Brigance, reading scores, and student preschool participation: Predictors of future academic achievement
Abstract
This study used a quantitative, non-experimental research design to investigate relationships among type of preschool attended, Kindergarten entrance scores, gender, and socioeconomic status on academic achievement at Kindergarten; second grade DIBELS benchmark assessments; third and fourth grade TCAP scores in the subject areas of reading, math, science, and social studies; and fifth grade Star Reading benchmark scores. The data used for this non-experimental study were archival data and were retrieved from the school records of 419 students who enrolled in preschool program (i.e., public school administered preschool or Head Start) in the 2006–2007 school-year. The achievement scores for these students were gathered at the beginning of their Kindergarten year and again from their TCAP reading, math, science, and social studies assessments in the spring of their third and fourth grade years. The students were divided into two groups classified as students who attended public school administered preschool and students who attended Head Start Programs. The participants of this study were students from three rural Upper Cumberland County school systems in Middle Tennessee. The participating students were from rural areas with 98.9% white populations. The independent variables in this study included the type of preschool attended (i.e., public school administered preschool or Head Start), gender (i.e., male, female), and socioeconomics (i.e., receives free or reduced school lunch, pays full price for school lunch). The dependent variables were Kindergarten entrance scores (Brigance), TCAP test scores in reading, math, science, and social studies from students' third and fourth grade year, DIBELS scores from students' second grade year, and Star Reading scores from students' fifth grade year. Eleven null hypotheses were tested using descriptive and inferential statistics at a 0.05 level of significance. Findings indicated that the most significant difference in future academic achievement was found in the Kindergarten entrance scores and second grade DIBELS scores of students who attended public school administered preschool. The study also determined that type of preschool attended had no statistically significant effect on academic achievement on fifth grade Star Reading, or TCAP scores in third or fourth grade when compared by gender and socioeconomic status. (19 Tables; 3 Figures)
Subject Area
Educational tests & measurements|School administration
Recommended Citation
Judy Denise Whittenberg,
"Brigance, reading scores, and student preschool participation: Predictors of future academic achievement"
(2013).
ETD Collection for Tennessee State University.
Paper AAI3612233.
https://digitalscholarship.tnstate.edu/dissertations/AAI3612233