School readiness: an idea whose time has arrived.

Abstract

For more than 30 years, pediatrics has embraced early child development and school performance at older ages as an integral part of clinical practice. This growing focus on child development and school performance outcomes was informed in part by the changing epidemiology of children’s health, the related reframing of the scope of pediatric practice under the construct of “new morbidities,” and the influential 1987 report from the Task Force on Pediatric Education.1,2 Child development has become a certified subspecialty, and residency programs have specified training requirements. Despite significant progress, even more needs to be done not only to identify children with developmental disabilities and institute appropriate and timely interventions, but also to promote optimal development and enhance the school readiness of all children.3 Our current understanding of the importance of early childhood is converging with our national policy agenda to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for all children. The convergence of these 2 trends is taking place under the banner of school readiness, referring both to a child’s capacity to learn, grow, and achieve and also creating an organizing principle and outcome for major statewide early childhood initiatives throughout the United States. As a result, pediatricians will increasingly be called on to direct more of their clinical expertise in service of this important societal goal, and are likely to find themselves, as many other early childhood professionals and teachers are, increasingly involved in the “school readiness business.” Underlying these observable changes in social policy are tectonic shifts in our understanding of the importance of early childhood and the role of school readiness in promoting not only academic achievement but longer term health outcomes. Whereas before 1990 the term school readiness was used to evaluate and some would say to label children who were not “mature enough” …