The results of the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Project (VKRP) summarized in this report indicate that 34% of children in the Commonwealth arrive at kindergarten unprepared in one or more critical learning domains (literacy, math, self-regulation, and social skills). Children who enter kindergarten behind their peers rarely catch up; instead, the achievement gap widens over time. Absent early intervention, these children are also more likely to fall below grade level expectations, to be retained in school, to be placed in special education, and to drop out of high school. The Commonwealth currently uses the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS), a pre-literacy measure, as its only assessment of children's skills as they enter kindergarten. VKRP implemented and evaluated a comprehensive readiness assessment, which provides the Commonwealth, districts, schools, and teachers valuable information about children's skills not only in literacy but in math, social skills, and self-regulation - other areas of performance key to school success. The availability of more comprehensive kindergarten readiness data across the state provides guidance to the Commonwealth's efforts to identify effective policies, interventions, and investments for young children. This executive summary report provides a brief description of the VKRP, summarizes key results, and makes data-driven recommendations for next steps. (author abstract)