Map Shows States Where Most US Kids Fail Basic Kindergarten Tests
More than half the children in these states did not meet their overall kindergarten readiness benchmarks.
A federal report released Thursday found that more than half of children in Ohio, Florida, Maryland, and Kentucky did not meet their kindergarten readiness benchmark in assessments conducted during the 2024-2025 school year. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined kindergarten readiness in these four states and Connecticut to understand how publicly funded preschool programs impact children's preparedness for school.
Kindergarten readiness encompasses social development, language skills, physical well-being, and motor skills. The five states were chosen due to their unique assessment methods and comparable readiness benchmarks. In Ohio, 63% of children did not meet the benchmark; in Florida, 57%; in Kentucky, 54%; and in Maryland, 56% missed the mark during the 2023-2024 school year.
Connecticut did not release an overall readiness rate but showed that fewer than half of children met the readiness benchmarks in four out of six skill areas. According to the report, girls outperformed boys in all five states, with the gap ranging from 4 to 12 percentage points. In Maryland, Florida, and Kentucky, girls had higher readiness rates by 10-12 percentage points, while in Ohio, the difference was 4 percentage points.
Children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds had lower kindergarten readiness rates compared to their peers in Ohio, Florida, Maryland, Kentucky, and Connecticut. The difference in readiness rates spanned between 18 and 31 percentage points among the states. Additionally, white children outperformed Black and Hispanic/Latino children in all states. The gaps were attributed to family resources, neighborhood conditions, and economic disparities, rather than innate ability.
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