Kentucky has seen little movement when it comes to addressing kindergarten readiness, according to new data released by the Kentucky Department of Education this week.

Only slightly more than half of the students entering kindergarten at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year were deemed ready, according to a news release.

The actual percentage remains relatively flat compared to last year, with only 51 percent of the 47,808 students tested this year considered ready. During the 2017-18 school year, 51.4 percent were ready.

Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis used the new data to call for more support for early childhood education opportunities. Most brain development occurs before children ever get on their first bus for kindergarten, he said.

“The research literature is clear that high-quality early learning environments – like public preschool, Head Start and child care – significantly increases the likelihood that children will be ready for kindergarten academically, socially and emotionally,” he said in a news release.

“An essential element of improving education, workforce and the life outcomes for Kentuckians is focusing on kids’ early learning and readiness for kindergarten.”

The Kentucky Board of Education learned of the new data Wednesday during its meeting in Frankfort. The state defines school readiness as “a student entering school ready to engage in and benefit from early learning experiences that best promote the student’s success.”

Research shows that children who attend high-quality early learning environments have better math, language and social skills, the release said. They’re also less likely to be held back a grade, be chronically absent from school and more likely to finish high school.

This is the sixth year the Kentucky Readiness Screener has been administered to all incoming kindergarten students. During the screening, teachers ask students to say their name and age, to recite the alphabet and count to 30, stand on one foot for 10 seconds as well as other tasks.

The screener is not meant to be a requirement to enter kindergarten and instead provides a snapshot of a student’s readiness in the areas of academic/cognitive, language development and physical development.

While readiness stagnated at the state level, some student groups did see modest growth.

The percentage of limited English proficiency students deemed ready rose to 31.2 percent this year from 30.1 percent in the 2017-18 school year. Students with disabilities also saw some growth rising to 34.2 percent considered ready this year from 32.1 percent last year.

– The state’s full readiness report is available online at www.openhouse.education.ky.gov/Data.