Predictors of school mobility from public school pre-K to kindergarten

Abstract

• We investigated switching schools between public school pre-k and kindergarten. • In a sample from a southern US city, 20.7% of children switched schools at this time. • Black children and those receiving free or reduced lunch were more likely to switch. • Lower school quality in public school pre-k increased the odds of switching. Public school pre-k programs are not only effective in promoting children’s school readiness but are also potentially useful for easing the transition from pre-k to kindergarten. One possible reason for this ease of transition is eliminating the need for children to change schools when starting kindergarten. However, little is known about whether children actually stay at the same school for kindergarten that they attended for pre-k and what predicts school mobility between pre-k and kindergarten. Using data from a large ( N = 18,775) and ethnically diverse (34.7% Black, 54.9% Latino, 10.3% White/other) sample of predominantly low-income children attending public school pre-k in Miami, we describe the prevalence, nature, and predictors of school mobility between the pre-k and kindergarten years. We found that 20.7% of students who attended public-school pre-k switched schools in the transition from preschool to kindergarten. Logistic regression analyses indicated that, before accounting for school quality, Black and Latino children (compared to White children) had higher odds of switching schools, as did children receiving free or reduced-price lunch. After accounting for school quality, Black children and children receiving free or reduced-price lunch no longer had higher odds of switching schools. Children attending lower-performing schools (compared to higher-performing schools) in pre-k had higher odds of switching schools. We also describe pre- and post-move school quality for different groups of children. Implications of school mobility between public school pre-k and kindergarten are discussed.