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FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS MAY BE INDICATORS OF KINDERGARTNERS' ABILITY TO LEARN

March 10, 2000

EDITOR'S NOTE: Special Education News presents this monthly feature to give readers a glimpse of interesting developments in the special education field. Special Education News welcomes submissions for future monthly data reports.

A new report by the U.S. Department of Education shows direct links between a kindergartner's likelihood to show signs of developmental difficulty and the child's mother's education level, race, socio-economic status and family situation. Factors such as a higher activity level than other kindergartners, a lower attention span and lower physical coordination and verbal skills may be precursors to more pronounced learning difficulties as the child gets older, the study says.

"Children's physical and motor development play a key role in their preparedness for school. Children's physical well-being may frame their learning opportunities-limiting or expanding them. The child with poor fine motor skills will have difficulty holding and using a pencil, which may contribute to difficulties in printing letters and words. Fine motor skills (i.e., visual motor) can predict reading, mathematics and general school achievement, and such perceptual skills may be more predictive than even cognitive skills for later success in reading comprehension," according to the report.

Number of kindergartners in U.S., fall 1998: 4 million
Children repeating kindergarten: 5%
In public schools: 85%
In private schools: 15%
In full-day programs: 55%
In part-day programs: 45%

First-time kindergarteners showing signs of developmental difficulty whose mothers achieved less than high school diploma or equivalent, as reported by parents:

	Overall	White (non-Hispanic)	Black (non-Hispanic)	Asian	Hispanic
Higher activity level than peers:	24%	28%	36%	12%	16%
Lower attention span than peers:	17%	23%	25%	7%	10%
Lower coordination level than peers:	4%	5%	5%	3%	3%
Lower ability to articulate words than peers:	14%	17%	19%	16%	9%

First-time kindergarteners showing signs of developmental difficulty by family characteristics, as reported by parents:

	Overall	On Welfare	Not on Welfare	Single-mother Home	Single-father Home	Two-parent Home
Higher activity level:	18%	26%	17%	25%	22%	16%
Lower attention span:	13%	19%	13%	16%	15%	12%
Lower coordination level:	4%	4%	4%	4%	4%	4%
Lower ability to articulate words:	11%	15%	10%	11%	10%	10%

"The developmental difficulties described in this section are important indicators of greater vulnerability for poor school outcomes. However, the presence of a limitation does not in itself indicate a diagnosis or impairment," the study notes.

In the report, sponsored by the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, researchers studied a nationally representative sample of about 22,000 kindergartners who began school in 1998. Data gathering included direct observation and testing of the students plus ratings by the students' teachers and parents, particularly in the areas of perceived indicators of developmental difficulty and behavioral problems. The study will continue to follow those students through their fifth grade year.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education report: "The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99"