Concern that too many Australian children, particularly Indigenous children, are not ready to start school has spurred a series of changes to the pre-school sector. Included among these changes are nationwide mass surveying and the introduction of a unified curriculum framework together with moves towards standardised entry assessment. Focusing on Indigenous children in mainstream schools in settled Western Australia, it is argued that such measures have a limited capacity to address misplaced notions of deficit and assist Indigenous children in making the transition to school. Currently missing from policy and profession is a deeper understanding of Indigenous culture and language use. (Contains 7 notes.)