Cumulative and Time-Specific Effects of Classroom Quality on Child Outcomes From Pre-K to Fourth Grade

• In Event: To Pre-K and Beyond: Child Development and Educational Environments Across Pre-K and Elementary School

Abstract

Recent studies have attempted to explain the phenomenon of pre-K fadeout, which describes the diminishing positive effects of high pre-K classroom quality during subsequent grades. For example, Vitiello and colleagues (2022) found that children showed lower-than expected achievement outcomes if they experienced a decrease in quality of teacher-child interactions when entering kindergarten and an increase in the academic rigor/time spent on curriculum content. Others have found that subsequent classroom quality does not mitigate pre-K fadeout (Burchinal et al., 2022). Despite mixed findings, most studies focus only on the short-term, cumulative effects of classroom quality during the pre-K and kindergarten years. Using a sample of children who attended a state-funded universal pre-K program, this study examines both the cumulative and time-specific effects of classroom quality, measured with direct observations, in relation to children’s academic and social skills each year from pre-K to fourth grade.

The analytic sample (N = 422) was 51% female, 39% Black Non-Hispanic, 48% White Non-Hispanic, and 14% Hispanic. Over half (55%) of the sample was low-income, as measured by eligibility for one or more government assistance programs such as SNAP. Classroom quality was measured with the Classroom Assessment and Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta et al., 2008) which assesses 7 dimensions and 3 domains of classroom quality: emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support. The total score—an average of the seven CLASS dimension scores—was used for analyses. Language, reading and math skills were assessed with four Woodcock-Johnson III subtests (WJ): Picture Vocabulary (PV), Sound Awareness (SA), Letter-Word Identification (LW), and Applied Problems (AP) (Woodcock et al., 2001), and social skills and behavior problems were examined with the Social Skills Improvement System (Gresham & Elliott, 2008).

First, fourth grade outcomes were predicted from average class scores from pre-K to fourth grade (i.e., cumulative classroom quality). Next, multi-level growth curve models with students nested within classrooms and demographic covariates were estimated with average CLASS scores included as a time-varying covariate to examine growth in child outcomes pre-K to fourth grade, adjusted for classroom quality. CLASS x Time interactions examined how the time-specific effects of quality on child outcomes changed over time. In all models, missing data were accounted for using multiple imputation with 40 imputed datasets.

Preliminary regression results (Table 4) show that average classroom quality from pre-K to fourth grade was a significant positive predictor of all fourth-grade outcomes. Additionally, there was a significant time-specific effect of classroom quality on all child outcomes. Probing the CLASS x Time interactions showed that experiencing higher quality was associated with higher child outcomes, and this effect strengthened over time. Figure 2 compares the unadjusted trajectory of letter-word identification scores with the trajectory for children who experienced higher classroom quality (CLASS total scores greater than 5). This study demonstrates the importance of educational environments during the pre-K year and beyond for supporting growth in academic and social skills.

Authors

• Kylie Garber, Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD)
  Presenting Author

• Maya Hardrick, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Anna Soto, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Sandra L Soliday Hong, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

• Bentley Ponder, Department of Early Care and Learning

• Randy Hudgins, Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning

• Susan Adams, Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning