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School Readiness Dimensions 
A key goal of the Success by 6® Initiative is to have each child in Lane County enter school ready to learn. Knowing what skills and knowledge children have as they enter school enables teachers and parents to help each child move forward on his/her educational journey.
How is "School Readiness" Measured For a Child in Oregon?
In 2000, the Oregon Department of Education used guidelines developed by the National Educational Goals Panel (NEGP). The guidelines are six dimensions of growth and well being which define a child's readiness to enter kindergarten. They are as follows:
1. Physical Well-Being: This dimension refers to a child's health status. Children, who appear rested, well nourished, and who are immunized are thought to have physical well-being.
2. Language Use: This dimension indicates command of language and refers to a child's ability to communicate needs, thoughts, and wants verbally (in his/her primary language). A child's language usage can also be determined by the ability to initiate and sustain conversations, and by the ability to tell about a picture when looking at it.
3. Approach to Learning: This dimension refers to a child's enthusiasm, curiosity and ability to be persistent on assigned and self-selected tasks. Other indicators are: a child's inclination and attitude, his/her demonstrated interest in different and new things, confidence in his/her own ability to succeed, and a belief that adults will be helpful.
4. Cognition and General Knowledge: All experiences a child brings to the school setting help identify cognition and general knowledge. This is validate by the child'' knowledge about objects, events, people, associations, differences and similarities. It may also include knowledge about how letters sound, relationships, shapes, spatial relations and number concepts. A child who can follow directions, solve problems in every day life, and have a solid base of positive early experiences would be considered ready in this dimension.
5. Motor Development: A child's ability to use age-appropriate gross and fine motor skills represents motor development readiness. Indicators such as drawing, writing, cutting, and painting identify fine motor skills. Some large motor skill indicators are skipping, running, climbing, balancing, and kicking, tossing or catching a ball.
6. Social/ Emotional Development: This can be described as the child's ability to interact socially. School success is dependent upon a child's ability to take turns, share, cooperate, sit still for age-appropriate timeframes and not be disruptive. Emotional development is inclusive of the child's concept of him/herself. Healthy emotional development also includes the ability to understand how others feel and the ability to express one's own feelings.
Oregon's Preschoolers Have Improved!
The 2000 Oregon Kindergarten Readiness Survey indicates that 67% of children entering Oregon's kindergartens met all six developmental dimensions of readiness, and 82% met five or more. In 1997 only 62% met all six dimensions. The survey was performed by 985 kindergarten teachers, at public and private schools, assessing a total of 18,427 children. Click here to download the 2000 Oregon Kindergarten Readiness Survey in PDF format (874K)
More Information
A parent is a child's best guide and teacher during pre-school development. Here is further information for the exciting journey of a child's mental, emotional and social growth.
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School Readiness Dimensions
A Child's Brain
Developmental Stages
Preparing for School
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