The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a population measure of how young children are developing in communities. The EDI measures five domains of early childhood development: 1) Physical health and wellbeing, 2) Social competence, 3) Emotional maturity, 4) Language and cognitive skills, and 5) Communication skills and general knowledge. A child is considered “Very Ready” when their domain score is greater than or equal to the 75th percentile of the national EDI dataset.

The number of Bexar County ISDs adopting the assessment has increased each year. In some cases, dramatically changing the demographic mix of children assessed. Those changes make trending outcomes from the EDI problematic. In order to accurately trend this indicator and preserve the time series, a baseline geography was set as the 261 tracts assessed in 2015. In addition, the 70% representation criteria prescribed by EDI was applied to the geography as a whole rather than being applied to each individual tract.

All quantitative data and narrative related to the data on this page was prepared by CI NOW for ReadyKidSA.

School readiness, a multi-dimensional concept, conveys important advantages. Children who enter school with early skills, such as a basic knowledge of math and reading, are more likely than their peers to experience later academic success, attain higher levels of education, and secure employment. While cognitive development and early literacy are important for children’s school readiness and early success in school, other areas of development, like health, social development, and engagement, may be of equal or greater importance. However, although experts agree that social-emotional skills are critically important for school readiness, to date there are no nationally representative data in this area. (http://www.childtrends.org/indicators/early-school-readiness/)

Kindergarteners assessed as “Very Ready” in 4+ domains: Bexar County*, 2023

Source: Transforming Early Childhood Community Systems; Early Development Instrument (EDI), 2023. *261 census tracts used for analysis.

Direct Service

• Engage Community Health Workers/Promotoras and early learning professionals trained on the benefits of child development/ education to partner with families to directly support teh healthy development of each child
  • Embed Community Health Workers/Promotoras at natural outlets where parents come for services - SNAP, WIC, all service outlets
• Continue "Kinder Prep Camps", 6–8-week programs for children about to enter kindergarten, which help them grow familiar with the age-appropriate developmental skill set of a school environment before they start the school year

Policy

• Conduct assessments before children enter school, in order to identify potential development delays earlier

Funding

• Implement a robust multi-lingual, county-wide campaign across various media to raise awareness about school readiness
• Increase funding to conduct ECI screenings for more children ages 0 to 3
• Increase support for Home Visiting Programs for children ages 0 to 5

System Change

• Engage managed care organizations to provide early developmental assessments on young children
• Ensure that a consistent message about Kinder Readiness is being used across the constellation of public and private partners engaged in school readiness

Other

• Survey parents and caregivers to frame effective messaging, and then determine if messages are being utilized
• Utilize Family Resource Centers to widely distribute educational information about the healthy development of young children