Seven of 10 kindergarteners in Cincinnati Public Schools—the vast majority racial minority students—were deemed not ready to learn in the classroom in 2021, confirming the damaging effects of COVID-19 pandemic disruptions, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics.
Before the pandemic, 60% were not ready for kindergarten, the findings revealed.
Drop in use of early-education services
A team led by Cincinnati Children's Hospital researchers analyzed the scores of 4,755 kindergarteners who took the state-required Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) in 2018, 2019, or 2021 (no test was administered in 2020 owing to pandemic restrictions). They did the same with 3,204 matched children with electronic health record data from the hospital's primary care clinics.
The KRA measures skills in early reading and math, gross and fine motor tasks, self-regulation, and attention through 27 teacher-administered questions and tasks. The assessments are scored on a scale of 0 to 300, with 270 considered passing. Average participant age was 5.6 years, 50.3% were boys, 82.5% were Black, 7.6% were White, and 2.9% were Hispanic.
"Early experiences, relationships, and socioeconomic conditions are foundational for early brain development, school readiness, and health outcomes," the study authors wrote. "Racial and socioeconomic opportunity gaps in the skills necessary to learn and succeed in school (including language, preliteracy, math and socioemotional skills such as executive function and self-regulation) start before kindergarten."
They noted that fewer families, especially Black families, used early childhood education (ECE) services and developmental therapies during pandemic disruptions. "Many parents chose not to enroll their children in ECE out of fear of COVID-19 and difficulties navigating the arduous enrollment process," they wrote.
Parents reading to children uncommon
In total, 817 parents (25.5%) reported reading to their child 0 or 1 day a week at least once during the study period, and 865 children (27.0%) didn't pass the age-appropriate, parent-completed Ages & Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) screening questionnaire at least once. Overall, 2,675 children (83.5%) had Medicaid coverage most of the time, 384 (12.0%) experienced food insecurity, and 855 (26.7%) lived with housing insecurity.
Average KRA scores among the primary care patients were significantly lower (260.0; 214 of 998 [21.4%]) in 2021 than in 2019 (262.7; 317 of 1,114 [28.5%]) and 2018 (263.5; 351 of 1,092 [32.1%]), a pattern also seen in the larger school district.
Only 30% of students were deemed kindergarten-ready in 2021, a significant drop from 40% in 2018. Primary care patients displayed a similar pattern, with 21.5% ready for kindergarten in 2021, compared with 32% in 2018.
A final linear regression model involving 2,883 participants identified risk factors for a failing KRA score as a low ASQ score after 18 months of age (−6.7 points below average score of 270.8); Medicaid coverage (−5.7 points), Hispanic ethnicity (−3.8), need for an interpreter (−3.6), 2021 testing year (−3.5), male sex (−2.7), rare parental reading to child (−1.5), and food insecurity (−1.2). Race, caregiver depression, housing insecurity, and difficulty receiving benefits weren't linked to KRA scores.
'Intense effort' needed to catch kids up
"This means that 7 of every 10 children in the Cincinnati Public Schools were considered not ready to learn when they entered kindergarten during the pandemic," lead author Kristen Copeland, MD, said in a hospital news release. "It will take intense effort on multiple levels to help these children overcome this disruption."
