Work

The Kindergarten Hotspot: Literacy Skill Convergence Between Boston Prekindergarten Enrollees and Nonenrollees

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: Preschool improves children's kindergarten readiness, but the cognitive outcomes of preschool enrollees and nonenrollees tend to converge partially or fully in elementary school. In older programs, most of this convergence occurs in kindergarten (Li et al., 2016), but evidence from today's programs is sparse. Using data on 4,971 children who applied to the Boston Public School Prekindergarten program and a quasi-experimental approach, we examine convergence in kindergarten through third grade (K-3) literacy outcomes of prekindergarten enrollees and nonenrollees. Consistent with previous literature, most of the convergence in K-3 literacy outcomes occurred in kindergarten. Our findings suggest that detailed investigations into the kindergarten teaching and learning context may be particularly important for solving the widely noted preschool convergence pattern.

Source: Child Development

DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13499

Authors: Christina Weiland, Rebecca Unterman, Anna Shapiro

Institutions: University of Michigan, Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation

Language: English

Topic: Early Childhood Education and Development

Subfield: Education

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Quality education

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Institute of Education Sciences