"Queen Anne's County has a really active group of providers who are very much aware of the best practices in early childhood education," said Rolf Grafwallner, assistant state superintendent in the Division of Early Childhood Development, one of several school officials who attribute the jump to a community push for school readiness.

"It's one (county) that the community rallies around young children," he said.

The state has been assessing students' readiness for kindergarten since about 2001, when the General Assembly began to formally recognize that students who are prepared for kindergarten do better as they go through school, Mr. Grafwallner said.

Teachers now use the Maryland Model for School Readiness, a set of state standards for kindergarten preparedness, to assess kindergartners on math, literacy, social and other skills during November of their first year of school. The data is sent to the state, which compiles it in a report.

Kindergartners statewide were more prepared this year: 68 percent were assessed as proficient, or prepared for kindergarten, compared to 67 percent last year.

Compared to Queen Anne's County's 89 percent, just 72 percent of Anne Arundel County's kindergartners were considered proficient, making it the 11th highest out of the state's 24 school jurisdictions.

Mr. Grafwallner said the difference is partly due to Anne Arundel's size. Anne Arundel schools enrolled about 5,250 kindergartners this year, compared to only about 550 kindergartners in Queen Anne's schools.

Barbara Griffith, Anne Arundel's early childhood coordinator, agreed. She said Anne Arundel not only has more kindergartners, it has a rising number of children who don't speak English and has pockets of deep poverty.

Still, Anne Arundel's kindergartners have risen from 55 percent proficient in 2003 to 72 percent this year, she pointed out.

"That poverty quotient affects our data," Ms. Griffith said. "It isn't that those children aren't capable of learning well, it's that those children are difficult to reach. So given that, the fact that we've made slow, steady, upward progress is significant."

Anne Arundel also has been working hard to coordinate programs that provide care for 4-year-olds, she said. Anne Arundel Community College in particular has helped train child care providers to prepare students for kindergarten, Ms. Griffith said.

In Queen Anne's County, the Judy Center, one of a number of centers statewide that link agencies and people, has helped with that, said Geri Thompson, center director.

Located next to Grasonville Elementary School, it's a one-stop shop with information centers, an Infants and Toddlers Program, a Head Start program, and adult-education classes.

"It's awareness," Ms. Thompson said. "We want everyone to know: 'What does school readiness mean?' "

Ms. Wilhelm said it means children can listen, pay attention, interact with a book and are in the beginning stages of writing. It also means they're curious about the world around them, starting to explore and ready to learn.

Parents can prepare their children by reading and talking to them and taking them to places that excite their curiosity, like parks and museums, said Louise Corwin, executive director of Ready at Five, a statewide organization trying to improve kindergarten preparedness statewide.

"The more words children have, the more exposure they have to books, libraries, it's very helpful," Ms. Corwin said. "It's everyday teachable moments."

All of that kick-starts children in their academic careers, which Queen Anne's County educators are hoping will show as these kindergartners go through school.

"We've made a nice jump here, and we're hoping to see that as student progress through grade levels," Ms. Wilhelm said.