Forum on Child and Family StatisticsSchool Readiness
School readiness—or entering school "healthy and ready to learn"—is defined by the Health Resources and Services Administration as having the skills and abilities needed to succeed and thrive in school, including overall health, motor development, social-emotional development, self-regulation, and early learning skills (e.g., language acquisition, number recognition).1 Early attainment of cognitive and social-emotional skills can have short- and long-term academic and health-related impacts, which can lead to better social, professional, and economic outcomes. Building such skills starts before kindergarten, highlighting the need for early investments in child development, particularly for those who may be at greater risk for poor outcomes.2, 3
Indicator ED2.A Percentage of children ages 3–5 by school readiness status, 2022 and 2023
NOTE: School readiness—or entering school "healthy and ready to learn"—is defined by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as having the skills and abilities needed to succeed and thrive in school, including overall health, motor development, social-emotional development, self-regulation, and early learning skills (e.g., language acquisition, number recognition). HRSA's National Survey of Children's Health assesses school readiness from parent or caregiver responses to 28 questions in five domains: motor development, early learning skills, self-regulation, social-emotional development, and health. Children are assigned to a single, mutually exclusive school readiness status based on predefined scoring criteria. "Needed support" refers to children who needed support in multiple domains; "Emerging" refers to children who met age-appropriate developmental expectations in fewer than five domains and needed support in no more than one domain; and "On track" refers to children who met age-appropriate developmental expectations in four or five domains without needing support in any domain.
SOURCE: Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, National Survey of Children's Health.
- In 2023, among children ages 3–5, nearly two-thirds (66%) were on track and ready for school (i.e., met age-appropriate developmental expectations in four or five domains without needing support in any domain4), about one-quarter (27%) were considered to have emerging skills (i.e., were on track in fewer than five domains and needed support in no more than one domain), and 8% needed support in multiple domains. There were no significant changes in school readiness between 2022 and 2023.
Indicator ED2.B Percentage of children ages 3–5 who were developmentally on track by domain: 2022 and 2023
a On track overall is defined as meeting age-appropriate developmental expectations in four or five domains without needing support in any domain.
NOTE: The National Survey of Children's Health assesses school readiness from parent or caregiver responses to 28 questions in five domains: motor development, early learning skills, self-regulation, social-emotional development, and health. Children who were developmentally "on track" met age-appropriate developmental expectations in four or five domains without needing support in any domain.
SOURCE: Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, National Survey of Children's Health.
- In 2023, the percentage of children ages 3–5 who were on track and ready for school varied by domain, ranging from 68% for motor development to 89% for health. There were no significant changes between 2022 and 2023 for any domain.
Indicator ED2.C Percentage of children ages 3–5 who were developmentally on track by race and ethnicity and poverty status, 2022 and 2023
— Not available.
NOTE: NH = non-Hispanic origin; AIAN = American Indian or Alaska Native; NHOPI = Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. The National Survey of Children's Health assesses school readiness from parent or caregiver responses to 28 questions in five domains: motor development, early learning skills, self-regulation, social-emotional development, and health. Children who were developmentally "on track" met age-appropriate developmental expectations in four or five domains without needing support in any domain. NHOPI is not reportable in 2023 due to small sample size.
SOURCE: Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, National Survey of Children's Health.
- In 2023, the percentage of children ages 3–5 who were on track and ready for school ranged from about 60% for both Black, non-Hispanic and Hispanic children to 70% for White, non-Hispanic children. There were no significant changes between 2022 and 2023 for any racial/ethnic group.
- In 2023, the percentage of children ages 3–5 who were on track and ready for school increased with increasing family income, ranging from 50% for children in families living below the poverty threshold to 73% for children in families living at or above 200% of the poverty threshold. There were no significant changes between 2022 and 2023 by poverty status.
ED2.A HTML Table | ED2.B HTML Table | ED2.C HTML Table
1 Ghandour, R. M., Hirai, A. H., Moore, K. A., Paschall, K., LaForett, D. R., Reddington, E., & Kogan, M. D. (2024). School readiness among United States children: Results from the 2022 National Survey of Children's Health. Academic Pediatrics, 24(7), 1049–1061. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2024.02.013
2 Williams, P. G., & Lerner, M. A., & Council on Early Childhood (2019). School readiness (Technical Report). Pediatrics, 144(2), e20191766. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-1766
3 Kaminski, J. W., Barrueco, S., Kelleher, K. J., Hoagwood, K., Edwards, A., & Fox, E. G. (2023, June 26). Vital signs for pediatric health: School readiness. NAM Perspectives. National Academy of Medicine. https://nam.edu/perspectives/vital-signs-for-pediatric-health-school-readiness/
4 The National Survey of Children's Health assesses school readiness from parent or caregiver responses to 28 questions in five domains: early learning skills, social-emotional development, self-regulation, motor development, and health.
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics
