School readiness has become a powerful catchphrase for early education practitioners, parents, and policymakers, but what does it really mean to be “ready to learn?” Attempts to define school readiness call our attention to two primary concepts: readiness to learn, which is the level of development when a child is able to learn specific material (Kagan, 1992; Lewit & Baker, 1995), and readiness for school, which is the level when a child can participate successfully in a school environment (May et al., 1994). While many have attempted to identify the skills and knowledge required for readiness, there remains a lack of agreement on how to measure it.

By Sue Mistrett

An inclusion consultant at Teaching Strategies, and has been a preschool teacher and director, university instructor and director of several national projects in early childhood education and disability in the United States. She has authored articles, book chapters and training curricula that focus on the inclusion of young children, and is frequently an invited speaker at state and national conferences.

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