The relationship between kindergarten achievement and preschool experience

Abstract

In recent years, many school districts have converted from half-day kindergarten to full-day kindergarten programs to keep up with increasing state standards and to better prepare students for success in the elementary years. The pressure for kindergarten achievement has trickled down to preschool programs. Preschool program availability and enrollment has increased over the past few years but not without questioning the quality and benefits on students’ attending the preschool programs. The availability and importance of early education has been such an important topic in recent years that it was one of the issues addressed in the primary debates in the 2000 Presidential Election. In this research project, characteristics of quality preschool programs were described. A discussion of benefits of quality preschool programming and exemplary models of quality preschool programs were reported. In addition, kindergarten readiness was also discussed. The purpose of the study was to determine whether students who attend the Medford district preschool program have a higher success rate in kindergarten academic skills at the completion of the first semester than students who do not attend the district preschool program. The hypothesis that was tested is that preschool experience is positively related to kindergarten achievement. The hypothesis was proven to be correct when referring to tables comparing percentages and averages between the Medford preschool attendees and non-Medford preschool attendees. Utilizing the chi-square format with a .05 confidence level, it was determined that there is a minimal statistical significance between preschool experience and kindergarten success in regards to the Medford preschool group and the control group.