Table 4.2. Early childhood school readiness definitions, assessments, and interventions for children not meeting expectations, by state: 2020

State	State has a statutory definition of school readiness	State has developed language regarding the assessment of readiness for kindergarten students	State has programs and interventions for students scoring below grade level on kindergarten-grade 3 assessments¹
United States²	17	31	41

Alabama	No	No	Yes
Alaska	No	Yes	No
Arizona	No	No	Yes
Arkansas	No	Yes	Yes
California	No	Yes	Yes

Colorado	Yes	Yes	Yes
Connecticut	Yes	Yes	Yes
Delaware	Yes	Yes	Yes
District of Columbia	Yes	Yes	Yes
Florida	Yes	Yes	Yes

Georgia	No	No	Yes
Hawaii	Yes	No	No
Idaho	No	No	Yes
Illinois	Yes	Yes	Yes
Indiana	No	Yes	Yes

Iowa	No	Yes	Yes
Kansas	No	No	Yes
Kentucky	Yes	Yes	Yes
Louisiana	Yes	Yes	No
Maine	No	No	Yes	³

Maryland	Yes	Yes	Yes
Massachusetts	No	Yes	No
Michigan	No	Yes	Yes
Minnesota	Yes	Yes	Yes
Mississippi	Yes	Yes	Yes

Missouri	No	No	Yes
Montana	No	No	No
Nebraska	No	Yes	No
Nevada	No	Yes	Yes
New Hampshire	No	No	No

New Jersey	No	No	No
New Mexico	No	Yes	Yes
New York	No	Yes	Yes
North Carolina	Yes	Yes	Yes
North Dakota	No	Yes	Yes

Ohio	No	Yes	Yes
Oklahoma	No	Yes	Yes
Oregon	Yes	Yes	No
Pennsylvania	No	No	No
Rhode Island	No	Yes	Yes

South Carolina	Yes	Yes	Yes
South Dakota	No	No	Yes
Tennessee	No	No	Yes
Texas	Yes	No	Yes
Utah	No	Yes	Yes

Vermont	No	No	Yes
Virginia	No	No	Yes
Washington	No	Yes	Yes	⁴
West Virginia	Yes	No	Yes
Wisconsin	No	No	Yes
Wyoming	No	No	Yes

¹The interventions that states identified for students in grades K-3 ranged from extended instructional time to individualized reading programs.
²National total reflects the number of "Yes" responses for the column.
³Maine school districts are required to provide interventions to students in grades K-12 to support them in meeting academic standards and requirements. Interventions must be timely and based on ongoing formative assessments and progress.
⁴In Washington, superintendents are required to develop a list of intervention strategies to support student reading skills and provide that list of interventions to the state department of education.
NOTE: The information in this table was collected from state statutes, rules and regulations. A profile was sent to each state for review and modification, as needed. A "No" response means the information is not specified in statute or regulation.
SOURCE: Education Commission of the States, 50-State Comparison: State Kindergarten-Through-Third-Grade Policies, retrieved March 23, 2022 from https://www.ecs.org/kindergarten-policies/.