Issue #3: Full understanding of the all-day versus half-day kindergarten topic is compounded by the lack of recognition of telling, scientific findings
The heart of the full-day versus half-day issue, as administrators and academics report it, is “school readiness.” If students are more prepared to learn, then they should be able to learn more. The sooner they are prepared, the better.
Is there a set of skills Kindergarteners need to have to be considered “ready”? Superintendent Cruz states on her blog, “What is measured in Kindergarten and not on the CMT’s, is language acquisition, play, social skills and fine motor skills. Most specifically, vocabulary development, which is not measured on the CMT, is a solid indicator of academic achievement.” So math, reading, and writing skills that are a measure of success starting in third grade, are not the proper measures in Kindergarten according to Superintendent Cruz?
The state of Connecticut apparently understands this; schools are required to complete a Kindergarten Exit Inventory. The KEI data shows which students the teachers feel have achieved a Performance Level 3 (consistently demonstrating most of the skills in the domain and required limited teacher support) in six specific areas. Achieving this Level 3 should be an indicator that students have achieved school readiness.
Hebron is one of the schools in DRG C. According to the CT DOE Spring Kindergarten Exit Inventory from May 2007, the most recent data available to the general public had the following percentages of DRG C students exhibiting Level 3 performance:
- 81% - Language Skills
- 76% - Literacy Skills
- 82% - Numeracy Skills
- 89% - Physical/ Motor Skills
- 85% - Creative/ Aesthetic Skills
- 82% - Personal/ Social Skills
If this data is consistent across the DRG, then it would apply to Hebron and mean that one could expect 28 of the projected 116 incoming Kindergarten students not to have achieved school readiness in the area of literacy (the hardest area to meet based on the above statistics) by the time they complete Kindergarten if the same program implemented in 2007 were in place in 2010. Likewise 13 students might not be meeting the stated school readiness standards for “Physical/Motor Skills” (the easiest area to meet based on the above statistics).
As a result, what has been found (based on that 2007 report) is that at most, in any one Kindergarten skill area, 24% of students were leaving Kindergarten not having achieved “school readiness”.
Apparently, concerned about those numbers, the administration decided the best solution for improving school readiness was moving from half-day Kindergarten to full-day Kindergarten.
But is that the only solution? And will it really solve the issues??
The reports cited below are very specific in their comparison between half-day and full-day Kindergarten, which are both widely accepted forms of “Early Intervention” for students.
Regarding reading and math, researchers reported “…in total, full-day children will spend approximately 15 minutes of additional daily instruction in each subject” (Lee et al., 2006*). Also children in full-day programs spend 25 more minutes “in self-directed activities that purportedly are related to long term learning” (Lee et al., 2006*) than students in half-day kindergarten.
Over 25 major studies have been conducted in this country reviewing the different benefits of full-day kindergarten and they are perhaps summarized best by saying there is “a significant positive effect of full-day kindergarten on student achievement at the end of kindergarten” (Lee et al., 2006*) or “full-day students had higher kindergarten report card grades and were rated higher on first-grade readiness by parents and teachers” (Elicker and Mathur, 1997**). The added time dedicated to reading, math and self-directed activities, along with the teacher and parent feedback that the full-day students generally seem more prepared than the half-day students, is exactly the response that has been observed in Hebron’s “pilot” program according to reports at the Hebron BOE meetings.
But…Several of the studies have gone farther and continued to follow these students after Kindergarten.
And what they report is that the positive effects of full-day Kindergarten are not enduring.
Cannon, Jacknowitz, and Painter (2006)*** report that the effect is reduced by half at the end of first grade and eliminated by the end of third grade. Walton, West, and Rathbun (2005)**** concluded that the positive effects “did not persist into third grade”. Hough and Bryde (1996)***** surveyed teachers of over 500 students and found that there was little difference in their ratings for “focus on tasks”, “cooperative work and play”, and “showing respect for rules” between half and full day kindergartners.
There are even some studies with supporting data that suggest full-day kindergarten has some adverse affects. We’re not trying to say full-day Kindergarten is bad, but we are saying that in these tough economic times, and with the long-term value of full day Kindergarten very much in question, is it really the right time for Hebron to be doing this????
Perhaps more important than all of the data comparing achievement, sustained achievement versus perceived achievement between half and full day Kindergarten programs is that there are hundreds of studies and reports that address the broader scope of student achievement. In only the rarest of cases is there any mention of the minute differences between these two programs. This is because the affect and importance is miniscule in comparison to the more powerful factors that affect student achievement. Some of the factors that positively influence achievement include:
- Average or above-average income
- High expectations of teachers and Parents
- Parent education
- Good/safe neighborhood
- Reinforcement
- Small school size
- Less TV viewing
- “Mainstreaming” students
- Motivation
- Self-reflection
- Ability to connect with teacher and fellow student
- Matching teaching style to learning style, engaging material; engaged teachers and learner
- Student choice in curriculum
- Collaborative/cooperative learning
- Participation in group discussions at school and home
- Peer interaction
- Demanding subject matter
- Problem-based learning
- Issue-based and/or project based real-world instructional activities
- Teaching for connections
- Using environment as an integrated context
- Parents and community involvement in educational process
- Use of technology and other multiple resources
- computer-based instruction
- Active learning
- Authentic assessment
- Student-centered curriculum
- Constructivist teaching approach
- Integrated curriculum
- Much time spent on homework assignment
- Common vision
- Implementation of comprehensive reform programs
- Teacher empowerment
- Access to assistance, in-service training and resources
- Continuous quality improvement of teaching and learning
- Good supportive school climate
There is a similar list for some of the factors that negatively influence achievement:
- Undereducated or uneducated parents
- Poverty
- Tracking/ability group (divide students by their abilities)
- Unsafe neighborhood
- Large school size
- More TV viewing
- Lack of Motivation
- Poor or remote relationship with teacher
- Using same teaching style for all students
- Unengaged teachers
- Teacher-centered curriculum
- Irrelevant curriculum
- Traditional teaching methods such as Lectures
- Subject matter that is too easy
- Lack of resources
- Less time spent on homework
- Lack of focus
- Lack of administrative support or attention to enhancing teacher quality/competence
Knowing these factors, we believe:
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It is obvious that Hebron has many of the positive influences in place and working.
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Hebron is also at an advantage in that it has fewer numbers of students dealing with the factors that negatively influence achievement.
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It can be a daunting task to consider all of these factors and consider the impact of each one, but it is that kind of diligence that leads to successful schools and accomplished students.
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Just because full-day Kindergarten in lieu of half-day Kindergarten provides an increase in positive factors in other communities that influence achievement or decreases the negative factors does not mean it provides the same for Hebron students.
We respectfully ask our elected officials to look at all the information and data that measures student achievement to:
- determine if there really is a “school readiness” problem;
- determine if there are any other bigger problems or issues more worthy of spending our tax dollars;
- determine how long is an acceptable amount of time for program impacts (such as all day Kindergarten) to last;
- determine which program impacts last the longest and affect the largest number of students; and
- determine if specialized programs for some students are more effective than the larger, general application of programs that affect the broadest student population base.
We encourage you to go out and find more data regarding sustaining the initial benefits observed from full-day Kindergarten programs. (That’s one of the huge benefits of Google.) This is the kind of information that our chief elected officials will need to understand to help them in the distribution of our limited resources, such as your tax dollars.
* “Full-Day Versus Half-Day Kindergarten: In Which Program Do Children Learn More?” American Journal of Education 112: 163–208. Lee, V. E., Burkam, D. T., Ready, D. D., Honigman, J., and Meisels, S. J. (2006).
** Elicker, J., & Mathur, S. (1997). What do they do all day? Comprehensive evaluation of a full-day kindergarten. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 12(4), 459-480. EJ 563 073.
*** Cannon, Jill, Alison Jacknowitz, and Gary Painter (2006). “Is Full Better than Half? Examining the Longitudinal Effects of Full-day Kindergarten Attendance.” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 25(2): 299-321.
**** Walston, J., West, J., and Rathbun, A. H. (2005). “Do the Greater Academic Gains Made by Full-Day Kindergarten Children Persist Through Third Grade?” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal.
***** Hough, D., & Bryde, S. (1996, April). The effects of full-day kindergarten on student achievement and affect. Paper presented at the annual conference of the American Educational Research Association, New York. ED 395 691.