ERIC Number: EJ1132546
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0013-189X
EISSN: N/A
Kids Today: The Rise in Children's Academic Skills at Kindergarten Entry
Bassok, Daphna; Latham, Scott
Educational Researcher, v46 n1 p7-20 Jan-Feb 2017
Private and public investments in early childhood education have expanded significantly in recent years. Despite this heightened investment, we have little empirical evidence on whether children today enter school with different skills than they did in the late nineties. Using two large, nationally representative data sets, this article documents how students entering kindergarten in 2010 compare to those who entered in 1998 in terms of their teacher-reported math, literacy, and behavioral skills. Our results indicate that students in the more recent cohort entered kindergarten with stronger math and literacy skills. Results for behavioral outcomes were mixed. Increases in academic skills over this period were particularly pronounced among Black children. Implications for policy are discussed.
Descriptors: Kindergarten, Early Childhood Education, Literacy, Mathematics Skills, Bayesian Statistics, Comparative Analysis, Prior Learning, Achievement Gap, Child Development, School Readiness, Student Participation, Child Rearing, Demography, Institutional Characteristics, Socioeconomic Influences, Racial Differences, Longitudinal Studies, Behavior Change, Least Squares Statistics, Children, Surveys
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Kindergarten; Primary Education; Early Childhood Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey; Social Skills Rating System
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A