Kindergarten Readiness Assessment in Waukegan

In fall 2015, United Way of Lake County conducted the fourth Kindergarten Readiness Assessment in Waukegan, IL.  We are pleased to be able to share the full report of results with you here. The assessment wouldn’t be possible without the support of the teachers, staff, and principals in Waukegan School District, United Way of Lake County’s Women’s Leadership Council, and all our volunteers.

So how does the assessment work? The graphic below outlines the 2015 assessment process in Waukegan.

After completing the assessment, we calculated scores for students on all 15 skills and here are the results:

We spoke with educational professionals in Waukegan before completing the first assessment in 2006, and based on their input, “ready” is defined  as being able to score ‘In Progress’ or ‘Proficient’ in five key kindergarten readiness skills – recognizing shapes, letters, colors, being able to write your name, and count 10 objects. Over time, the percent of kindergarteners in Waukegan who have met that threshold has continued to increase:

One of the purposes of the assessment is it allows us to measure the effectiveness of our Success By 6 Initiatives in promoting Kindergarten Readiness. The chart below shows how children who participated in different Success By 6 Initiatives were more ready for kindergarten than those who did not.

The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment not only helps United Way of Lake County measure progress, but it assists in developing future programming. In Waukegan, we have developed specific goals for the upcoming year that reflect the results of the assessment:

The Success By 6 Program is very excited to continue its efforts to increase kindergarten readiness in Waukegan and is grateful to every who made the 2015 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment possible!