The impact of pre-kindergarten enrollment on student performance as identified by third grade reading and math Texas Assessment of Knowledege and Skills(TAKS) scores among selected title 1 elementary schools

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if the intervention of attending public school pre-kindergarten reflected an impact on student achievement as measured by third grade Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) considering gender, English language learner status, socio-economic status, and the language of the test. To determine this impact, the performance of third grade students who attended prekindergarten in 10 selected elementary schools in San Antonio was compared to students in these same schools who did not attend pre-kindergarten. Quantitative techniques and analyses were used to illustrate data collected from the research sample. A t-test for independent means was used for Research Questions #1 and #2. An Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) procedure was also used to analyze the data as a function of gender, English language learner status, socio-economic status, and the language of the test in Research Question #3. Findings in the study included the following: 1. There was statistical significant difference on third grade TAKS reading scores among the students who attended pre-kindergarten. 2. There was statistical significant difference on third grade TAKS math scores among the students who attended pre-kindergarten. 3. There was no statistical significant difference on third grade TAKS reading or math among the students who attended or did not attend pre-kindergarten based on gender, socio-economic, English language learner status, and the language of the test.