Recent work examining science test performance in the earliest grades of school has demonstrated that science test score gaps by race/ethnicity are apparent as early as kindergarten and that, in a number of cases, the racial/ethnic test score gaps in science are significantly larger than the corresponding gaps in reading or mathematics. This study…

Minnesota has a persistent and substantial student achievement gap based on race and family income. There are also substantial achievement gaps between native English speakers and English learners (Minnesota Compass, n.d.). In 2019, Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood (SPPN) worked with Hmong American Partnership (HAP) and Saint Paul Public Schools…

This study examines the Civil Rights Data Collection of 2014, consisting of 49,605,534 students from 95,635 public schools covering grades from Kindergarten to 12th grade. The primary focus of this study was to examine the relative distribution of different types of discipline between ethnic groups and genders. In every category, the levels…

This longitudinal study examined the effect of all-day kindergarten programs on the academic achievement of students from racial language minority and low socioeconomic class. The study employed a series of 3-level longitudinal multilevel analyses using a nationally representative database, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS). The study…

Overall, children who spend time in full-day kindergarten programs are more likely than children who spend time in half-day kindergarten programs to devote time every day to reading, mathematics, and social studies. Research is inconclusive on longer-term impacts. Trends identified in this report include: (1) since 1977, the percentage of…

In 2013-14, Letterland had strong implementation, with moderate to high fidelity within approximately 90% of Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) K-1 classrooms. The impact of Letterland on students' reading achievement was neutral to positive. A significantly higher percentage of WCPSS kindergarten students were at or above benchmark mid-year…

The author examined the long-term effects of teacher instructional grouping practices on the early mathematical achievement of language minority students from various ethnic groups. The study used 3 longitudinal models. In the 1st model, English language learners (ELLs) displayed lower math performance than did English-only students in the…

Building on a conceptual model of the transition to elementary school, this study explored the role of health in the early cognitive achievement of children from various racial/ethnic minority and immigrant families by applying multilevel modeling to data from a nationally representative sample of American kindergarteners. Whites tended to have…

This report is intended to provide a snapshot of the children in the ECLS-K:2011 cohort who were in kindergarten for the first time in the 2010-11 school year and advanced to first grade in the following year. Information is presented on selected child and family characteristics, such as poverty status and parental education (table 1), obtained…

The study explored the effects of computer use on the mathematical performance of students with special attention to ELL students. To achieve a high generalizability of findings, the study used a U.S. nationally representative database, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), and adopted proper weights. The study…

This study evaluated the extent to which a range of risk factors (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, low socioeconomic status) predicted kindergarten children's likelihood of later displaying recurring psychopathology. It used multilevel logistic regression to analyze teacher ratings of frequent and recurring externalizing and internalizing problem…

This report examines what is known about enrollment, discipline, and support staff in alternative schools, among other objectives. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) analyzed data on alternative schools for school years 2013-14 and 2015-16 from Education's Civil Rights Data Collection (most recent years available); visited selected school…

Maryland is charged with providing an equal education and ensuring that personal or social circumstances--such as immigration status, ethnic background, socioeconomic status, English proficiency, or disability--are not barriers to academic success. Equity is achieved when all students have the resources they need, such as exceptional teachers or…

Based on the 2018-2019 Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) results, nearly half (47%) of all entering kindergarten children in Maryland displayed the foundational skills indicating they are fully ready for kindergarten. A third (33%) are approaching readiness. Twenty percent of children are assessed with emerging readiness skills. The school…

Assessing students at kindergarten entry allows teachers to effectively plan instruction that meets individual student needs, and those of the class as a whole. Maryland uses Ready for Kindergarten (R4K): Maryland's Comprehensive Early Childhood Assessment System, a single coordinated system for measuring the knowledge, skills, and behaviors and…