| The purpose of this study was to determine if prekindergarten participation had an impact on third-grade student achievement, as measured by the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) Achievement Tests in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics considering gender, socioeconomic status, and race. To determine the impact of prekindergarten participation on student achievement, TCAP reading/language arts and mathematics number-correct scores of students who attended prekindergarten were compared to the TCAP reading/language arts and mathematics number-correct scores of students in the same school district who did not attend prekindergarten.;An independent-samples t test found no statistically difference in reading achievement between students who attended a prekindergarten program and students who did not and a statistically significant difference in mathematics achievement between students who attended a prekindergarten program and students who did not. Students who did not attend a prekindergarten program had significantly higher mathematics achievement scores. An analysis of variance procedure (ANOVA) was used to analyze data as a function of gender, socioeconomic status, and race. The findings revealed prekindergarten participation did not affect reading achievement, and reading achievement was affected by gender, socioeconomic status, and race. Females tended t have greater reading and mathematics achievement than males. High-SES students tended to have greater reading and mathematics achievement than low-SES students. There were also significant differences in third-grade TCAP reading and mathematics scores based on race. |
