Social-Behavioral Readiness Matters: Examining the Influence of Kindergarten Social-Behavioral Readiness on Costly Academic Outcomes in Elementary School

Introduction: Social-behavioral skills are foundational to learning and long-term success. In Baltimore City, over 50% of public school children entering kindergarten do not meet benchmarks for social-behavioral readiness.  What is the impact of not being socially and behaviorally ready on children’s academic outcomes? This study examined the associations between social-behavioral readiness in kindergarten and three costly school outcomes for Baltimore City school children through third grade: being suspended or expelled from school, receiving special education services, and being retained in grade during the first four years of elementary school.

Method: This study used administrative data for two cohorts of 9,064 students enrolled in 121 Baltimore City Public Schools from 2007-2013 (51% male; 86% African American; 85% low-income).  School readiness assessments were collected in the fall of kindergarten (K) using the Maryland Model for School Readiness (MMSR), a portfolio-based assessment measuring 7 skill domains: social-behavioral skills (e. g., self-control), language and literacy, mathematics, social studies, scientific thinking, physical development, and arts. Logistic regression, accounting for nesting within schools where students took the MMSR, was used to examine associations between social behavioral readiness in K and being suspended/expelled, receiving special education services, or being retained at any time through 3^rd grade. Student demographics (gender, race/ethnicity, low income status) and whether they were chronically absent from K, were English Language Learners, and attended formal schooling prior to K were entered as covariates. Data were analyzed separately for each cohort (Cohort 1 = 4462; Cohort 2 = 4602) to examine generalizability across testing years.

Results: After controlling for the above covariates and the other six school readiness domains, students exhibiting poor social and behavioral readiness skills at kindergarten were significantly more likely than their fully ready peers to be suspended or expelled (ORs =  1.9 – 2.6), receive special education services (OR = 1.7-2.1), or be retained in grade (OR range from 1.5-1.6) by 3^rd grade.  Results were robust across cohorts.  Boys were significantly more likely to experience all three academic problems.

Conclusions: Social and emotion regulation skills, first learned in the context of parenting relationships, are essential for learning. Results support school investments in early childhood interventions that strengthen parenting skills and promote students’ social, emotional, and behavioral competence as a strategy for reducing costs associated with special education services, grade retention, and school failure.  More research on how to reduce these risks for boys is needed.