Can Teacher Ratings of Students’ Skills at Kindergarten Entry Predict Kindergarten Retention?

Though early childhood literature defines kindergarten readiness in the context of the whole child across multiple domains, there is little research to demonstrate the relative influence of these domains on success in the kindergarten year. In this study, we use teacher judgments of students at the start of the kindergarten year across multiple domains as predictors of retention in kindergarten the following year. The analyses demonstrated that low ratings of students' skills are predictive of retention, particularly for young males eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Further, the analyses showed that of the set of domains, low ratings of literacy and numeracy skills are most closely associated with increased likelihood of retention.