ED2.A Percentage of children ages 3–5 by school readiness status, 2022 and 2023

Characteristic	2022	2023
Total	63.6	65.6
Healthy and Ready to Learn Index
Needed support	9.0	7.7
Emerging	27.4	26.6
On track	63.6	65.6
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. "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.