The Effect of Preschool Kindergarten Attendance on Language and School Achievement: A Review of Research

Abstract

The effects of preschool attendance on language and school achievement have been researched for over 40 years. Studies with both advantaged children and educable mental retardates prior to 1965 revealed no clear trend. Since 1965 most investigations have concerned educationally disadvantaged children. Summer Head Start (HS) programs proved relatively ineffective in producing lasting gains in academic achievement but year long HS programs indicated marginal gains which lasted into the early elementary grades. More structured programs, developed in the 1960's and 70's, were associated with larger gains on language and achievement outcome measures but these generally diminished during the early school years. Longitudinal comparative studies often indicated that more striking short term language/school achievement gains were associated with more structured preschool programs, but results were not consistent and again the accelerated gains were not usually maintained during the early elementary school years.