The Impact of Pre-kindergarten Programs on Student Achievement in Mississippi Elementary Schools


Book Description

Each of the states bordering Mississippi invests large amounts of money in providing children with state-funded pre-k programs in their public schools. However, Mississippi falls behind these states and does not similarly invest in this effort to provide many of its children with the opportunity to attend state-funded pre-k programs. Because school readiness is such a huge concern for instructional leaders of Mississippi schools, there is a need to determine the benefits associated with offering pre-k to all students throughout the state. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact pre-k has on the academic achievement of students in Mississippi school districts. Two hypotheses were tested in order to determine if a significant difference existed between pre-k attendees and non-attendees using 2015-2016 MAP test data in reading and math. After conducting an independent samples t test, findings from this study suggested there is a significant difference between the MAP reading and math test scores of 2015-2016 third grade students in Mississippi schools who attended public school pre-k programs and students who did not. Thus, it is important to invest more resources in pre-k in efforts to close the achievement gap between MS and the neighboring states.




The Impact of Pre-Kindergarten on Later Academic Achievement in a Mississippi School District


Book Description

In an era of high stakes testing and accountability, educators and policy makers are working to improve the educational outcomes for children. In a quest to help children achieve at high levels, Pre Kindergarten is often cited as a proactive strategy to address the academic gaps many children have upon entering school. While the goal of Pre Kindergarten is to prepare children for later schooling, it is important to determine if this costly strategy has sustainable, long-term academic benefits. The purpose of this research was to determine if a Title I, Part A Pre Kindergarten program had an impact on the later academic achievement of children in a rural, high poverty, high minority, public school district in Mississippi. The results from this study can provide educators and policymakers with data as they work to align resources to provide an effective education program. It can provide educators with information to review and revise practices and procedures for positive early childhood education experiences. The quantitative, causal-comparative study examined the 3rd-grade academic achievement of children to determine if a significant difference existed between the students who received Pre Kindergarten services and those who did not. Student scale scores on the Mississippi Department of Education 3rd Grade Reading Summative Assessment and student attendance data were used to explore students later academic achievement. The overall collective data results from the study suggest Pre Kindergarten participation does not significantly improve the reading scores of children at the end of 3rd-grade. Although variances in the data were shown, it may be a result of the small sample sizes. The children who attended Pre Kindergarten did miss significantly fewer days of school. The recommendations for future research are as follows: (a) conduct a longitudinal study to determine how students who received Pre Kindergarten services compared to those who did




The Impact of Pre-Kindergarten Attendance on Later Academic Achievement in a Mississippi School District


Book Description

In an era of high stakes testing and accountability, educators and policy makers are working to improve the educational outcomes for children. In a quest to help children achieve at high levels, Pre-Kindergarten is often cited as a proactive strategy to address the academic gaps many children have upon entering school. While the goal of Pre-Kindergarten is to prepare children for later schooling, it is important to determine if this costly strategy has sustainable, long-term academic benefits The purpose of this research was to determine if a Title I, Part A Pre-Kindergarten program had an impact on the later academic achievement of children in a rural, high poverty, high minority, public school district in Mississippi. The results from this study can provide educators and policymakers with data as they work to align resources to provide an effective education program. It can provide educators with information to review and revise practices and procedures for positive early childhood education experiences. The quantitative, causal-comparative study examined the 3rd-grade academic achievement of children to determine if a significant difference existed between the The overall collective data results from the study suggest Pre-Kindergarten participation does not significantly improve the reading scores of children at the end of 3rd-grade. Although variances in the data were shown, it may be a result of the small sample sizes. The children who attended Pre-Kindergarten did miss significantly fewer days of school. The recommendations for future research are as follows: (a) conduct a longitudinal study to determine how students who received Pre-Kindergarten services compared to those who did not in later grades such as grades five, eight, and a later high school grade, (b) replicate the study with data from the children who received Pre-Kindergarten services in an Early Learning Collaborative in Mississippi, and (c) conduct a qualitative study of 3rd grade teachers to see if they recognize a difference between the Pre-Kindergarten participants and non-participants.




The Impact of Pre-k Programs on Student Achievement and Instructional Leadership in Rural Mississippi School Districts


Book Description

In 2011, Mississippi continues to be the only state in the southern region without a single state-funded pre-k program (NIEER, 2007), and all preschool funds in the state are currently allotted to Head Start. Witte and Trowbridge (2004) warned that the combination of pre-k programs could be the reason for highly fragmented systems of state funding, policies, and regulations. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate whether differences exist between preschool groups in three North Mississippi school districts and to determine the degree to which stakeholders in the programs practice instructional leadership. From a quantitative perspective, the STAR GE and STAR Est. ORF scores of 388 second graders were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA, and significant differences were found in academic achievement between all three groups of students who attended public school pre-k, Head Start, or no pre-k. From a qualitative perspective, the researcher followed a phenomenological approach to determine the degree to which 22 school instructional leaders collaborate to make decisions concerning their pre-k programs. The responses from four research questions indicate that traditional macro and micro-level roles of instructional leadership exist between administration and teachers, and collaboration between administrators and teachers dropped substantially after each program began. Trust and autonomy are strong and appreciated by the pre-k teachers, yet the teachers expressed a desire for ongoing collaboration with administration. Additionally, collaborative relationships need to be cultivated between public school programs and Head Start. Finally, several recommendations for further research and practice are suggested.




Impact of Pre-kindergarten Education on Elementary Student Achievement


Book Description

The purpose of this study was to determine if pre-kindergarten attendance resulted in increased school readiness for kindergarten students; and if prekindergarten attendance resulted in higher student achievement for third grade students. Specifically, the data for this research was drawn from the pre-kindergarten program of a mid-size district in Houston, Texas. In terms of methodology, quantitative techniques and analysis were used to illustrate data collected from the research sample. A two-sided t-test was run on each group to model the relationship between pre-kindergarten attendance and school readiness as determined by TPRI and social screening; and, the relationship between pre-kindergarten attendance and academic success as measured by third grade TAKS. Furthermore, a multiple linear regression test was performed on each group to asses if gender and ethnicity further impacted the results of school readiness and academic success. The findings of this research showed that attending pre-kindergarten impacted school readiness in two areas and showed no impact in one area of the TPRI. The areas that showed a positive correlation were beginning letter sound identification and listening comprehension. The area that revealed no impact was blending onset rhymes and phonemes. Another notable finding is that students who had attended pre-kindergarten showed no significant edge in socialization as identified by the University of Texas Social Screener Survey. As for longer term success, pre-kindergarten attendance did not have a significant impact on third grade TAKS scores in neither reading nor math.




The Effects of Public School Prekindergarten Attendance on Academic Achievement in Language Arts and Mathematics


Book Description

The effect of public school prekindergarten (pre-K) attendance on academic achievement has not been extensively studied for the purpose of funding these programs. The MCT2 scale scores in the areas of language arts and math and the report card number grades for the areas of language arts and math were analyzed for 114 students. Of this number, 49 students attended a public school pre-K program, and 65 students did not attend a public school pre-K program. This study was a causal-comparative study. A repeated measures approach with a between-within design was used. An analysis of covariance, ANCOVA, was used to examine if there was a statistically significant difference in the MCT2 scale scores for language arts for 3rd-grade students who attended a public school pre-K program and students who did not attend a public school pre-K program. In addition, 3 separate t-tests were run for each grade level for language arts and math report card grades. Results revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in the MCT2 language arts mean scale scores. For the area of math, the students who attended a public school pre-K program had comparable MCT2 math mean scale scores with the participants who did not attend a public school pre-K program. For language arts and math report card number grades, students who attended a public school pre-K program had higher report card number grades compared with students who did not attend a public school pre-K program. Based on these findings, it can be implied that public school pre-K attendance was effective for the academic areas language arts and math. It is recommended that public school pre-K programs continue to be funded and implemented for 4-year-old students in the Raleigh School District. The subjects of language arts and math should continue to be instructed for the pre-K students. It is also recommended that public school pre-K programs be funded and implemented in school districts across the state of Mississippi, as well as nationwide.




The Relationship Between Early Childhood Education and Student Success


Book Description

The purpose of the study was to determine whether differences exist in performance on high-stakes accountability tests in third grade and high school among seniors who attended preschool and those who did not attend preschool. Test performance was measured using 2006-2007 third grade Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT) reading and math scaled scores, English II and Algebra I Subject Area Testing Program-2 (SATP2) scores, and ACT composite scores. The study further analyzed the difference among groups based on retention rates, gender, and socioeconomic status. The study also examined the beliefs of parents of preschool attendees about the impact of preschool on their children's preparation for formal school success using a parent questionnaire. A total of 185 parent questionnaires were accompanied by signed parental consents and could be included in the study. Frequencies and percentages were provided for each of the independent variables. Analysis of the data found no statistically significant differences among students' academic performance with regards to preschool type. However, statistically different results were found when considering a student's Algebra I SATP2 scores with regard to retention history. In addition, statistically significant differences were detected on ACT scores when considering socioeconomic status and public school preschool. The study found no differences in reports of parental beliefs about the impact of preschool on reading and math readiness. The study further revealed that parents' beliefs about the impact of preschool on reading and math achievement were moderately positively correlated to subsequent performances MCT reading/English I SATP2 and MCT math/Algebra I SATP2 tests. Most parents agree that their child attending preschool was very effective in preparing them for success in kindergarten through twelfth grades and even future employment. However, this study revealed that as children got older parents reported less involvement with homework assistance, and volunteering at their child's school. Parents were neutral or in agreement up through grade five, after which many disagreed to volunteering at their child's school, receiving helpful information from school, and helping with homework. --Page ii.










A Study of the Influence of Preschool Settings on School Achievement


Book Description

The purpose of this study was to examine the preschool settings of the Pearl River community and assess the effectiveness of certain preschool programs regarding the achievement of Native American kindergarten students. The data were examined to compare student achievement of the Pearl River Elementary School kindergarten class of 2006-2007 as measured by the TerraNova subtests in Reading/Language and Mathematics. A sample of n = 74 was obtained for this study. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze previous preschool experiences of the participants. Demographic data showed that most students in the Pearl River Elementary School kindergarten class of 2006-2007 had attended some type of preschool. TerraNova scores for the participants were also examined. Descriptive statistics were used to examine how well the kindergarten students at Pearl River Elementary School compared with the national average. The data indicated that the kindergarteners at Pearl River Elementary School did not score as high as the national average on any of the subtests for Reading, Language, and Mathematics. A MANOVA was used to test the null hypothesis that stated that there were no statistically significant differences among the means of the TerraNova scores based upon type of preschool attended. The independent variable for the analysis was type of preschool attended. The dependent variables were the subtest scores on the TerraNova in Reading, Language, and Mathematics. Results indicated that students who had attended the Pearl River pre-kindergarten program outscored the students who had attended the Pearl River Head Start program in both Language and Mathematics subtests. Results did not indicate that there was any statistical difference in the mean of the Reading subtest based upon type of preschool attended. Recommendations for further study include obtaining another sample that would incorporate variables not used in the current study. Research should be done to examine curricular differences among pre-kindergarten, FACE, Head Start, and Day Care programs. Students should also be tracked to measure the long term effects of attending each of these programs. Alternate assessments for student achievement of preschool and kindergarten students should also be considered for further research.