A Holistic Comparison of the Writing Abilities of First-Grade Students who Attended Either Full-Day or Half-Day Kindergarten

Abstract

Limited research has been conducted to compare full-day and half-day kindergarten programs. Most studies examined reading and math achievement. Standardized tests were generally used to measure achievement. Virtually no studies have been conducted to assess and compare writing proficiency of full-day and half-day students. The purpose of this study was to determine the difference in the writing scores of first grade students who attended either a full-day or half-day kindergarten program the previous year. Holistic scoring was used in keeping with the need for authentic assessment. The writings of 65 first-grade students from two rural school districts were examined and compared. A writing rubric was used to assess the writings. The rubric assessed written language level, sentence quality, directional principles, spelling development and mechanics. The research indicated that in all five areas of writing, students from full-day kindergarten programs scored statistically significantly higher than students from half-day programs.