_________________________________________________________________________________________________
                              |      |      |      |      |      |   Percent rating readiness
                              |      |      |      |      |      |factor as "Very important" or
    Kindergarten readiness    |Not at| Not  |Some- | Very |Essen-|"Essential," by percentage of
           factors            | all  | very | what |impor-| tial |school's students eligible for
                              |impor-|impor-|impor-| tant |      |free or reduced-price lunches
                              | tant | tant | tant |      |      |_______________________________
                              |      |      |      |      |      |Less than |20 to 49 |50 percent
                              |      |      |      |      |      |20 percent| percent | or more
______________________________|______|______|______|______|______|__________|_________|__________
              1               |  2   |  3   |  4   |  5   |  6   |    7     |    8    |    9
______________________________|______|______|______|______|______|__________|_________|__________
Is physically healthy,        |      |      |      |      |      |          |         |
  rested, and well nourished .|    0 |(\1\) |    4 |   24 |   72 |       97 |      95 |       95
Finishes tasks ...............|    3 |   11 |   47 |   31 |    9 |       43 |      40 |       37
Can count to 20 or more ......|   33 |   34 |   26 |    5 |    3 |        8 |       6 |        9
Takes turns and shares .......|    2 |    8 |   34 |   37 |   19 |       64 |      55 |       52
Has good problem-solving      |      |      |      |      |      |          |         |
  skills .....................|    8 |   23 |   44 |   20 |    5 |       29 |      23 |       23
                              |      |      |      |      |      |          |         |
Is enthusiastic and           |      |      |      |      |      |          |         |
  curious in approaching      |      |      |      |      |      |          |         |
  new activities .............|    1 |    3 |   19 |   43 |   33 |       83 |      76 |       73
Is able to use pencils        |      |      |      |      |      |          |         |
  or paint brushes ...........|   15 |   27 |   38 |   16 |    5 |       23 |      21 |       19
Is not disruptive of the      |      |      |      |      |      |          |         |
  class ......................|    2 |    8 |   30 |   36 |   24 |       61 |      58 |       61
Knows the English             |      |      |      |      |      |          |         |
  language ...................|   13 |   12 |   33 |   24 |   17 |       40 |      45 |       39
Is sensitive to other         |      |      |      |      |      |          |         |
  children's feelings ........|    1 |    6 |   35 |   41 |   17 |       61 |      58 |       56
                              |      |      |      |      |      |          |         |
Sits still and pays           |      |      |      |      |      |          |         |
  attention ..................|    3 |   12 |   43 |   30 |   12 |       46 |      37 |       43
Knows the letters of the      |      |      |      |      |      |          |         |
  alphabet ...................|   27 |   30 |   33 |    6 |    4 |        7 |       9 |       13
Can follow directions ........|    2 |    7 |   31 |   41 |   19 |       61 |      61 |       58
Identifies primary            |      |      |      |      |      |          |         |
  colors and basic shapes ....|   13 |   24 |   40 |   17 |    7 |       22 |      21 |       27
Communicates needs, wants,    |      |      |      |      |      |          |         |
  and thoughts verbally in    |      |      |      |      |      |          |         |
  child's primary language ...|    1 |    1 |   15 |   41 |   43 |       85 |      84 |       83
______________________________|______|______|______|______|______|__________|_________|__________

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Kindergarten Teacher Survey on Student Readiness. (This table was prepared April 1994.)