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Kindergarten Entrance Inventory:
School Readiness in Waterbury
This report examines data from the Connecticut Kindergarten Entrance Inventory (KEI), which was used to assess the school readiness of nearly 1,500 Waterbury kindergarten students. The Leever Foundation supported this analysis to help identify where children need more support and where the community can focus its efforts.
Why This Research Matters
Children's earliest experiences shape everything that comes after. Research consistently shows that children who are ready to start school are more likely to succeed academically and socially in the years ahead. In Waterbury, where the majority of kindergartners are children of color from low-income households, understanding who is, and who is not, arriving at school ready to learn is essential to building a more equitable community.
About the Research
Researchers analyzed KEI data from the 2018-19 school year, when nearly 1,500 Waterbury kindergartners were assessed across six areas: literacy, language, numeracy, creative development, physical development, and personal development. The data was cross-referenced with students' preschool experience, school attended, zip code, race and ethnicity, and gender, giving the community a detailed picture of which children are most at risk of not being school-ready and why.
Having no pre-k experience appears to be the strongest and most consistent factor linked to students not being school ready.
Kindergarten Entry Inventory Report
Bridge to Success, 2020
Key Findings
The Biggest Factor: Children with no preschool experience were about 50% more likely to score at the lowest level in language and literacy than children who had preschool experience.
Students of Color: Latinx and Black students were at higher risk of scoring at the lowest level than their White peers, though these gaps were smaller than the gaps between children with and without preschool experience.
Geography Matters: Students living in zip code 06706 were at the highest risk of not being school-ready. Approximately 66% of Latinx students in the study lived in this zip code
Boys vs. Girls: Male students were less likely than female students to be school ready, particularly in language and personal development.
Quality Matters Too: A significant number of children still scored at the lowest level, even after attending preschool, pointing to the need for higher-quality early learning experiences, not just access.
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