The Relationship Between Reading Achievement Test Scores of Pre-Kindergarten Entrants and Standard Entrants at the Beginning of Kindergarten

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of early intervention on reading achievement scores of children of urban low-income families. Need for the study was prompted by the debate among early childhood experts about whether early intervention had an influence on children from urban low-income families. One hundred fifty kindergarten students who attended school in the city of Rochester, New York were identified. Of the one hundred fifty students, seventy-seven were prekindergarten entrants and seventy-three were standard entrants. The California Achievement Test Level 10 form E was administered to the subjects by their kindergarten teacher at the beginning of the kindergarten school year. The scores of the California Achievement Test were analyzed to determine if participation in a prekindergarten program was a significant influence on reading achievement test scores. After testing the null hypothesis, it was found that there was a significant difference on reading achievement test scores favoring prekindergarten entrants.