School readiness skills at age four predict academic achievement through 5th grade

Abstract

In this study, we use a large-scale (n = 33,717) ethnically diverse (59% Latinx, 34% Black, and 7% White/other) largely low-income sample to assess the predictive power of a wide range of school readiness skills measured at age four in preschool on authentic academic outcomes through Grade 5. Specifically, we explored the extent to which cognitive, language, fine motor, gross motor, and socioemotional skills at age four are related to GPA, standardized test scores, likelihood of retention, and likelihood of suspension in Kindergarten and key grades through Grade 5. OLS and logistic regressions revealed that each of these measures of school readiness was related to later academic outcomes, even when controlling for demographic characteristics and other measures of performance in preschool. Preschool socioemotional readiness skills were consistently related to K to Grade 5 outcomes. These findings suggest that school readiness skills at age 4 have long-term influence on academic performance in elementary school and that socioemotional skills are an important component of school readiness.