Noncognitive Aspects of School Readiness
Many teachers and researchers believe that a child's ultimate success in school does not depend primarily on the knowledge and academic skills that the child brings to the classroom (West, Germino-Hausken, and Collins 1993). Rather, they view noncognitive aspects of school readiness—such as a child's physical health and motor coordination, emotional well-being and ability to cooperate with other children, and curiosity and eagerness to learn—as being equally or more important for school success (National Association for the Education of Young Children 1990; Kagan 1990; Kagan, Moore, and Bredekamp 1995). The ECLS-K adopted this "whole child" view of school readiness. The direct child assessment in the fall of the kindergarten year included measures of physical growth and fine and gross motor development. The assessment collected reports about children's health, social skills, problem behavior, and approaches to learning from parents and teachers.
