Comparison of Half- and Full-Day Kindergarten on Kindergarten Achievement

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Comparison of Half- and Full-Day Kindergarten on
Kindergarten Achievement
Jack B. Monpas-Huber, Ph.D. Director of
Assessment and Student Information
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About this Study

• The purpose of these analyses is to examine the
  effect of All Day kindergarten on the achievement
  of Shoreline kindergarten students. This
  requires two conditions
• A longitudinal analysis of the same students over
  period of time
• A continuous measure of achievement to provide a
  consistent yardstick for measuring growth
  throughout the year
• In Shoreline, the only districtwide measure of
  kindergarten student achievement is the DIBELS
  literacy measures, and the most recent
  longitudinal data is from last school year,
  2008-09. This study therefore compares the
  achievement of 2008-09 Half Day and All Day
  kindergarten students on the DIBELS measures.
• Results are presented in two ways
• Gains in mean performance across benchmark
  windows
• Regression analyses of DIBELS outcome measures on
  predictor measures of All Day kindergarten
  participation, demographic variables (lunch,
  gender, English speaking), and interactions
  between All Day K and the demographic variables

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DIBELS Kindergarten Literacy Measures
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Effect of All-Day Kindergarten on Literacy DIBELS
Initial Sound Fluency
Means
Both Half Day and All Day students gained. All
Day students gained at a slightly faster rate
than Half Day students.
Winter benchmark score
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Effect of All-Day Kindergarten on Literacy DIBELS
Letter Naming Fluency
Spring benchmark score
Winter benchmark score
Fall benchmark score
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Effect of All-Day Kindergarten on Literacy DIBELS
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency
Spring benchmark score
Winter benchmark score
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Effect of All-Day Kindergarten on Literacy DIBELS
Nonsense Word Fluency
Spring benchmark score
Winter benchmark score
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Effect of All-Day Kindergarten on Literacy DIBELS
Initial Sound Fluency
What predicts the winter ISF score? Presented
here is regression of winter ISF on fall ISF and
other predictor variables including All Day K.
The purpose is to gather evidence of the net
impact of All Day K on literacy achievement
controlling for other demographic variables which
also influence student achievement. The only
significant predictors are the Fall ISF score and
gender. Students score an average of .72 points
higher on the Winter Assessment, and boys, on
average, score 4.4 points lower than girls on the
winter ISF measure, accounting for All Day K,
family income status, and language of origin.
All Day K students do not score significantly
different than Half Day students.
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Effect of All-Day Kindergarten on Literacy DIBELS
Letter Naming Fluency
A regression of Spring Letter Naming Fluency
scores on the fall and winter scores, All Day K,
demographics, and their interactions. The only
significant predictors are the winter LNF score
and the interaction between All Day K and
Non-English. The results suggest that
Non-English speakers who were in All Day K
scored, on average, 6.8 points higher on the
Spring LNF measure than all other students.
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Effect of All-Day Kindergarten on Literacy DIBELS
Letter Naming Fluency
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Effect of All-Day Kindergarten on Literacy DIBELS
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency
Regression of Spring PSF score on Winter PSF, All
Day K, demographics, and interaction terms. The
only significant predictor is Winter PSF score.
Participation in All Day K, or membership in any
particular demographic group, does not
significantly improve prediction of the Spring
PSF score over the mean.
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Effect of All-Day Kindergarten on Literacy DIBELS
Nonsense Word Fluency
Regression of Spring NWF score on Winter NWF, All
Day K, demographics, and interaction terms. The
interaction between All Day K and lunch service
is significant, suggesting that low income
students in All Day K scored, on average, 10
points lower than all other students.
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Effect of All-Day Kindergarten on Literacy DIBELS
Nonsense Word Fluency