Associations between school characteristics and learning gains for pre-K attenders and non-attenders: Important constructs, limited evidence

Abstract

Drawing on data from the Early Learning Network (n = 4,807; 47 % Hispanic; 25 % White; 14 % Black; 9 % Asian; 4 % Multiracial; 1 % Other) along with the Stanford Education Data Archive, Civil Rights Data Collection, and Common Core of Data, this study examined the associations between several aspects of elementary school characteristics and children's math, language, and literacy learning from kindergarten to first grade. Additionally, this study considered whether these associations differed based on pre-K attender status. Results from multilevel models indicated that schools’ academic performance, student and teacher absenteeism, novice teacher employment, expenditures, and student-teacher ratios were not consistently associated with growth in children's academic learning, and when significant, associations were small. Moreover, even though pre-K attenders entered kindergarten with stronger academic skills, and these benefits diminished by the end of first grade, there was little evidence to suggest that school characteristics mattered differentially for pre-K attender and non-attenders.