Study: All-day kindergarten can benefit Idaho students

Research into Idaho schools by Bluum shows the positive effects of a more robust early education on students as lawmakers prepare to discuss funding all-day kindergarten during the 2022 legislative session.

At a media briefing this week, Bluum presented data from the 2018-19 academic year to the 2020-21 academic year that shows how students in all-day kindergarten and partial-day kindergarten performed in reading proficiency and how it affected learning through second grade.

Bluum is a nonprofit organization that partners with the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation to support education in Idaho. Research for the study was done by Public Impact in North Carolina.

All-day kindergarten students made more progress than partial-day students, sometimes even in those beginning at a lower proficiency level. In the fall of 2020, students in all-day kindergarten were in the 46th percentile, then by the spring of 2021 were in the 52 percentile. Partial-day kindergarten students began in the 54th percentile and dropped to the 52 percentile. As students progress to first and second grade, the gap between students who attended all-day kindergarten and partial-day kindergarten closed to a 5-point gap by the end of second grade in 2021.

Bryan Hassell of Public Impact explained the gap as being like a relay race, where the first runner makes great progress, then the next three runners fall behind. The goal is to help keep the progress made by the first runner so the next three don’t fall as far behind.

The progress is mostly seen in economically disadvantaged students who begin at a lower average. Those students improved the most, going from the 35th percentile to 43rd for all-day kindergarten.

All-day kindergarten also has other nonacademic results such as boosting self-confidence in students and helping with social skills.

Hassle said the implications based on the findings mean Idaho should consider requiring all-day kindergarten for districts and fund it, focus on policy to improve first- through third-grade outcomes and learn what works best for kindergarten programs in Idaho schools.

“From our perspective, all-day kindergarten has been a huge benefit to the students and families in the Lewiston School District,” Lewiston School District Superintendent Lance Hansen said. “It would be huge for the state to step up and see it as a commitment to early student learning.”

All-day kindergarten helps identify and meet the needs of the students and sets a foundation for learning, he said. With partial-day kindergarten, 2½ hours are divided between different types of learning such as language, arts and math; all-day kindergarten increases the instructional time for all those learning skills, plus others.

“When you double that (time), there can’t be anything but a greater benefit for the student,” Hansen said.

Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.

FOR MORE

More information and research by Bluum and Public Impact can be found at bluum.org/2021-full-day-kindergarten-analysis.