Results of the Tennessee Basic Skills Test administered statewide to more than 64,000 grade 8 pupils in April 1980 demonstrate that achievement of pupils with kindergarten background is superior to that of non-kindergarten pupils in mathematics, spelling, language, and reading. The effect was greater for mathematics and language than for reading and spelling. The test assessed achievement with respect to 50 of the 80 objectives defined by Tennessee as minimal basic skills competencies. A separate study of a sample of nearly 6,000 pupils, grades 5-8, revealed that the incidence of retention in grade (non-promotion) is considerably less for pupils with kindergarten background than for pupils without it. The cost of the differential retention incidence is estimated to be nearly $2.5 million annually in Tennessee. (Author/RL)