50%

WHERE DO WE STAND?

Half of Central Texas kindergartners were school ready during the 2019-2020 school year, according to data from Ready, Set, K!, a measure developed by the E3Alliance with the help of experts from across the region. In 2019, 51% of Central Texas kindergartners arrived school ready, compared to 41% in 2015.

The E³ Alliance works with a weighted sample of Central Texas kindergarten classrooms to test student’s social-emotional development, emerging literacy, language and communication, and math skills during the first 9 weeks of kindergarten.

A CLOSER LOOK

The greatest disparity in school readiness occurs by income. Approximately 38% of low-income kindergarteners were school ready during the 2019-2020 school year, compared to 61% of children from moderate and high-income families. The gap in school readiness by income appears to have narrowed between 2016 and 2018. Children from wealthier families are 23% more likely to be school ready than their low-income peers.

CHILD POVERTY

Since income has the greatest correlation to school readiness, it is helpful to consider the varying rates at which children of different races and ethnicities live in poverty. From 2015 to 2019, an estimated 30% of Black and 26% of Hispanic children under age 5 lived in households with incomes below the federal poverty level. Of the children under age 5 living in households with incomes below the federal poverty level, 72% were Hispanic, while 15% were Black.

PRE-K HELPS CLOSE GAP

Only 78% of eligible children attend public Pre-K in Central Texas, according to research from the  E3 Alliance. Half-day public Pre-K is available to children who have limited English proficiency, are economically disadvantaged, have an active duty military parent, or are homeless.

Children who attend pre-kindergarten programs are more likely to enter kindergarten school ready than children who did not attend pre-k. In 2019, 53% of children who attended pre-K were ready for school, compared to 35% of children who did not attend pre-K.