The relevance of the research topic is the problem of preparing future physics teachers of Kazakhstan to organize research activities of schoolchildren. The work is aimed at considering the problem of finding approaches to assessing the level of teachers’ readiness formation for research activity at school and to develop a readiness model for research activity of students of pedagogical HEI. In accordance with the research objectives, the following questions were examined: What are the components and indicators of future physics teachers’ readiness to develop students’ research abilities? Which diagnostic instruments can be used to assess these components? What level of readiness do future physics teachers demonstrate in the studied sample? What evidence of validity and reliability supports the proposed diagnostic toolkit? The structure of readiness includes motivational, content-cognitive, creative, and reflective components. To assess these components, a set of complementary diagnostic methods was employed. The article presents a detailed diagnostic toolkit to assess the level of future physics teachers’ readiness to develop pupils’ research abilities. It also substantiates the choice of a set of diagnostic techniques corresponding to the components and indicators of the investigated type of readiness. Quantitative data on all studied indicators as well as qualitative characterization of the levels of their formation were given. The article formulates indicators and criteria of future teachers’ readiness for research activity. The implementation was carried out both in schools of city and in extracurricular environment (during university events). A preliminary diagnostic profile of the opinions of individual student groups is presented. The obtained results demonstrate variability in the levels of component development and highlight directions for further research and improvement.