Longitudinal Evaluation Shows that Georgia’s Pre-K Program Prepares Students to Enter Kindergarten

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According to a longitudinal evaluation of Georgia’s Pre-K Program funded by Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, children who attended Georgia’s Pre-K had significantly better scores than their peers who did not attend any pre-k program in literacy, oral language, and executive function outcomes.

The purpose of this series of ongoing studies that began in 2011 was to evaluate the program’s effectiveness by examining the impact of participation on school readiness, children’s longitudinal academic and social outcomes associated with attendance in Georgia’s Pre-K Program, and to examine the quality of the classrooms attended.

The study, conducted by researchers at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, followed a statewide representative sample of children from their pre-k experience during the 2013-14 school year through fourth grade, 2018-19.

Overall, children who participated in Georgia’s Pre-K in this study were prepared for kindergarten, with a key strength of the pre-K program found in building foundational literacy skills for later reading. While students in the study were at or above the national average at the end of fourth grade on most measures, the rate of growth in pre-K and kindergarten is not maintained in later grades—except for larger growth in social skills and math in fourth grade.

Georgia’s Pre-K Program is a state-funded, universal pre-K program that annually serves more than 80,000 4-year-old children in various settings, including public schools, private providers, and blended Head Start/pre-K classrooms. The program follows a school-year model, with class sizes ranging from 20 to 22 children, led by a teacher with at least a bachelor’s degree, along with an assistant teacher with at least a CDA credential.

The study also points out that results from this six-year longitudinal study of children who attended Georgia’s Pre-K contribute knowledge about the long-term outcomes for children enrolled in universal statewide pre-k programs. These results can also be used for understanding program effectiveness, continuous quality improvement, and decision-making for future activities and funding. In addition to understanding growth in academic and social skills during the pre-k year, the study provides a picture of what happens in the years after students attend pre-k and provides a glimpse into the skills that children bring with them when they enter pre-k that may inform the development of programming to support children prior to pre-k entry as well.

Study Implications

  • Overall, results from the study show that Georgia’s Pre-K Program prepares students to enter kindergarten.
  • While students in the study are at or above the national average at the end of fourth grade on most measures, the rate of growth in pre-k and kindergarten is not maintained in later grades (except for larger growth in social skills and math in fourth grade).
  • A key strength of Georgia’s Pre-K Program is building foundational literacy skills for reading.
  • Vocabulary development is an area of growth for children ages birth to 5, but also kindergarten to fourth grade, and opportunities to support language development are warranted.
  • While classroom quality is highest in pre-k, quality is still in the moderate-to-high range throughout grades K-4.
  • This longitudinal study reflects a deep investment in ensuring that children fully benefit from enrollment in Georgia’s Pre-K along with aligned and supportive K-4 experiences.
  • The study also reflects a commitment to continuous improvement through an established state-university partnership.

In conclusion, the researchers write that, “This longitudinal study reflects a deep investment in ensuring that children fully benefit from the alignment between pre-K through fourth grade. Children experienced moderate-to-high-quality instruction from pre-K through fourth grade and had higher scores than would be expected due to age on most outcomes, particularly related to literacy, although increased curricular alignment after kindergarten may be beneficial. Language skills are foundational and there was little growth on average over time. Children with low language skills at pre-K entry also continued to have lower language, math, and social skills over time. Further investigation into supports for language skill growth is warranted, with particular attention to supporting home language acquisition in addition to acquisition of English language skills.”

Learn more by reading the GaFCP Evaluation, Results, and Accountability Team’s Research Summary 14: Key Findings from Georgia Pre-K Longitudinal Evaluation: Impacts through Fourth Grade.

 

Contact:
Bill Valladares
GaFCP Communications Director
404-739-0043
william@gafcp.org

Reg Griffin
DECAL Communications Director
404-656-0239
reg.griffin@decal.ga.gov


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Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) is responsible for meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia’s children and their families. It administers the nationally recognized Georgia’s Pre-K Program, licenses child care centers and home-based child care, administers Georgia’s Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) program, federal nutrition programs, and manages Quality Rated, Georgia’s community powered child care rating system.

The department also houses the Head Start State Collaboration Office, distributes federal funding to enhance the quality and availability of child care, and collaborates with Georgia child care resource and referral agencies and organizations throughout the state to enhance early care and education.