This study was made to find out to what extent kindergartens contribute to school readiness. Ninety children with a mean chronological age of 4.9 were tested with the Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT), the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (ITPA), and a Behavior Rating Scale and were retested one year later. During the intervening year, 36 of the children attended kindergarten, while 54 did not. The data were analyzed by sex. On the pretest scores, there were no differences between kindergarten (K) and nonkindergarten (N-K) boys. K girls, however, did score significantl y higher than N-K girls on total MRT and ITPA scores and on parts of the Behavior Rating Scale. Girls scored consistently higher than boys in overall pretesting. The results of the study support the prevailing view that as children reach kindergarten age, school readiness and language skills of girls are further developed than are those of boys and that growth in these areas cannot be attributed to any special influence of the normal type of kindergarten program in this study. (JS)