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Digest of Education Statistics
2014 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 220.50. Number and percentage distribution of kindergartners, by fall 2010 kindergarten entry status and selected child, family, and school characteristics: 2010-11
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected child, family, or school characteristic All kindergartners1 Percentage distribution of kindergartners,
by entry status2
Number (in thousands) Percentage distribution, by selected characteristics Total1 Early kindergarten entrants On-time kindergarten entrants Delayed kindergarten entrants Kindergarten repeaters
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Total 4,054   (5.7) 100.0   (†) 100.0 (†) 1.5   (0.17) 86.6 (0.91) 5.9   (0.41) 6.0   (0.87)
Sex of child                                      
Male 2,097   (18.9) 51.7   (0.47) 100.0 (†) 1.1   (0.16) 85.0 (1.03) 6.8   (0.63) 7.1   (0.90)
Female 1,957   (19.7) 48.3   (0.47) 100.0 (†) 1.9   (0.24) 88.3 (0.96) 4.9   (0.35) 4.9   (0.90)
                                       
Age of child at first kindergarten entry3                                      
Less than 5 years old 234   (33.2) 6.4   (0.90) 100.0 (†) 12.3   (2.57) 47.2 (7.36) 1.2   (0.32) 39.3   (8.87)
5 years old to 5 1/2 years old 1,557   (31.0) 42.3   (0.62) 100.0 (†) 1.0   (0.18) 92.3 (0.56) 1.3   (0.18) 5.4   (0.42)
More than 5 1/2 years old to 6 years old 1,572   (31.6) 42.7   (0.68) 100.0 (†) 0.5   (0.11) 92.3 (0.49) 4.7   (0.48) 2.5   (0.29)
More than 6 years old 315   (15.7) 8.6   (0.41) 100.0 (†)   (†) 60.4 (3.20) 38.3   (3.14) 1.1 ! (0.47)
                                       
Race/ethnicity of child                                      
White 2,080   (70.5) 51.3   (1.75) 100.0 (†) 1.0   (0.17) 86.5 (0.75) 7.4   (0.64) 5.1   (0.59)
Black 547   (52.2) 13.5   (1.29) 100.0 (†) 1.8 ! (0.64) 85.4 (3.29) 3.1   (0.40) 9.7 ! (3.26)
Hispanic 1,004   (54.0) 24.8   (1.33) 100.0 (†) 1.7   (0.32) 88.3 (0.93) 3.7   (0.40) 6.3   (0.84)
Asian 186   (28.4) 4.6   (0.70) 100.0 (†) 5.1 ! (1.55) 84.0 (2.27) 6.1   (1.15) 4.8 ! (1.70)
Pacific Islander 17   (3.0) 0.4   (0.07) 100.0 (†)   (†) 90.3 (4.38)   (†)   (†)
American Indian/Alaska Native 49 ! (21.4) 1.2 ! (0.53) 100.0 (†)   (†) 81.3 (2.01) 8.0   (1.87) 8.2   (2.37)
Two or more races 169   (9.2) 4.2   (0.23) 100.0 (†) 1.5 ! (0.49) 86.4 (1.85) 6.6   (1.28) 5.5   (1.19)
                                       
Primary type of nonparental care arrangement                                      
prior to kindergarten entry4                                      
No regular nonparental arrangement 815   (29.3) 21.5   (0.75) 100.0 (†) 1.3   (0.25) 85.1 (1.21) 5.6   (0.55) 8.1   (1.12)
Home-based care                                      
Relative care 560   (17.3) 14.8   (0.44) 100.0 (†) 1.6   (0.31) 87.3 (1.06) 4.7   (0.51) 6.5   (0.85)
Nonrelative care 225   (12.7) 5.9   (0.33) 100.0 (†) 0.9 ! (0.35) 87.9 (1.46) 7.4   (1.26) 3.8   (0.74)
Center-based care 2,103   (33.3) 55.4   (0.90) 100.0 (†) 1.7   (0.25) 87.0 (1.02) 6.2   (0.53) 5.1   (0.96)
Multiple arrangements 90   (6.5) 2.4   (0.17) 100.0 (†) 0.7 ! (0.34) 86.6 (1.87) 5.9   (1.51) 6.7   (1.87)
                                       
Parents' employment status, fall 20105                                      
Two parents                                      
Both employed full time 824   (24.5) 25.0   (0.68) 100.0 (†) 1.8   (0.25) 87.3 (0.97) 6.4   (0.75) 4.5   (0.59)
One employed full time, one part time 524   (20.1) 15.9   (0.51) 100.0 (†) 1.5   (0.35) 88.1 (0.77) 6.8   (0.59) 3.5   (0.65)
One employed full time,
      one looking for work
141   (8.0) 4.3   (0.23) 100.0 (†) 2.4 ! (0.87) 86.8 (2.08) 3.5 ! (1.31) 7.3   (1.51)
One employed full time,
      one not in labor force
779   (28.2) 23.6   (0.81) 100.0 (†) 1.1   (0.22) 86.8 (1.11) 6.7   (0.64) 5.4   (0.90)
Other combination 220   (12.5) 6.7   (0.35) 100.0 (†) 1.7   (0.46) 84.8 (1.56) 5.8   (1.05) 7.7   (1.41)
Single parent                                      
Employed full time 348   (17.0) 10.5   (0.47) 100.0 (†) 1.6   (0.41) 88.4 (1.49) 4.1   (0.53) 5.9   (1.46)
Employed part time 135   (8.3) 4.1   (0.24) 100.0 (†) 1.0 ! (0.45) 87.6 (2.03) 5.5   (1.16) 5.8   (1.51)
Looking for work 116   (8.9) 3.5   (0.26) 100.0 (†)   (†) 84.3 (2.53) 6.1   (1.48) 8.8   (2.31)
Not in labor force 137   (10.1) 4.1   (0.30) 100.0 (†)   (†) 83.0 (2.42) 5.7   (1.14) 9.9   (2.02)
No parent in household 79   (5.6) 2.4   (0.17) 100.0 (†)   (†) 82.2 (2.26) 3.8 ! (1.52) 12.1   (2.28)
                                       
Parents' highest level of education6                                      
Less than high school 388   (18.6) 9.6   (0.46) 100.0 (†) 2.0   (0.50) 82.7 (1.48) 4.7   (0.85) 10.7   (1.58)
High school completion 852   (23.0) 21.1   (0.56) 100.0 (†) 1.1   (0.26) 86.3 (1.20) 4.4   (0.53) 8.1   (1.15)
Some college/vocational 1,292   (27.3) 32.0   (0.67) 100.0 (†) 1.0   (0.18) 88.4 (1.23) 4.8   (0.55) 5.9   (1.09)
Bachelor's degree 792   (24.6) 19.6   (0.60) 100.0 (†) 1.8   (0.34) 85.3 (0.98) 8.4   (0.67) 4.5   (0.79)
Any graduate education 711   (29.2) 17.6   (0.73) 100.0 (†) 2.2   (0.44) 87.0 (0.75) 7.4   (0.64) 3.4   (0.60)
                                       
Household type, fall 2010                                      
Two-parent household 2,563   (50.1) 75.1   (0.92) 100.0 (†) 1.5   (0.19) 87.1 (0.75) 6.3   (0.50) 5.1   (0.65)
Mother-only household 719   (31.1) 21.1   (0.84) 100.0 (†) 1.2   (0.27) 86.8 (1.59) 4.6   (0.48) 7.3   (1.57)
Father-only household 51   (3.5) 1.5   (0.10) 100.0 (†)   (†) 83.5 (2.75) 9.7 ! (2.96) 4.6 ! (2.04)
Other household type 79   (5.6) 2.3   (0.17) 100.0 (†)   (†) 82.2 (2.26) 3.8 ! (1.52) 12.1   (2.28)
                                       
Primary home language                                      
English 3,338   (36.8) 82.6   (0.89) 100.0 (†) 1.3   (0.17) 86.8 (0.90) 6.3   (0.45) 5.7   (0.84)
Non-English 663   (33.7) 16.4   (0.84) 100.0 (†) 2.6   (0.67) 85.1 (1.64) 4.0   (0.53) 8.3   (1.56)
Primary language not identified 42   (4.9) 1.0   (0.12) 100.0 (†) 1.9 ! (0.89) 90.6 (2.55)   (†) 5.6 ! (2.18)
                                       
Poverty status7                                      
Below poverty threshold 893   (35.8) 26.3   (1.03) 100.0 (†) 1.2   (0.30) 84.5 (1.64) 4.4   (0.53) 9.9   (1.63)
100 to 199 percent of poverty threshold 762   (18.1) 22.5   (0.51) 100.0 (†) 0.9   (0.20) 87.1 (1.31) 5.7   (0.64) 6.3   (1.07)
200 percent or more of poverty threshold 1,736   (44.5) 51.2   (1.25) 100.0 (†) 1.8   (0.26) 87.2 (0.64) 7.3   (0.57) 3.8   (0.52)
                                       
Socioeconomic status8                                      
Lowest 20 percent 799   (29.9) 19.8   (0.75) 100.0 (†) 1.5   (0.33) 84.1 (1.46) 4.3   (0.51) 10.1   (1.55)
Middle 60 percent 2,429   (30.6) 60.2   (0.73) 100.0 (†) 1.2   (0.16) 87.1 (1.01) 5.9   (0.52) 5.7   (0.88)
Highest 20 percent 808   (33.5) 20.0   (0.83) 100.0 (†) 2.4   (0.47) 87.2 (0.70) 7.2   (0.61) 3.2   (0.59)
                                       
School type                                      
Public 3,329   (48.4) 88.5   (0.18) 100.0 (†) 0.8   (0.11) 87.8 (0.86) 5.6   (0.42) 5.8   (0.77)
Private 432   (5.1) 11.5   (0.18) 100.0 (†) 6.8   (1.12) 78.0 (1.87) 7.8   (0.90) 7.5   (2.18)
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1Includes students with missing kindergarten entry status information.
2A child who enrolled in kindergarten for the first time in 2010-11 is classified as an early, on-time, or delayed kindergarten entrant depending on whether the parent reported enrolling the child early, enrolling the child when he or she was old enough, or waiting until the child was older relative to school guidelines about when children can start school based on their birth date. A child is classified as a kindergarten repeater if the parent reported that 2010-11 was the child’s second (or third or more) year of kindergarten.
3Most of the children first entered kindergarten in 2010-11, but the children who were repeating kindergarten in 2010-11--that is, the “Kindergarten repeaters” shown in column 8--had first entered kindergarten in an earlier school year.
4The type of nonparental care in which the child spent the most hours. “Multiple arrangements” refers to children who spent an equal amount of time in each of two or more arrangements.
5Parents who reported working at least 35 hours per week are defined as employed full time, while those who reported working less than 35 hours per week are defined as employed part time. Those neither employed nor looking for work are not in the labor force.
6Parents’ highest level of education is the highest level of education achieved by either of the parents or guardians in a two-parent household, by the only parent in a single-parent household, or by any guardian in a household with no parents.
7Poverty status is based on preliminary U.S. Census income thresholds for 2010, which identify incomes determined to meet household needs, given family size and composition. For example, a family of three with one child was below the poverty threshold if its income was less than $17,552 in 2010.
8Socioeconomic status (SES) was measured by a composite score based on parental education and occupations and household income at the time of data collection.
NOTE: Estimates weighted by W1_2P0. Estimates pertain to a sample of children who were enrolled in kindergarten in the 2010-11 school year. Two parents may refer to two biological parents, two adoptive parents, or one biological/adoptive parent and one other parent/partner. Single parent refers to one biological or adoptive parent only. In households without parents, the guardian or guardians may be related or unrelated to the child. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding and survey item nonresponse. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011), Kindergarten-First Grade Restricted-Use Data File. (This table was prepared February 2015.)

2014 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest