abilities vary among children, reflect children’s early brain develop-
ment, and are measurable and specific.
Still, use of “readiness for school” may be controversial and con-
fusing. As Goelman and Hertzman (n.d.) explain—
To some it [readiness] is a meaningful way to describe the collection of
cognitive and social skills, the knowledge, dispositions, and personal
experiences that children bring with them when they enter kinder-
garten [or first grade]. For many... school boards, teachers, parents
and policy makers – the term “readiness” is descriptive, accurate, and
neutral... for... early childhood educators, infant development con-
sultants, and child care professionals – the word “readiness” carries a
very strong negative association with it. This stems from a long-held
set of beliefs in ECE [Early Childhood Education] that child develop-
ment is a continuous process with no sharp dividing lines between
“notready” and “ready” and that children develop at different rates, es-
pecially in their early years.Early childhood educators also are wary that readiness may be used
to set standards for kindergarten entry. Some educators, researchers,
and policymakers have skewed the use of the term to focus only on
the linkage among early child development, school readiness, and
success in the school system. However, the brain does not develop in
the framework of administrative structures that we have established
in our societies such as preschool and school. Hence, the institutional
separation of the preschool period from the school period is illogical.
In summary, all children are born ready to learn. It is their early
development that distinguishes their readiness for school. The term
readiness for school captures the majority understanding that can be
translated into a “measure” of early child development.
Assessing Readiness
Both the notion of testing(assessment) and the tests (tools to assess)
themselves have been controversial and much debated. The contro-
versy stems from a concern that if readiness implies specific skills and
abilities that a child must possess before entry into school, then “as-
sessing readiness” may act as a gatekeeping function to keep young
268 J. Fraser Mustard and Mary Eming Young