Most Children Entering Grade 1 Are Not School Ready
FSG assessed 480 students entering Grade 1 in affordable private schools (APSs) and government schools across 4 Indian cities to measure their school readiness. The modified International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA) tool was used to conduct assessments across 25+ schools in Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.
Children entering Grade 1 or aged 5+ should be able to identify and correctly count numbers up to 20, conduct simple addition and subtraction operations, complete a 4-12 piece jigsaw puzzle, and begin to read simple words and sentences. However:
- Fifty-four percent of children could not count 12 sticks from a stack of 20 sticks
- Eighty-two percent could not complete a 4-piece puzzle
- Seventy-eight percent could not read 3 simple 3-letter English words
- Eighty percent of children could write their own name, hence motor development is not a significant problem for most children
Results for students entering Grade 1 in government schools were just as poor as those in APSs.
Learn more about the results on school readiness of Indian children in APSs and government schools here.
