Madison Pre-K Benefits Student Behavior And Literacy
January 2, 2018
Students enrolled in Madison's pre-K program showed improvements in literacy and behavioral skills compared to similar students not enrolled in the program, according to a recently published study.
This is the second study from the Madison Education Partnership, which is a research partnership between the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education and the Madison Metropolitan School District. The analysis focused on student kindergarten readiness, which was defined as literacy and behavioral skill. The behavior skills are measured through teacher reports in the first quarter of kindergarten.
Students from less advantaged homes benefited more from pre-K programs, according to the study. Eric Grodsky, UW-Madison professor and MEP co-director, said pre-K may help increase equity among students.
"Children who are African-American, who are from low income families whose parents didn’t attend or complete college seem to get fairly substantial benefits in their literacy skills from enrolling in 4K," he said. "While children who are more advantaged do just about as well if they’re in 4K or not."
