National dataset of over 2 million kindergarten students used to estimate 2010-2017 school-entry skill trends¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 3 studies (3 associational), q2–q3 · 0 of 3 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The study draws on assessment data from a very large national sample of kindergarten students to estimate trends in math and reading skills at school entry between 2010 and 2017. The abstract states the study examines "academic skills at kindergarten entry from 2010 and 2017 using data from over 2 million kindergarten students". This scale is what allows nationally representative trend and subgroup-gap estimates.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Requires kindergarten math and reading assessment data comparable across the 2010 and 2017 cohorts

Constraints¶

Target Learners¶

• U.S. kindergarten students at school entry

Target Learning Goals¶

• Math skills at kindergarten entry
• Literacy/reading skills at kindergarten entry

Claims¶

• Inequalities at kindergarten entry by race/ethnicity decreased between 2010 and 2017 [+W]
• Inequalities at kindergarten entry by school poverty level decreased between 2010 and 2017 [+W]
• Kindergarteners in 2017 had moderately lower math and reading skills at school entry than kindergarteners in 2010 [+W]
• Gaps in academic skills between children narrowed at kindergarten entry, per the article's abstract [+W]

Related Elements¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Megan Kuhfeld, James Soland, Christine Pitts, Margaret Burchinal. (2020). Trends in children's academic skills at school entry: 2010 to 2017. Educational Researcher. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X20931078