Full-Day Kindergarten Effects on Later Academic Success

The purpose of this research was to investigate full-day kindergarten, as a means of improving later academic achievement. A total of 208 students who had continuous enrollment for three consecutive school years from a school district in southern California participated in the study. The sample contained 165 students who had attended the traditional half-day kindergarten program with 43 attending a hybrid all-day kindergarten program. All students were administered the California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) assessment and the California Achievement Test 6th Edition (CAT 6) survey exams. Using stepwise multiple regression, several independent variables were introduced into the regression equation to obtain a Prediction Model of Student Success. The English language arts and math scores of the California STAR Assessment were used as the dependent variable separately. A significant model was not developed. Using an independent-sample T Test procedure, comparing the two groups, was also preformed revealing that there were no significant differences in students who attended the all-day kindergarten program and students who attended a traditional kindergarten program.