Poster #184 - How Profiles of School Readiness Relate to Third Grade Performance Among Low-Income Ethnically and Linguistically Diverse Children

• In Event: 1-115 - Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Section - School Readiness/Childcare

Integrative Statement

Person-centered approaches to studying school readiness are important for developing targeted interventions that boost important skills critical for later school success. By seeing how school readiness profiles differentially predict later academic outcomes, teachers and schools can identify areas of improvement in children before they start school. This project used a person-centered approach (i.e. latent profile analysis) and answered the following questions: (1) What number and type of profiles (based on patterns of social, behavioral, language, cognitive, and motor skills) best capture children's school readiness among low-income, ethnically, and linguistically diverse preschoolers? (2) Does membership in profiles vary as a function of demographic factors, language skills, and pre-K type (e.g. pre-K vs. subsidized childcare)? (3) To what extent do readiness profiles predict achievement, test performance, and grade retention in 3rd grade, controlling for demographic variables? We used data from the Miami School Readiness project in which a large sample of predominantly low-income ethnically diverse children who attended public school pre-K or received subsidies to attend childcare in the community at age 4 were followed through 3rd grade in the public schools (N = 43,044; 57% Latino, 36% Black, 7% White/other; 81% free/reduced lunch; 48% ELL).
Children were best categorized into six different profiles. The six profiles (see Figure 1) were divided by whether children had strong pre-academic skills (PAS, pre-academic strength), or weak pre-academic skills (PAW, pre-academic weakness) in preschool, and then further described by behavior strengths present either at school vs. at home. The six profiles were: Profile 1 (PAS-strong school behavior, 10%), profile 2 (PAS-low average behavior, 20%), profile 3 (PAS-strong home behavior, 17%), profile 4 (PAW-high school, low home, 22%), profile 5 (PAW-low school, high home, 16%), and profile 6 (extreme overall risk, 15%). Females, White children, and children not in poverty were more likely to be in profiles marked by academic strength. Children who attended center-based care and children who had a disability in kindergarten were more likely to be in high-risk profiles. Children in profile 1 tended to perform ahead of their peers in other profiles on all academic outcomes (math and reading scores and 3rd grade GPA), and children who began school in profile 6 tended to perform behind their peers in other profiles on all 3rd grade outcomes. Children who had otherwise similar behavior skills but started school with weaker pre-academic skills trailed behind children who started school with stronger pre-academic skills. School readiness profiles were still uniquely and differentially related to 3rd grade outcomes even after controlling for demographic factors. Starting school with stronger academics buffered weaknesses is social/emotional skills. Results also showed that children who started school with stronger behavior skills in preschool performed ahead of children who had strong behavior skills at home. This project highlights the potential benefits of public school pre-K programs in boosting children’s social/emotional skills, and elucidates subtle but important differences in the school readiness profiles of children at age 4.

Authors

• Tanya Tavassolie, University of Maryland
  Presenting Author

• Adam Winsler, George Mason University
  Non-Presenting Author