1. This study examined the relationships between students’ attendance at full-day, half-day, or no preschool and first grade reading achievement. 214 urban, low SES public first grade students of mixed ethnicities were studied. Using the students’ Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA2) scores (Beaver, 2006), results indicated that by the middle of first grade students who completed one year of full-day preschool significantly outperformed students who did not attend preschool. Students who completed one year of full-day preschool also outperformed students who completed half-day preschool, although not to a significant degree. Additionally, students who completed half-day preschool outperformed students who did not attend preschool, although not to a significant degree. The results further showed that significant differences between the groups were not apparent at the start of first grade, demonstrating that preschool attendance may not show immediate, positive benefits.
Adams, M.J. ( 1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print . Cambridge, MA: MIT Press .
2.
Barnett, W.S. ( 1996). Lives in the balance. Age 27 benefit-cost analysis of the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program. Ypsilanti, MI : High/Scope Press.
3.
Barnett, W.S., & Camilli, G. ( 2002). Compensatory preschool education, cognitive development, and "race" In J. M. Fish (Ed.), Race and intelligence: Separating science from myth (pp. 369-406). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
4.
Barnett, W.S., & Hustedt, J.T. ( 2003). Preschool: The most important grade. Educational Leadership, 60, 54-57.
5.
Beaver, J. ( 2006). Developmental reading assessment, second edition (DRA2) . Lebanon, IN: Pearson Learning .
6.
Beck, I.L., & McKeown, M.G. ( 2001). Text talk: Capturing the benefits of read-aloud experiences for young children. Reading Teacher, 55, 10-20.
7.
Bracey, G. W., & Stellar, A. (Ed.). (2001). Long-term studies of preschool: Lasting benefits far outweigh costs [special section]. Phi Delta Kappan, 84, 780-797.
8.
Clay, M.M. ( 1966). Emergent reading behavior. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
9.
Coolahan, K., Fantuzzo, J., Mendez, J., & McDermott, P. ( 2000). Preschool peer interactions and readiness to learn: Relationships between classroom peer play and learning behaviors and conduct . Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 458-465.
10.
Elkind, D. ( 1986). Formal education and early childhood education: An essential difference. Phi Delta Kappan, 67, 631-636.
11.
Gambrell, L.B., Morrow, L.M., & Pressley, M. ( 2007). Best practices in literacy instruction (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford.
12.
Goffin, S. ( 1994). Curriculum models and early childhood education: Appraising the relationship. New York: Merrill .
13.
Gormley, W.T., Gayer, T., Phillips, D., & Dawson, B. ( 2005). The effects of universal pre-k on cognitive development . Developmental Psychology, 41, 872-884.
14.
Hart, C.H., Charlesworth, R., Burts, D.C., & DeWolf, M. (1993). The relationship of attendance in developmentally appropriate or inappropriate kindergarten classrooms to first and second grade behavior. Poster session presented at the biennial mating of the Society for Research in Child Development , New Orleans, LA.
15.
Henry, G., Gordon, C., Mashburn, A., & Ponder, B. ( 2001). Pre-K longitudinal study: Findings from the 1999-2000 school year. Atlanta: Georgia State University, Applied Research Center.
16.
Henry, G.T., Henderson, L.W., Ponder, P.B., Gordon, C.S., Mashburn, A.J., & Rickman, D.K. ( 2003). Report of the findings from the early childhood study: 2001-02. Atlanta: Georgia State University, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.
17.
Leppanen, U., Niemi, P., Aunola, K., & Nurmi, J. ( 2004). Development of reading skills among preschool and primary school pupils. Reading Research Quarterly, 39, 72-93.
18.
Marcon, R.A. ( 2002). Moving up in the grades: Relationship between preschool model and later school success. Early Childhood Research and Practices, 4, 1-24.
19.
Masse, L.N., & Barnett, W.S. ( 2002) Benefit costs analysis of the abecedarian early childhood intervention project. New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early Childhood Research, Rutgers University .
20.
Morrow, L.M. ( 2001). Literacy development in the early years (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
21.
Pullen, P.C., & Justice, L.M. ( 2003). Enhancing phonological awareness, print awareness, and oral language skills in preschool children. Intervention in School and Clinic, 39, 87-98.
22.
Reynolds, A., Temple, J., Robertson, D., & Mann, E. ( 2002). Age 21 cost-benefit analysis of the Title I Chicago child-parent centers. Madison: University of Wisconsin. (Institute for Research on Poverty, Discussion Paper #1245-02)
23.
Shaywitz, S. ( 2004). Overcoming dyslexia: A new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level. New York: Knopf.
24.
Snow, C. E., Burns, M. S., & Griffin, P. (Eds.). (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children . Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
25.
Stanovich, K.E. ( 1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360-406.
26.
Tracey, D.H., & Morrow, L.M. ( 2006). Lenses on reading: An introduction to theories and models . New York: Guilford .
27.
Walsh, D.J. ( 1989). Changes in kindergarten: Why here? Why now? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 4, 377-391.
28.
Xiang, Z., & Schweinhart, L. (2002). Effects five years later: The Michigan School Readiness Program evaluation through age 10 , Paper prepared for the Michigan State Board of Education High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, Ypsilanti, MI.
29.
Yaden, D., Rowe, D., & MacGillivray, L. (2000). Emergent literacy: A matter (polyphony) of perspectives. In M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. 3, pp. 425-454). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
30.
Zigler, E. ( 1987). Formal schooling for four-year-olds?No. American Psychologist, 42, 254-260.
