Differences in STAR Early Literacy scores among kindergarteners by Head Start attendance

The purpose of this causal comparative study was to identify the statistically significant differences between STAR Early Literacy scores among kindergarteners who participated in Head Start and those who did not attend Head Start in one West Central Mississippi school district. For this study, the following differences were analyzed: (a) the statistically significant differences between the STAR Early Literacy scores of kindergarteners who did and did not attend Head Start and (b) the statistically significant differences between the STAR Early Literacy scores of kindergarteners who did and did not attend Head Start based on gender.;A total of 290 students' data from one school district in West Central Mississippi was used. In this study, there were 224 students who attended Head Start in Mississippi (48% males and 52% females). There. were 66 students who did not attend Head Start in Mississippi (61% males and 39% females). All of the students completed the three STAR Early Literacy Assessments.;Repeated Measures of ANOVA was the statistical procedure used to determine if there were statistically significant differences between STAR Early Literacy scores among kindergarteners who attended Head Start and those who did not attend Head Start. Variables analyzed included Head Start attendance, gender, and literacy scores among the sample population of kindergarteners who took the STAR Early Literacy Assessments during the 2013-2014 school year. Of the independent variables analyzed in this study, Head Start attendance was the strongest variable that affected kindergarteners' scores at each assessment period as measured by the STAR Early Literacy Assessment. Gender did not have an effect on kindergartners' literacy scores at each assessment period as measured by the STAR Early Literacy Assessments. The STAR Early Literacy Score reports were used for comparison purposes. The STAR Early Literacy Score report also indicated students' literacy classification level after each assessment period.;The findings of this study indicated that based on Head Start attendance, there were statistically significant differences in kindergarteners' scores at each assessment period as measured by the STAR Early Literacy Assessments. This study contributes to research that describes reading readiness, literacy scores, and literacy classification among kindergarteners by Head Start attendance.;Keywords: Head Start, Kindergarten, Literacy Scores, Reading Readiness.