for optimal brain development. Both readiness for school and readi-
ness to learn are widely used concepts in education. Although neither
captures the full implication of the importance of brain development
during the first years of life and the long reach (i.e., close link) of
this early child development to human development, readiness for
school:
- Is a promising measure of early child development for practical
reasons—entry into school is the first time after early childhood
when all children are enrolled in an institutional structure
where data on their development can be collected. - Serves as a common framework to underscore the importance of
early child development—that is, children’s performance in the
school system is influenced to a large extent by the time chil-
dren enter school.
School readiness is distinct from readiness to learn. As historically
understood—
School readinessimplies fixed standards of physical, intellectual, and
social development that enable children to fulfill requirements and to
assimilate a school’s curriculum (Crinic and Lamberty 1994; Kagan
1990; Lewit and Baker 1995; West, Denton, and Germino-Hausken
2000).Readiness to learnimplies “level of development at which an individual
(of any age) is ready to undertake the learning of specific materials.
When applied to a population or group, it refers to the age at which
the average individual has the specified capacity” (Lewit and Baker
1995).Stated more simply, “readiness for school... is a much narrower
concept that focuses on children’s ability to meet the demands of
school tasks, such as being comfortable exploring and asking ques-
tions, being able to hold a pencil and to run on the playground, lis-
tening to a teacher, playing and working with other children, and re-
membering and following rules” (Janus, in this publication). These
Measuring Child Development to Leverage ECD Policy and Investment 267