A new study by the Minnesota Department of Education shows that 72 percent of kindergartners were deemed ready for school, up from 60 percent in 2010.
Each year the department assesses school readiness of students during the first eight weeks of kindergarten.Those areas include: physical development, the arts, personal and social development, language and literacy, and mathematical thinking.
"Students who have access to high quality early learning are more likely to start fully prepared and then stay on track academically," said Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius.
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds were less likely to be fully prepared for kindergarten than their peers, according to the Minnesota School Readiness Study.
This year, the legislature approved $40 million in scholarships for low-income families to access high-quality early learning programs.