• Amie F Bettencourt, Deborah Gross, Grace Ho, and Nancy Perrin.
• Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 550 N Broadway, 9th Floor, Room 907, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA. abetten3@jhu.edu.
• J Urban Health. 2018 Feb 1; 95 (1): 36-50.

AbstractSocial, emotional, and behavioral skills are foundational to learning and long-term success. However, poverty and exposure to adverse childhood experiences reduce the chances of children entering kindergarten socially-behaviorally ready to learn. This study examined the unique impact of 5-year-old children (N = 11,412) entering kindergarten not socially-behaviorally ready on three costly school outcomes by fourth grade in Baltimore City Public Schools: being retained in grade, receiving services and supports through an IEP or 504 plan, and being suspended/expelled. Controlling for all other types of school readiness, students not identified as socially-behaviorally ready for kindergarten were more likely to experience all three school outcomes. Findings underscore the importance of early prevention and intervention strategies targeting parents and social-behavioral readiness skills during the first 5 years of life.

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