La «school readiness» e la sua misura: uno strumento di rilevazione per la scuola dell’infanzia

Abstract

School Readiness and its Measurement: An Assessment Tool for Kindergarten

Many international studies have focused on school readiness. It has, therefore, become urgent to evaluate the empirical evidence around this topic. It is a complex subject, initiating a wide debate and a variety of contributions. Studies have created a deeper vision of the concept and broadened the areas that need to be researched. Moreover, the environmental conditions contributing to the development of readiness have been analyzed in combination with the possible strategies to enhance it. This contribution carries out a critical analysis of these studies. This essay is particularly focused on the aspects of the measurement of readiness and offers a review of the main tests adopted internationally to measure it. It, finally, proposes an original tool to measure cognitive readiness, suitable for Italian schools, outlining its psychometric characteristics, based on a sample of 445 children. Such a test highlights the difficulties that significant percentages of children aged between 4 and 5 have; It also allows for the evaluation of  the effects of the enhancement of readiness, in order to establish the most effective ones, based on the EBE perspective.