From the ECS State Policy Database: P-3 Kindergarten - This policy database—updated weekly—is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States....

Inequalities at the Starting Line: State Kindergarten Policies PDF - The Education Commission of the States (ECS) reviewed policies across all 50 states—policies that ECS believes are significant markers in the quality of a state's kindergarten program. The kindergarten report's findings highlight the significant diversity that exists in state kindergarten policies across and within states. The results reveal a system of providing the next generation with high-quality, full-day, everyday kindergarten that is highly unequal across the states. The goal of the report is to illustrate the implications of the presence of such diverse kindergarten policies, to raise questions about the implications of that diversity, and to encourage policymakers to consider the impact their state's policies have on children's future educational success. (Emily Workman, ECS, March 2013)...

Kindergarten Policy Characteristics PDF - This report presents 50-state data on four kindergarten policy areas. Policy areas addressed are if districts are required to offer a kindergarten program and if so, is it full-day or half- day, if students are required to attend kindergarten, at what age a student can enter kindergarten, and at what age a student is required to attend school. The author highlights the significant variations found in kindergarten policies across states. (Emily Workman, ECS, March 2013)...

Online Kindergarten Database - In this database, you will find kindergarten state policy information for all 50 states. Topics include entrance ages, curriculum, standards, class size, and much more. (ECS, 2013)...

Kindergarten Entrance Ages: Highlights PDF - Updates the 2011 Statenote on Kindergarten entrance ages. (ECS, January 2012)...

Kindergarten Entrance Ages: A 35 Year Trend Analysis MS Word PDF - There has been a trend in the states over the last 35 years to establish a cutoff date earlier in the year for children entering kindergarten. This ECS StateNote examines the trend, providing changes for each state since 1975. (Education Commission of the States, May 2011)...

State Characteristics: Kindergarten PDF - This ECS StateNote examines key components of each state's kindergarten policy, including: the lower compulsory age; entrance age; if districts must offer; and if students must attend. (Melodye Bush, Education Commission of the States, May 2011)...

Turning the Page: Refocusing Massachusetts for Reading Success - Report urges state educators and education policymakers to refocus literacy efforts on improving language development skills, starting with toddlers, with the aim of closing the achievement gaps between students of different socioeconomic backgrounds. Almost half of the state's 3rd graders are not proficient readers. (Nonie Lesaux, Strategies for Children, June 2010)...