School Readiness to Learn in Ottawa Report/Executive Summary/What is School Readiness to Learn and Why is it Important?

Research has shown that the first years of a child’s life set the stage for later
development and success in school and life. Children’s early experiences have a
direct impact on school readiness to learn which refers to “the child’s ability to
meet the task demands at school and the child’s ability to benefit from the
educational activities provided by the school”1. School readiness to learn is
receiving increasing attention in many communities; largely due to the fact that it
has been shown to have important long-lasting effects on children and also on
society.

The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a 104-item checklist that assesses
children’s school readiness to learn in the following five domains:

1. Physical Health and Well-Being
2. Social Competence
3. Emotional Maturity
4. Language and Cognitive Development
5. Communication Skills and General Knowledge

Each of these five domains are comprised of one or more sub-domains.

In the 1999-2000 school year the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB)
was the first board in Ottawa to implement the EDI across all of its schools. It
continued to implement the EDI every school year and in 2002-2003 the Ottawa-
Carleton Catholic School Board (OCCSB) also completed the EDI across all of its
schools.

In 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 the EDI was not completed by any school board in
Ottawa. In 2005-2006 all four Ottawa school boards (Conseil des écoles
catholiques de langue française du Centre-Est, Conseil des écoles publiques de
l'Est de l'Ontario, Ottawa-Carleton Catholic School Board, Ottawa-Carleton
District School Board) completed the EDI across all of their schools.

General Results

The general results cover the findings of the EDI for children attending senior
kindergarten in the 2005/2006 school year in Ottawa. The results include the
information for the 7578 children who’s EDIs were valid and who were not
identified as having special needs.

Overall, the children in Ottawa are doing very well with regards to school
readiness to learn. Ottawa children scored significantlyi higher (p<0.05) than the
normative sampleii on four of the five EDI domains. More specifically, they
scored higher on the Physical Health and Well-Being, Social Competence,
Emotional Maturity and Language and Cognitive Development domains.

On the Physical Health and Well-Being domain, 2715 (35.9%) children were
considered “very ready for school” and 824 (10.9%) children were considered
“vulnerable”. These 824 children were considered “vulnerable” on the following
sub-domains: gross and fine motor skills (89.0%), physical independence (45.0%)
and physical readiness for school day (35.1%).

On the Social Competence domain, 1547 (20.4%) children were considered “very
ready for school” and 757 (10.0%) children were considered “vulnerable”. These
757 children were considered “vulnerable” on the following sub-domains:
approaches to learning (61.2%), overall social competence (54.8%), responsibility
and respect (39.4% ) and readiness to explore new things (20.8%).

On the Emotional Maturity domain, 1838 (24.7%) children were considered “very
ready for school” and 798 (10.7%) children were considered “vulnerable”. These
798 children were considered “vulnerable” on the following sub-domains:
prosocial and helping behaviour (88.8%), hyperactivity and inattention (70.2%),
aggressive behaviour (42.2% ) and anxious and fearful behaviour (10.0%).

On the Language and Cognitive Development domain, 1824 (24.1%) children
were considered “very ready for school” and 661 (8.7%) children were considered
“vulnerable”. These 661 children were considered “vulnerable” on the following
sub-domains: interest in literacy/numeracy and memory (83.9%), advanced
literacy (79.3%), basic literacy (78.2%) and basic numeracy (72.5%).

On the Communication Skills and General Knowledge domain of the EDI, 2797
(36.9%) children were considered “very ready for school” and 914 (12.0%) children
were considered “vulnerable”. These 914 children were considered “vulnerable”
on the following sub-domains: communication skills and general knowledge
(100.0%).

As well, Ottawa had a significantly lower percentage of children with multiple
challenges than the normative sample (3.4% versus 4.3%). A child is considered
to have multiple challenges if he/she scores low on nine or more of the 16 sub-
domains as low on nine sub-domains would indicate that the child is
experiencing challenges in three of the five domains.

Given these encouraging results, it is interesting to note that, significantly more
children in Ottawa were considered “vulnerable” (scored below the 10th percentile
for all Ottawa children) in at least one school readiness domain compared to the
normative sample (27.0% vs. 25.9%) and that 13.3% of Ottawa children scored
low on at least two school readiness domains, which is slightly higher than the
normative sample (12.9%) though not statistically significant.

A separate analysis was undertaken for EDIs in which children were identified
as having special needs. It found that 86.0% of children with special needs
scored low on at least one domain and 75.1% scored low on at least two domains.
Group comparisons were also conducted on the Ottawa EDI data for 2005/2006.
It was found that, consistent with all EDI sites, girls scored significantly higher
than boys and older children scored significantly higher than younger children
on all five EDI domains.

Group analysis also found that children with English as a Second Language
(ESL)/French as a Second Language (FSL) status scored significantly lower on all
five EDI domains than children who did not have ESL/FSL status and children
who were enrolled in French immersion scored significantly higher than those
who were not on four of the five domains (Social Competence, Emotional
Maturity, Language and Cognitive Development and Communication Skill and
General Knowledge).

It was also found that children who attended language or religion classes scored
significantly higher than those who did not on the Physical Health and Well-
Being, Social Competence and Language and Cognitive Development domains
and children who attended part-time preschool or junior kindergarten scored
significantly higher on all five EDI domains than children who did not.

Neighbourhood Results

An analysis of the EDIs for Ottawa’s individual neighbourhoods was also
undertaken. The neighbourhoods used were the 50 planning neighbourhoods
identified by the City of Ottawa.

Analysis of the Physical Health and Well-Being domain by neighbourhood found
that 19 neighbourhoods scored below the City of Ottawa’s 10th percentile and
were thus considered “vulnerable”. The five neighbourhoods with the highest
percentage of children in the lowest 10th percentile were, in ascending order:
Lowertown (26.7%), Overbrook (29.9%), Dalhousie (30.4%), Carlington (30.6%),
and Centre Town (38.3%). As well, a total of 19 neighbourhoods scored above
the City of Ottawa’s 75th percentile and were thus considered “very ready for
school”. The five neighbourhoods that had the highest percentage of children in
the top 25th percentile were, in ascending order: Westboro (45.8%), Cumberland
(47.5%), Orleans South (50.2%), Glebe (54.4%), and Glen Cairn (60.5%).

Analysis of the Social Competence domain by neighbourhood found that there
were 21 neighbourhoods that scored below the City of Ottawa’s 10th percentile
and were thus considered “vulnerable”. The six neighbourhoods with the highest
percentage of children in the lowest 10th percentile were, in ascending order:
Pinecrest/Queensway and Nepean East (both at 14.9%), Carlington (15.2%),
Beacon Hill (15.5%), Lowertown (21.7%) and Overbrook (29.9%). As well, a total
of 22 neighbourhoods scored above the City of Ottawa’s 75th percentile and were
thus considered “very ready for school”. The five neighbourhoods that had the
highest percentage of children in the top 25th percentile were, in ascending order:
Katimavik/Hazeldean (27.3%), Osgoode (27.3%), Orleans South (29.1%), South
March (30.9%), Glebe (42.9%).

Analysis of the Emotional Maturity domain by neighbourhood found that there
were 19 neighbourhoods that scored below the City of Ottawa’s 10th percentile
and were thus considered “vulnerable”. The five neighbourhoods with the
highest percentage of children in the lowest 10th percentile were, in ascending
order: Dalhousie (16.4%), Riverview/Hawthorne (17.3%), Lowertown (18.6%),
Vanier (21.2%) and Overbrook (24.0%). As well, a total of 18 neighbourhoods
scored above the City of Ottawa’s 75th percentile and were thus considered “very
ready for school”. The five neighbourhoods that had the highest percentage of
children in the top 25th percentile were, in ascending order: Sandy Hill (37.9%),
Glen Cairn (40.0%), Blackburn Hamlet (44.1%), Orleans South (45.8%) and Glebe
(54.9%).

Analysis of the Language and Cognitive Development domain by
neighbourhood found that there were 19 neighbourhoods that scored below the
City of Ottawa’s 10th percentile and were thus considered “vulnerable”. The six
neighbourhoods with the highest percentage of children in the lowest 10th
percentile were, in ascending order: Ottawa South East and Ottawa North East
(both at 16.7%), Vanier (17.6%), Carlington (19.6%), Lowertown (20.0%) and
Overbrook (33.7%). As well, a total of 17 neighbourhoods scored above the City
of Ottawa’s 75th percentile and were thus considered “very ready for school”. The
five neighbourhoods that had the highest percentage of children in the top 25th
percentile were, in ascending order: Katimavik/Hazeldean (35.1%), Orleans
South (38.1%), West Carleton (43.2%), Glen Cairn (46.5%), and Glebe (47.3%).

Analysis of the Communication Skills and General Knowledge domain by
neighbourhood found that there were 21 neighbourhoods that scored below the
City of Ottawa’s 10th percentile and were thus considered “vulnerable”. The six
neighbourhoods with the highest percentage of children in the lowest 10th
percentile were, in ascending order: Centre Town and Lowertown (both at
23.3%), Carlington (25.0%), Dalhousie (25.0%), Nepean North (27.3%) and
Overbrook (29.9%). As well, a total of 20 neighbourhoods scored above the City
of Ottawa’s 75th percentile and were thus considered “very ready for school”. The
five neighbourhoods that had the highest percentage of children in the top 25th
percentile were, in ascending order: Goulburn (49.7%), Cumberland (51.0%),
Blackburn Hamlet (53.8%), Glen Cairn (55.8%) and Glebe (62.6%).

Next Steps

The EDI results are an opportunity for the community to establish and
understand baseline data on children’s readiness to learn as they enter Grade
one. This report will provide planning groups with evidence-based data that will
help to inform policy and service plans. However, it is important that the EDI
data not be used in isolation. Rather, the whole picture of children’s
development can only be seen in combination with other relevant data sources
such as socio-economic and demographic information.
As such, the next steps for the community are to combine this data with other
information such as Census data, the Community Service Inventory (CSI) data,
the local Grade Three Test results and data that is being collected through the
Understanding the Early Years project, in order to develop a clear picture of young
children’s development not only for the City as a whole, but also its
neighbourhoods.

The results in this report show that the majority of children in Ottawa are ready
to learn in Grade one and as such should experience few difficulties as they
move into the school system. However, there are certain neighbourhoods where
children are experiencing challenges and as such may experience challenges in
achieving academic and social success. In order to identify the characteristics that
make a neighbourhood more or less successful in promoting healthy early
childhood development, it is necessary to combine a range of information. As
mentioned previously, the EDI data should not be used in isolation rather it
should be looked at in conjunction with other up-to-date data.

School Readiness to Learn in Ottawa Report/Executive Summary/What is School Readiness to Learn and Why is it Important?