State-funded, full-day 4K improves Kindergarten Readiness

South Carolina four-year-olds who participate in a state-funded, full-day 4K Child Early Reading and Development Education Program (CERDEP) are more likely to demonstrate readiness on the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA), according to the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee’s annual CERDEP evaluation and report.

Kindergarten Readiness for students in poverty:

• 14,294 SC students in poverty participated in CERDEP during the 2022-23 school year. Of those students, 37% demonstrated readiness on the KRA – an assessment used to determine if a child entering a SC public Kindergarten/5K classroom has the knowledge and skills to meet South Carolina’s kindergarten academic standards.
• Of the students in poverty who did not participate in CERDEP, only 27% demonstrated readiness on the KRA.
• South Carolina's investment in CERDEP continues to grow as does the number of students participating. $106,698,962 was spent on 4K for the 2022-23 Fiscal Year, which was the largest investment to date.

Help spread the word about Full Day 4K! Visit palmettoprek.org for information on finding publicly funded 4K programs.