On Wednesday, June 17, at 12:30pm Eastern, the Economic Policy Institute will hold a press call to release a new report, which finds that children are not equally prepared to learn when they enter school and that socioeconomic status is the single largest predictor of early education gaps in children. In Inequalities at the Starting Gate: Cognitive and Noncognitive Gaps among the 2010–2011 Kindergarten Class, EPI economist Emma García uses national data from a cohort of students who entered kindergarten in 2010 to affirm decades of research connecting parents’ economic resources and opportunities (or lack thereof) to the school readiness of their children. The report expands on the existing evidence by showing that both cognitive and noncognitive skills gaps exist in socioeconomically disadvantaged children.

The weak starts many children get in school make it hard for them to complete high school ready to enter college or begin a career. Key foundations for learning are established beginning at birth, and knowing which groups of children are prone to starting school behind can help inform policies to avert the early gaps that become long-term problems. Elaine Weiss, national coordinator of the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education, and Rob Grunewald, economist at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, will join García to discuss the research and how policymakers can address these challenges.

What: Press call to release new EPI paper, Inequalities at the Starting Gate: Cognitive and Noncognitive Gaps among the 2010–2011 Kindergarten Class

Who: Emma García, economist, EPI
Elaine Weiss, national coordinator, Broader, Bolder Approach to Education
Rob Grunewald, economist, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank

When: June 17, 2015
12:30pm Eastern

Call-in Number: 800-853-3893
Passcode: 544234

To RSVP and receive an embargoed copy of the paper, please email news@epi.org.