Article 28th (Full-day Kindergrden and Children's Later Reading)

Full-day kindergarten is one means to improve the academic skills of children, particularly those at risk for academic difficulties. Full-day children generally earn higher end-of-kindergarten reading scores than those in halfday. The immediate and longer-term effectiveness of full-day kindergarten has been an important area of inquiry. Research,  has not considered whether the specific reading skills children attain in kindergarten help sustain the full-day kindergarten benefit. This study examined full and half-day kindergarten children's early word reading attainment (composite of letter knowledge, beginning sounds, ending sounds, and sight words) and its association with reading in elementary school. The results from this study provide empirical data to support funding fullday kindergarten programs. Children who attended such programs were more likely to achieve early word reading, which in turn was positively associated with their subsequent reading development in elementary school. Full-day kindergarten was also associated with children from low-SES backgrounds becoming comparable to their higher-SES peers in attaining early word reading skills, a skill set shown to be associated with reading performance in elementary school. 

Annisa Masnasuri Kesai

16611069

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