Students with disabilities attending full-day versus part-day kindergarten: Short- and long-term effects on achievement

We examined a national dataset of kindergarteners with disabilities and inquired into whether attending full- versus part-day kindergarten predicted short- and long-term differences in reading and math achievement. Implementing fixed effects and propensity score matching using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study: Kindergarten Class of 2011 (ECLS-K: 2011), we found that students with disabilities (SWDs) in full-day kindergarten (FDK) had higher reading and math scores at the end of kindergarten. However, this effect disappeared completely by the end of first grade for all SWDs. There were no differences by disability category. In the continued expansion of FDK programs, policymakers and parents ought to consider that SWDs have similar patterns of achievement gains in kindergarten to their peers without disabilities (as shown in prior research), and though these gains may diminish in later grades, it may support the trajectory of students who tend to have additional needs at school-entry.
Source: Early Childhood Research Quarterly - Category: Child Development Source Type: research