The classroom door swings open, and one of life’s most important transitions begins. A child enters the school years. Stepping into kindergarten may look like crossing a single, tiny footbridge, but it’s actually a collection of them. And a 2024 study published in Early Childhood Research Quarterly suggests that a child’s later success may depend more on how smooth the transition is than on how much advanced preparation a child has had.  

The Link Between Transition Trouble and End-of-Year Skills

Researchers looked at longitudinal data on academic and social growth in a sample of 801 kindergarten students in 15 Ohio schools. They paid special attention to teacher-reported “transition difficulties” that occurred between 10 and 14 weeks into the kindergarten school year.

After controlling for individual and family characteristics as well as classroom differences, researchers found that having less trouble transitioning was associated with greater math, reading, and social skills by the end of the school year. The link between transition difficulties and end-of-year achievement remained clear even for those children who had strong academic and social skills at the start of kindergarten.

An earlier study showed that roughly 70% of kindergarten students had trouble adjusting to one of the following aspects of kindergarten life:

• Making new friends among classmates 
• Keeping up with rules, routines, and schedules  
• Learning new academic skills 
• Working in groups 
• Getting and staying organized

Around 30% of students had difficulties with all five kindergarten-transition skills (Jiang et al., 2021).  

What Do Researchers Recommend?

Early learning experiences do help prepare children for school. Even so, they don’t guarantee a smooth entry. To make transitions easier, the study authors recommend these strategies:

• Align preschool and kindergarten instruction. Educators in both environments can communicate about common strengths and challenges, coordinate learning objectives, and create similar classroom experiences.

• Build connections. School leaders can share information about kindergarten with families and communities, host “school success” orientations, and organize school visits before the school year gets underway.

• Provide interventions early. Observant classroom teachers and caregivers can work together to identify adjustment issues and arrange supports early in the year (Sun et al., 2023). 

Key Messages

Early learning experiences can equip preschoolers with many of the skills they’ll need in kindergarten—but significant differences exist between the two learning environments. Easing the transition from one to the other can lead to greater math, reading, and social skills by the end of the kindergarten year.

To minimize transition difficulties, preschool and kindergarten teachers can bring academic goals into alignment. They can create more similar classroom experiences. And they can interact with communities and families so everyone knows what to expect during this challenging shift.   

Research and Resources: 

Jiang, H., Justice, L., Purtell, K.M., Lin, T-J. & Loga, J. (2021). Prevalence and prediction of kindergarten-transition difficulties. Early Childhood Research Quarterly 55(2). 15-23. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0885200620301228?via%3Dihub

Sun, J., Justice, L.M., Jiang, H., Purtell, K.M., Lin, T-J. & Ansari, A. (2024). Big little leap: the role of transition difficulties in children’s skill development during kindergarten. Early Childhood Research Quarterly 67(2), 139-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2023.12.008

Williams, P. G., Lerner, M. A., Council on Early Childhood & Council on School Health (2019). School Readiness. Pediatrics, 144(2), e20191766. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-1766