Full-Day Kindergarten Benefits Fade

Ivanhoe Newswire
Friday, July 18, 2008; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) The educational gains children make in full-day kindergarten may not last as long as parent would hope.

New research from the University of Pittsburgh and Loyola University Chicago shows full-day kindergartners have slightly better reading and math skills than kids who go part-day, but the benefits fade soon after kindergarten ends.

Researchers measured the math and reading skills of 13,776 children in the fall and spring of their kindergarten and first-grade years and in the spring of their third and fifth-grade years. They also looked at how much child care the children had outside of kindergarten, the quality of cognitive stimulation they got at home and the poverty level of their families.

Overall, the reading and math skills of children in full-day kindergarten grew faster from the fall to the spring of their kindergarten year compared to those in part-day kindergarten. However, the results didn't last long.

From the spring of their kindergarten year through fifth grade, the study found the academic skills of part-day kindergarteners actually grew faster than kids in full-day kindergarten. The advantages the full-day children gained faded by the spring of third grade. Researchers say this is partly because children in part-day kindergarten weren't as poor and had more stimulating home environments than those in full-day programs.

"The results of this study suggest that the shift from part-day to full-day kindergarten programs occurring across the U.S. may have positive implications for students' learning trajectories in the short run," lead author Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal, University of Pittsburgh, was quoted as saying.

"They also highlight that characteristics of children and their families play noteworthy roles in why the full-day advantages fade relatively quickly."

SOURCE: Child Development, published online July 14, 2008