Date of Award

6-21-2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

William Kerns

Abstract

Statistics show that if a child is a low reader at the end of first grade, they are more likely to be a low reader by the end of fourth grade. The United States has enacted multiple educational initiatives to combat shortfalls that many children demonstrate in literacy, but the number of children reading on grade level in the elementary grades are extremely below average. Therefore, this study investigated if the gap in reading readiness could be irradiated by universal preschool attendance. To test the hypothesis that children who attend an ECERS-Evaluated preschool are more likely to enter kindergarten with proficient reading skills, a repeated-measures ANOVA analysis was used. Children from three groups were analyzed by using their NWEA scores over an 18-month timeframe. The three groups were children that attended an ECERS-Evaluated preschool, a Non-ECERS preschool, or no preschool. The study results showed that children that attend an ECERS-Evaluated preschool do significantly better with entering kindergarten and able to sustain that progress through the first grade. This study suggests children would be more successful in reading in the early grades and most likely, would be able to sustain that progress through future grades if they attended an ECERS-Evaluated preschool. On this basis, universal preschool with ECERS as an evaluation tool for the preschool should be considered when policymakers are having conversations about the gaps currently in education.

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