The Effects of Everyday Full-Day Kindergarten on Academic Development

Abstract

The purpose of this study to examine data from a small rural Midwest town to determine if everyday full-day kindergarten students in the district gain an academic advantage over their part-time kindergarten peers, in the subjects of Reading and Math. NWEA Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) were used to measure Reading and Math academic achievement. Everyday full-day and part-time kindergarten mean fall and spring MAP scores were compared. The results indicate that everyday full-day kindergarten students demonstrated a statistically significant advantage in Reading and Math at the end of kindergarten and the beginning of first grade. After first grade, the advantage diminished. The results of this study are generally consistent with previous research.