Indicator SPECIAL1 Percentage of beginning kindergartners with selected knowledge and skills by mother's education, Fall 1998

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99.

• Emergent literacy--a child's understanding that the print in books has meaning--was assessed among incoming kindergartners in 1998. One aspect of emergent literacy is the ability to recognize letters, which plays an essential role in learning to read. Upon entry to kindergarten, 66 percent of children were proficient in recognizing letters. This skill varied by the level of the mother's education, from 38 percent of children with mothers who had not completed high school to 86 percent of those whose mothers had a bachelor's degree or higher.
• Another skill in emergent literacy is knowing the sounds associated with the letters that begin and end words. Twenty-nine percent of first-time kindergartners were proficient with beginning sounds, and 17 percent were proficient with ending sounds.
• Social skills are an important part of children's development. The ability to make and keep friends forms the social foundation of school, and children's experiences with peers will likely influence their attitudes toward school and learning.⁶⁷   According to their teachers, 74 percent of beginning kindergartners often accepted peer ideas for group activities, and 77 percent often formed and maintained friendships.
• The ways in which children approach learning frame how they think and act in learning situations. Behavioral inclinations or dispositions such as task persistence and eagerness to learn affect their ability to learn.^{68, 69}   According to their teachers, 71 percent of beginning kindergartners often persisted at tasks and 75 percent often seemed eager to learn.
• Proficiency in all of these areas upon entry to kindergarten varies widely and is strongly related to the mother's level of education.

Bullets contain references to data that can be found in Table SPECIAL 1.  Additional data can be found in a related report.

Youth Participation in Volunteer Activities

Indicator SPECIAL2Percentage of high school students who participated in volunteer activities during the current school year by amount of time spent, 1996 and 1999

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Survey.

• Fifty-five percent of high school (9th through 12th grade) students participated in volunteer activities in 1999, up from 50 percent in 1996.
• Twenty-four percent of youth participated one or two times in volunteer activities during the school year, and 15 percent participated regularly up to 35 hours.
• Regular participation in volunteer activities for 35 or more hours during the school year is associated with higher levels of political knowledge and interest, and confidence in public speaking. In 1999, 16 percent of high school students performed 35 or more hours of service.
• Girls are more likely than boys to participate in volunteer activities. Fifty-seven percent of 6th- through 12th-grade girls participated in 1999, compared with 47 percent of boys.
• Students with more highly educated parents are more likely to participate than others. Sixty-five percent of 6th- through 12th-grade students with a parent who attended graduate school participated in 1999, compared with 37 percent of students whose parents had no high school diploma or equivalent.
• Students are much more likely to participate if their schools require and arrange the service. When their schools did so, 59 percent of 6th- through 12th-grade students participated, compared with 29 percent when schools did neither.