Preliminary data presented to the Kentucky Board of Education shows just one in four children in the state are prepared for kindergarten.
Education Commissioner Terry Holliday told the board during a meeting in Frankfort on Tuesday that he expects that number to go up next year when all 174 school districts undertake kindergarten screening.
This year, about 109 districts participated in the screening, representing 34,500 children. All school districts will be required to use the screening next year.
Officials say the tests, developed with a company called Brigance, look at the whole child, including assessing their social and emotional development.
Holliday told the board that the screenings are crucial to the state's reform efforts because they will identify students who need additional help.
