What Fade-Out? Full-Day, Play-Based Kindergarten Has Academic Benefits That Last

• In Event: Early Childhood Impacts

Abstract

This study examined the longer term impact of a publicly-funded, two-year play-based full-day kindergarten (FDK) program on children’s academic outcomes to Grade 3. A natural experiment exploiting a phasing-in of FDK allowed a comparison of children with FDK experience and those who were still in regular half-day kindergarten (HDK) in similar neighborhoods. Measures of vocabulary, reading, writing and number knowledge were gathered each year from junior kindergarten (JK) through senior kindergarten (SK), Grade 1 and Grade 2 with Grade 3 standardized provincial tests scores available for a subsample. Children in FDK outperformed children in HDK in all measures with some benefits lasting to Grade 3. This study has significant program and policy relevance.

Authors

• Janette P. Pelletier, University of Toronto

• James E. Corter, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Carl M. Corter, University of Toronto - OISE