Investigators

  • Shannon Lipscomb, Ph.D. (OSU-Cascades)
  • Katherine Pears, Ph.D. (OSLC)
  • Bridget Hatfield, Ph.D (OSU)
  • Brianne Kothari, Ph.D (OSU-Cascades)
  • Alica Miao, graduate student (OSU)
  • Jenn Finders, graduate student (OSU)

Summary

This working group examines how characteristics of the communities in which young children and families live help us to understand  the overall school readiness of children within those communities. We seek to identify both risks and resources within communities, and to inform the work of the Oregon Department of Education and the regional Early Learning Hubs.

Progress

The current project  examines Oregon Kindergarten Assessment (KA) data from the 2014-2015 school year. Scores on all four outcome areas (self-regulation, interpersonal skills, literacy, and math) are modeled at the school, district, and county levels. Predictors of KA scores are modeled at each of these three levels. Data sources include:

  • Oregon Department of Education 
  • American Community Survey 
  • Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
  • Children First for Oregon
  • County Health Rankings and Roadmaps
  • Feeding America's Map the Meal Gap
  • Kids Count
  • Oregon Department of Human Services
  • Oregon Health Authority Public Health Division
  • Oregon Uniform Crime Reports
  • Portland State University Population Research Center
  • Oregon Child Care Research Partnership

Results have been reported in:  Lipscomb, S. T., Miao, A., Finders, J., Hatfield, B., Kothari, B., & Pears, K. (2019). Identifying social determinants linked with community-level school readiness. Prevention Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-019-01002-8