Children from low-income families enter kindergarten one full standard deviation (15 standard score points) behind higher-income peers in literacy and mathematics (ECLS-K, attributed to Zill & West, 2001)¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · design r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2016 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2021: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? National ECLS-K data found a difference of one full standard deviation (15 standard score points) in literacy and mathematics between children from low- and high-income families at the beginning of kindergarten. → Ehrlich 2016

Evidence¶

Ehrlich 2016¶

Ehrlich, S.B., Pacchiano, D.M., Stein, A.G., & Luppescu, S. (2016). Essential organizational supports for early education: The development of a new survey tool to measure organizational conditions. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on School Research and the Ounce of Prevention Fund. http://consortium.uchicago.edu/surveys

q2 · i? · design · r2

The brief reports this ECLS-K finding, citing Zill & West (2001), as background motivation for early education investment. The underlying analysis is not described in detail in this brief.

"national data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) found a difference of one full standard deviation (or 15 standard score points) in literacy and mathematics between children from low- and high-income fami - lies at the beginning of kindergarten"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Socioeconomic Status — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause

Related Claims¶

• School test score averages are strongly related to the income of the families a school serves — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
• Students from poor families lag behind more affluent peers in early elementary math performance — related
• Many children enter kindergarten without the foundational mathematics skills needed to succeed — a broader claim this one bears on
• Participants entered the study with very poor skills, at least 1 SD below the mean on every measure and 2 SD below on receptive vocabulary, phonological awareness, and fluency — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Prior nationally representative studies found incoming kindergarteners' math and literacy skills were higher in 2010 than in 1998 — related
• Many U.S. students enter elementary school with poor math skills — a broader claim this one bears on
• Children from economically disadvantaged families are at greater risk for poor kindergarten transitions than their peers — related