Fewer Prince George’s County students were prepared for school when they entered kindergarten last fall than in 2010, even as “kindergarten readiness” increased across Maryland, according to a report from the State Education Department.
Assessments of Prince George’s kindergarteners by their teachers suggest that 77 percent of students were fully ready to begin school, down from 79 percent in the previous school year. Statewide, 83 percent of kindergarteners hit the ground running, up from 81 percent.
| Ready? OK! | ||||||
| Percentage of students who were assessed as “fully ready” to begin kindergarten in 2011-2012, and the percentage-point change from 2010-2011: | ||||||
| Montgomery | Prince George’s | Maryland | ||||
| Composite | 81% (+7) | 77% (-2) | 83% (+2) | |||
| Language/Literacy | 72% (+7) | 65% (-5) | 73% (+2) | |||
| Mathematical thinking | 76% (+7) | 69% (-4) | 77% (+2) | |||
| Scientific thinking | 63% (+11) | 66% (-4) | 71% (+3) | |||
| Social studies | 68% (+9) | 70% (-4) | 76% (+3) | |||
| Arts | 83% (+5) | 83% (-2) | 85% (+2) | |||
| Physical development | 89% (+4) | 87% (-2) | 89% (+1) | |||
| Social/Personal | 78% (+5) | 74% (-1) | 80% (+2) | |||
Performed during the first six weeks of the school year, the kindergarten readiness assessments scrutinize seven domains, from social and personal skills to mathematical thinking and literacy. Prince George’s kindergarteners rated lower than last year in every category. Kids coming from private nurseries fared the best, with 88 percent prepared, while only 61 percent of children hailing from home care were completely ready for kindergarten.
Only Baltimore and the Maryland School for the Deaf had lower readiness rates than Prince George’s — 73 percent and 70 percent, respectively — and both had dramatic gains over the prior year.
Montgomery County also made significant progress, with 81 percent of kindergarteners ready to learn, a 7 percentage-point increase over 2010-2011.
Duane Arbogast, chief academic officer for Prince George’s schools, said students weren’t sliding — they faltered after a steep increase.
From 2009 to 2010, the percentage of kindergarteners prepared for school increased by 11 percentage points, as Arbogast said teachers received better training for using the assessments.
This school year also saw a 32 percent drop in children coming from private nurseries, which produce kids routinely rated more ready than their public counterparts statewide.
“Yeah, but who goes to private nurseries?” said Arbogast, refuting the notion that private providers were doing a better job. “You know the answer to that question.”
Prince George’s County Public Schools used to offer full-day pre-kindergarten for all low-income children, but budget cuts forced the school system to scale back to half-day programs.
“Our goal is to try to move back to that program,” said Christian Rhodes, the education policy adviser to County Executive Rushern Baker. “Ideally, we’d have one of the best pre-K programs in the state of Maryland.”
