More children entering kindergarten in Maryland are better prepared to begin school, according to a report released Tuesday by the Maryland State Department of Education.

The number of Maryland students entering kindergarten fully prepared for learning increased from 60 percent to 67 percent between 2005 and 2006. That percentage has jumped 18 percentage points since 2001, the MSDE said in a statement, an indication that approximately 10,000 more kindergartners were ready for the rigors of school last fall than had been the case just five years earlier.

Locally, Harford County had the highest overall percentage of students fully prepared for kindergarten at 83 percent, followed by Baltimore County at 77 percent, Howard County at 71 percent, Anne Arundel at 69 percent, Carroll County at 60 percent and Baltimore City at 58 percent.

“Children who have a good start in learning before they begin kindergarten do better in school,” Nancy Grasmick, state superintendent of schools, said in a written statement. “It is clear that this message is getting out, but every family needs to know how important this is.”

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The annual MSDE study — unique to Maryland — Grasmick said, reflects assessment information about kindergartners’ readiness levels in social and personal areas, language and literacy, mathematical thinking, scientific thinking, social studies, the arts, physical development and health.

The MSDE study found improvement in school readiness in most demographic categories. For example, overall school readiness levels for black kindergartners improved by 9 percent; the overall increase for Hispanic children was 8 percent; and the overall improvement among low-income children and children with disabilities was 10 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

Children who spent time in early care settings started kindergarten better prepared for learning than those who remained at home or in the homes of relatives, the report states. The composite scores for prekindergarten and Head Start children improved by 7 and 9 percentage points, respectively. Children who attended child care centers and family child care had better composite scores than the entering kindergartners the previous year, up by 6 percent for both groups.

The results of children who entered kindergarten from home or informal care remain relatively lower than those of students who came from early childhood programs.

rcassie@baltimoreexaminer.com