arizona children
Because school readiness includes
entering Reading First
cognitive, emotional, social and
kindergarten classrooms meet
physical aspects, children need
“benchmark” early literacy-
support in several areas. Parents,
related skills.
caregivers, early education
programs, schools and teachers, (cid:122) Arizona fourth-graders
state agencies, non-profi t consistently score slightly
organizations, businesses and below the national average
communities all have a part to play on the National Education
in ensuring children enter school Assessment of Progress
ready to learn. (NAEP) reading measure,
with about a third of Arizona
In January 2005, Governor school children meeting basic
Janet Napolitano and the School profi ciency.
Readiness Board presented a
School Readiness Action Plan. Ready Families
The School Readiness Action Plan
outlines strategies to increase the (cid:122) Just over one third of births
readiness of Arizona’s children. in Arizona are to women
The School Readiness Action Plan with less than a 12th grade
builds a collaborative statewide education compared to a
system of supports aimed at national rate of twenty-two
moving Arizona toward a future in percent (22%).
which all children enter fi rst grade
(cid:122) The number of births to
healthy, safe and ready to succeed.
Arizona mothers who receive
late or no prenatal care is
This initial version of Safe, Healthy
consistently higher than the
and Ready to Succeed: Arizona School
national average and has risen
Readiness Key Performance Indicators
since 2000. In 2004, 7.2% of
provides a baseline set of sixteen
Arizona mothers received late
Key Performance Indicators by
or no prenatal care.
which to measure the shared
outcomes of Arizona’s system of (cid:122) Fifty-six percent (56%) of
school readiness supports. The Medicaid eligible, Arizona
Key Performance Indicators align children, ages three to
with the strategies proposed in six years old, get the
Safe, Healthy and Ready to Succeed: Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators
ii
Executive Summary
recommended annual well (cid:122) Enrollments in ECBG funded Summary of Conclusions
child checkup, a rate four preschool increased nineteen
percent (4%) below the percent (19%) from 2003 to Many Arizona children arriving at
national average. However, 2005. their fi rst day of grade school are
the well-child checkup rate for unprepared to learn and succeed,
(cid:122) Enrollments in Head
those children has improved as indicated by their lack of early
Start and Early Head Start
by nine percent (9%) since 2000. literacy skill and subsequent scores
increased by two percent (2%)
on standardized academic tests.
(cid:122) The immunization rate for from 2003 to 2005.
Arizona children ages 19 to
(cid:122) The number of Arizona Appreciable improvements
35 months has improved by
children enrolled in voluntary, have been made in child health,
nine percent (9%) since 2000,
state-funded, full-day though efforts in this area should
reaching eighty-one percent
kindergarten for the 2005- continue.
(81%) in 2004. The national
2006 school year was 27,907—
average immunization rate for
more than double the number Parents are taking full advantage
Medicaid eligible children ages
of children enrolled in of voluntary, full-day kindergarten
19 to 35 months was eighty-
voluntary, state-funded, full- as soon as seats become
three percent (83%) in 2004.
day kindergarten during the available, supporting the need for
(cid:122) The percentage of Arizona 2004-2005 school year. voluntary, state-funded, full-day
children covered by health kindergarten.
(cid:122) In 2004, the average daily
insurance increased three
charge for a full day of care
percent (3%) from 2000 to The cost of child care is a
for a three-year-old child at an
2003. In 2003, fi fteen percent signifi cant and growing expense
Arizona child care center was
(15%) of Arizona children for families. Program quality
$29.35 per day, an increase
were not covered by health measures such as teacher
of forty-three percent (43%)
insurance compared with the education levels, staff stability, and
since 2000.
national average of eleven teacher pay, have not improved
percent (11%). (cid:122) Thirty-two percent (32%) proportionate to fees. Early
of Arizona early childhood
childhood education providers
Ready Programs and Schools education teachers have a should be afforded resources to
bachelor degree, comparable
enhance program quality.
(cid:122) At 82 cases per surveyor, the to the national rate.
2006 case loads of Arizona
(cid:122) Seventeen percent (17%) Arizona’s early childhood
child care licensing surveyors
of Arizona early childhood education fi eld faces the same
were sixty-four percent (64%)
education teachers have been problems affecting the industry
higher than the 50 cases per
on the job less than two years. on a national scale. Efforts to
surveyor recommended by
improve the education, retention
the National Association (cid:122) The median average hourly
and pay of Arizona’s early
for the Education of Young wage for an Arizona early
education teachers should be
Children (NAEYC). childhood education teacher
continued and enhanced.
was $9.00 per hour in 2004.
(cid:122) In 2006, eighteen percent
(18%) of licensed child care
facilities were accredited
by one of the accrediting
organizations accepted by
the Arizona Department
of Education.
Safe, Healthy and Ready to Succeed: Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators
iii
Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................1
Demographic Factors .........................................................................4
Key Performance Indicators
School Readiness Outcomes ......................................................6
Ready Families ...........................................................................8
Ready Programs and Schools ...................................................13
Ready Teachers ........................................................................22
Community Efforts ...........................................................................25
Conclusions ......................................................................................27
Endnotes ...........................................................................................28
Safe, Healthy and Ready to Succeed: Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators
iv
Introduction
Critical Early Years maladies, by lack of responsive,
caring relationships and few
A child’s brain develops at a opportunities for enriching
tremendous rate during the experiences—will be less ready
fi rst years of life. From birth to for school. Children who are not
nine months, the brain’s weight ready for fi rst grade may have
doubles, and by age six has grown diffi culty dealing with the social
to ninety percent (90%) of adult and emotional demands of the
size.1 Additionally, from birth classroom and acquiring the
to three years, a young child’s basic academic skills needed to
brain is building a network of progress through the elementary
synaptic pathways that will be the grades.9,10,11 These children are
foundation for later learning. A more likely to be held back a
three-year-old toddler’s brain has grade,12 drop out of high school,
about 1000 trillion synapses― and become involved with the
many more than the child will justice system than their peers
ever need. As the child grows, who are ready for school.13,14
some of these synaptic pathways
will be strengthened while others Being ready for school is more
will be discarded.2 Experiences than being chronologically old
that use synaptic links in specifi c enough to start fi rst grade; rather,
brain regions guarantee those links school readiness is a complex
will thrive, while links that are intertwining of factors.15 Being
unused will decay.3 Enriching early ready for school means a child
experiences are key to building is cognitively, physically, socially
the rich neural networks a child and emotionally prepared to
needs to succeed. learn. Because school readiness
is multifaceted, children need
Children who have enriching early support in several areas. Caring,
experiences are eager to begin stable relationships with parents
fi rst grade and ready to learn and family are the building blocks
when they get there. Children for school readiness, but children
who are ready to learn when also need access to health care and
they enter school score better on nutrition; quality early childhood
standardized tests in mathematics, education settings; teachers and
language development and schools that are prepared and able
reading,4,5 have lower rates of to provide enriching experiences;
grade retention,6 and graduate and safe, supportive communities.
from high school more often Ensuring that Arizona’s children
than their peers who are not are ready for school means that
ready for school.7,8 everyone—parents and families,
caregivers, early childhood
Children who are disadvantaged— education programs, schools and
by emotional or behavioral teachers, state agencies, non-profi t
impairments, by poverty or organizations, businesses and
family circumstances, by ill communities—has a part to play
health or untreated physical in their success.
Safe, Healthy and Ready to Succeed: Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators
1
Introduction
Helping Arizona’s Children including the readiness of our Indicators will be reported in two-
Succeed children to enter school. Some of year increments, so that trends
these factors, such as Arizona’s can be tracked.
In January, 2005, Governor high mobility rate, are unlikely to
Janet Napolitano and the School be overcome by school readiness The Key Performance Indicators
Readiness Board presented a efforts; however, meaningful were selected through a process
School Readiness Action Plan, changes that improve the ability that included review and input
which envisions an Arizona where of our children to succeed can from community partners and
all children begin fi rst grade safe, be made. In order to determine consultation with state agencies.
healthy and ready to succeed. The if those improvements are being Many possible indicators were
School Readiness Action Plan is achieved, methods of looking proposed; however, only those for
designed to improve the readiness at the well-being of Arizona’s which data sources are currently
of Arizona’s children in all children, the early childhood available, gathered regularly and
developmental domains—physical, education system, and related from a reliable source16 were
cognitive, social and emotional. community and environmental included in this document. The
factors are needed. potential measures were then
The School Readiness Action narrowed to those indicators
Plan outlines strategies to increase The Key Performance Indicators that meet the data requirements,
the readiness of Arizona’s selected for this report align with are most indicative of situations
children by educating parents the School Readiness Action affecting school readiness and
and increasing supports for Plan by measuring factors that that also align with the School
families; by improving the quality affect the individual child, the Readiness Action Plan. The
and safety of early childhood child’s family, early learning resulting sixteen Key Performance
educational settings and expand- settings, and the community. Indicators are those that meet
ing access to high-quality, early The Key Performance Indicators the aforementioned requirements
childhood education and full- measure improvements made by and which a statewide system of
day kindergarten; by increasing a collaborative, statewide system school readiness supports can
the number of and retention of supports for school readiness. reasonably affect.
of qualifi ed early childhood This system includes parents
professionals; and by creating and families, caregivers, early Additionally, demographic factors
partnerships to build the capacity childhood education programs, related to the economic and
of communities to provide quality schools and teachers, state social situations that affect school
early childhood education. The agencies, non-profi t organizations, readiness are reported. Although
School Readiness Action Plan businesses and communities. these expansive conditions, such
builds a collaborative statewide The Key Performance Indicators as poverty and migration, cannot
system of supports aimed at look at accountability for the reasonably be affected by the
moving Arizona toward a future shared outcomes of this system work of a statewide system of
in which all children enter fi rst (as differentiated from program school readiness supports, tracking
grade healthy, safe and ready outcomes). No single agency, changes in these conditions helps
to succeed. organization or program is defi ne the environment in which
solely responsible for any the work of the system must
Measuring Systemic Change shared outcome; rather, the Key be conducted.
Performance Indicators deal with
Arizona, like all other States, combined efforts in preparing
has a unique mix of geographic, Arizona’s children for school.

economic and social situations Because progress on a larger scale
that affect all facets of our lives, takes time, the Key Performance
Safe, Healthy and Ready to Succeed: Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators
2
Introduction
School Readiness Key Performance Indicators
1. Percentage of Lower-Income Children Entering
Kindergarten With “Benchmark” Literacy-Related Skills
2. Percentage of Children Meeting the ‘At Basic’ Measure on
the NAEP 4th Grade Reading Assessment
3. Percentage of Births to Mothers With Less Than a 12th
Grade Education
4. Percentage of Births to Mothers Who Received Late or No
Prenatal Care
5. Percentage of Medicaid Eligible Children Ages 3-6 Years
Receiving an Annual Well-Child Checkup
6. Percentage of Children 19-35 Months of Age Who Are
Fully Immunized
7. Percentage of Children Ages Birth to Five Years Without
Health Insurance
8. Ratio of Child Care Licensing Surveyors to Case Load
9. Percentage of Licensed Child Care Facilities That Are
Accredited
10. Number of Children Enrolled in ECBG Preschools
11. Number of Children Enrolled in Head Start or Early Head
Start Programs
12. Number of Children Enrolled in Voluntary, State-Funded,
Full-Day Kindergarten
13. Average Daily Charge for a Full Day of Care, for a Three-
Year-Old, at a Child Care Center
14. Percentage of Early Childhood Education Teachers With a
Bachelor Degree
15. Percentage of Early Childhood Education Teachers on the
Job Less Than 2 Years
16. Median Average Hourly Wage for Early Childhood
Education Teachers
Safe, Healthy and Ready to Succeed: Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators
3
Demographic Factors Affecting School Readiness
B
eyond the individual child There is also a high rate of interior
are demographic factors that mobility within Arizona. Families
hinder or support school readiness move from one Arizona city to
in a larger context. Arizona faces another and from neighborhood
some particular challenges in to neighborhood more often than
ensuring children enter fi rst grade the national average. During 2004,
ready to succeed, including a high nearly sixteen percent (16 %) of
mobility rate, a signifi cant number Arizonans (over 870,000 residents)
of young children living in moved from one house to another
poverty and an increasing number within Arizona.20
of children entering school as
English language learners. It can be diffi cult for school-
age children to catch up with a
Mobility and Migration different academic curriculum,
adjust to a new school culture
Arizona has one of the fastest and make new friends; but
growing populations in the nation. the disruption of moving also
Arizona’s population grew forty affects very young children.
percent (40%) from 1990 to Working parents of preschool age
2000. From mid-2000 to mid- children who move their families
2005, Arizona’s population then must often fi nd new child care
increased by nearly another sixteen arrangements. Young children
percent (16%). Only Nevada has form attachments to their early
experienced more growth over the childhood education providers
past 15 years than Arizona.17 and these positive relationships
can be benefi cial for the child.21
Along with the increase in pop- Children who have a stable,
ulation comes a high mobility rate. positive attachment to their early
Nearly one and a half million childhood education provider
children moved to Arizona, show enhanced social-emotional
or from place to place within development in their interactions
Arizona, during 2004. External with peers. Conversely, young
migration from other countries children who change early
to Arizona is higher than the childhood education teachers
national average. Over 13,000 and who are unable to form a
foreign-born children ages one to positive relationship with their
seventeen moved to Arizona with new teacher, are more aggressive
their families in 2004.18 Arizona and withdrawn than children who
also had the second-highest, do not change early childhood
average annual rate of state-to- education teachers.22
state migration from 2000 to 2004.
Only forty-one percent (41%) of Young Children in Poverty
Arizona residents were born in
Arizona, while nationally sixty- Poverty has consistently negative
seven percent (67%) of residents effects on children’s readiness
still live in the State where they for school.23,24,25 Poverty is a
were born.19 primary predictor of school
Safe, Healthy and Ready to Succeed: Arizona School Readiness Key Performance Indicators
4