EdSource, September 7, 2016: Kindergarten Readiness Gap Between Low-Income and Higher-Income Students Shrinking

“Persistent gaps in kindergarten readiness between children from low-income families and their higher-income peers — which have continued as ongoing achievement gaps in later years — appear to be narrowing, new research shows. And in a related finding, another report has concluded that lower-income parents are investing more time and effort in their younger children. The academic readiness gap between low- and higher-income children closed by 10 percent in math and 16 percent in reading between 1998 and 2010, according to a study by Sean Reardon, a professor of poverty and inequality in education at Stanford University, and Ximena Portilla, a research associate at MDRC, a nonprofit research organization. The gap was measured through large-scale comparisons of math, reading and writing skills.”