The impact of All Day Every Day kindergarten on performance on the Ohio fourth grade reading proficiency test

Schools in Ohio are working to find the most appropriate methods of providing interventions for students who may not or do not pass the state's fourth grade reading proficiency test or any of the exams under Ohio's Senate Bill 1 (2002). It is important for schools to utilize their minimal resources in the most effective manner for individual students. All Day Everyday (ADED) kindergarten is one way schools are choosing to address the problem.; The current research study examined the 1999–2000 fourth grade reading proficiency test scores of each of Ohio's districts that offer ADED kindergarten and compared these scores to the state designated “similar districts” of each ADED district. Although 9 of the 20 ADED school districts had a higher percentage rate of students passing the fourth grade reading proficiency test in their district than in their non-ADED (NADED) similar districts, none of the differences were statistically significant. When all of the ADED kindergarten schools were compared as a group with the composite list of similar schools, there was no significant statistical difference in the test scores.; The ANCOVA tests measuring ADED kindergarten and NADED kindergarten performance on the fourth grade reading proficiency test indicated 3 districts had a statistical significant difference when controlled for one of five covariates: percentage of economically disadvantaged students within the district, median household income, transient population as reported by the percentage of students in the same school for less than half the year, annual spending per pupil on instruction, and per pupil annual spending on staff support such as teacher training and college courses.; The covariates themselves had a statistically significant effect in several situations. The percentage of economically disadvantaged students, as measured by the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch within the district, was statistically significant in 7 districts. The median household income was statistically significant in 3 districts and so was the percentage of students in the same school for less than half a year. Annual spending per pupil on instruction was statistically significant in one district.