THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A DISTRICT CREATED PRE-K

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A DISTRICT CREATED PRE-KINDERGARTEN
PROGRAM ON STUDENT GROWTH

A Doctoral Capstone Project
Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies and Research
Department of Education

In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirement for the Degree of
Doctor of Education

Stephen Paul Edwards
California University of Pennsylvania
July 2021

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A DISTRICT CREATED PRE-K

© Copyright by
Stephen P. Edwards
All Rights Reserved July 2021

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Acknowledgements
I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Ashley Constantine and Dr. Kevin
Lordon for their support, guidance, and feedback throughout the duration of this research
study. Furthermore, I would like to thank the teachers who participated in the research
study to provide additional data to support the study. Lastly, I would like to thank my
wife, Meggan, and my three girls, Azelia, Zinnia, and Magnolia for their patience and
support throughout the doctoral courses and research.

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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Chapter 1 (Introduction) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 2 (Literature Review) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Chapter 3 (Methodology) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Chapter 4 (Data and Analysis Results). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Chapter 5 (Conclusions and Remediation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Appendix A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Appendix B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Appendix C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Appendix D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
Appendix E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
Appendix F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127

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List of Figures
1. 2020-2021 pre-kindergarten budget overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2. Letter identification benchmark assessment results (upper and lower case) . . . . 57
3. Phonological awareness skills assessment results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
4. Phonological awareness skills categories cumulative results (November) . . . . . 59
5. Phonological awareness skills categories cumulative results (January) . . . . . . . 59
6. Fundations letter/keyword/sound assessment results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
7. Color identification benchmark assessment results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
8. Number identification benchmark assessment results (0-10 and 0-20) . . . . . . . 62
9. Rote counting benchmark assessment results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
10. One to one correspondence counting benchmark assessment results . . . . . . . . . 63
11. Identifying numbers and objects as more or less assessment results . . . . . . . . . . 64
12. Sorting objects assessment results (color, shape, size, other attribute) . . . . . . . . 65
13. Geometric shape identification assessment results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
14. Identifying positions of shapes using positional words (12 positional words) . . 66
15. STAR 360 early literacy scaled score comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
16. Percentage of students by STAR 360 literacy classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
17. Teacher perception of student mathematical readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
18. Teacher perception of student literacy readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
19. Pre-kindergarten literacy knowledge initial survey perception results . . . . . . . . .72
20. Pre-kindergarten literacy knowledge final survey perception results . . . . . . . . . .73

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Abstract
The onset of the Covid-19 global pandemic took the world by surprise in the spring of
2020. As the world rapidly changed and adapted to new health and safety measures,
school districts were left to decide how they would pivot instructionally, but also plan for
an uncertainty that the pandemic would bring from a financial standpoint. The potential
financial liability of the pandemic forced schools to make tough decisions on how to
continue into the 2021 year and balance yearly budgets. A newly created PreKindergarten program was launched at the start of the 2019-2020 school year, and was
nearly eliminated in order to cut costs for the upcoming school year. In the end the
school board agreed to continue the program in the 2020-2021 school year, but the fate of
the Pre-Kindergarten classroom and program would continue to be revisited for its
effectiveness in preparing students for kindergarten. The purpose of this research study is
to examine the effectiveness of the district created pre-kindergarten program by
examining the growth of student literacy and mathematics skills. Benchmark assessment
data was analyzed throughout the school year for pre-kindergarten students, as was the
STAR assessment data for students who had previously attended the pre-kindergarten
program and were currently enrolled in kindergarten within the district. Teachers also
participated in the study to provide qualitative data regarding the effectiveness of the
program in preparing students for kindergarten.

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Chapter 1
The creation of a public school district pre-kindergarten program was established
to provide incoming kindergarten students, from families who meet Federal Poverty
Level Guidelines, with more preparation prior to the start of their kindergarten school
year. Research has shown that students from families with lower socio-economic status
enter school less prepared and those who get off to a poor start rarely catch up (Fox
Chapel Area School District, 2020). Providing resources for early intervention is critical
to filling learning gaps that may exist upon entrance to kindergarten. Recent school
closures and budgetary setbacks have resulted in potential program cuts, including the
newly established pre-kindergarten program. Determining the effectiveness of the
program's ability to promote student growth and achievement is critical to the
continuation of the program moving forward.
Purpose of the Study
While the district’s pre-kindergarten program is housed at only one of the
district’s elementary schools, pre-kindergarten students from across the district are able to
join the program, depending on eligibility requirements. The preparation of incoming
kindergarten students directly affects each building within the district, and plays a role in
the decision making of each elementary principal, including the researcher who currently
serves as elementary principal in the school district. Determining the effectiveness of the
program's ability to promote student growth and achievement is critical to the
continuation of the program moving forward.

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Justification of the Study
Determining the effectiveness of the pre-kindergarten program and its role in
preparing the district’s youngest learners has a large impact on how the district will
provide early intervention resources through its Multi-Tiered System of Supports
(MTSS). With reading and mathematics being an essential part of all elementary
students’ programming, providing students with additional background knowledge in
reading and mathematics is a critical aspect of the district’s pre-kindergarten program.
The school district has faced ongoing budgetary scrutiny and restrictions, and
programs are being reviewed to determine their worth for continuation. The Fox Chapel
Area School District launched its pre-kindergarten program during the 2019-2020 school
year. Although it is only in its infancy, the program was part of a discussion to be
discontinued for the 2020-2021 school year following an anticipated budgetary deficit.
While the Pre-Kindergarten program was ultimately chosen to continue for the 20202021 school year, proving its value to the students and community is necessary to keep
the program operational. Research will help to determine the growth and achievement of
the students participating in the pre-kindergarten program in order to prove its value in
continuing the program in future years.
Budgetary Implications
The Fox Chapel Area pre-kindergarten currently holds an annual budget of $5,695
for supplies and curriculum-based materials. This does not include the costs of the yearly
pre-kindergarten teacher salary and a pre-kindergarten instructional assistant, which
equate to a combined salary of $158,053 for the 2020-2021 school year and $182,452 for
the 2021-2022 school year based on the experience of the instructors and the district’s

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collective bargaining agreements with the teacher and support staff unions. In addition,
the district must also consider the benefits packages of both employees which is a
combined $57,871 for the 2020-2021 school year and $60,163 for the 2021-2022 school
year. The overall budget for the district’s pre-k program is $221,619 for the 2020-2021
school year and $242,615 for the 2021-2022 school year. Burnette (2020) references the
economic impact that the Covid-19 pandemic will have on schools by stating,
Almost half of the nation’s 13,000 school districts may be forced to make the
deepest cuts to education spending in a generation—slashing programs and laying
off hundreds of thousands of administrators, teachers and other staff—to fend off
financial collapse brought on by the coronavirus. (p. 12)
While the deletion of the program would result in direct cost savings, it would
also require the shifting of staff or the potential for furloughs if there is not an existing
open position for the pre-kindergarten teacher and instructional assistant to assume.
Research Questions
1. What impact does a pre-kindergarten program have on a student's growth in
literacy skills based on district benchmarking assessments?
2. What impact does a pre-kindergarten program have on a student's growth in
mathematics skills based on district benchmarking assessments?
3. What are teacher perceptions of the district’s pre-kindergarten program in
providing students with foundational literacy and mathematics skills?
Summary
This study will utilize quantitative data in the form of district benchmarking
assessments in reading and mathematics, as well as qualitative data pertaining to teacher

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perceptions of the district provided pre-kindergarten program. The collection, review and
analysis of this data will be used in determining the overall effectiveness of the district’s
pre-kindergarten program and its overall need as a district offering to the community,
while also weighing the financial impact of retaining the program in its current state.
Covid-19 Statement
The project and researcher adhere to all of the district’s approved Covid-19
procedures. These procedures have been filed and approved at the state level. If any
changes are made to the Covid-19 safety procedures, the project will be modified
appropriately to meet all safety requirements. If the study needs to be revised due to
Covid-19 restrictions, a request for permission will be submitted to the Institutional
Review Board (IRB).

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Chapter 2
The Effectiveness of a District Created Pre-Kindergarten Program on Student
Growth: A Literature Review
In an effort to analyze the effectiveness of pre-kindergarten programs, the
researcher has compiled a number of educational resources to further analyze the effects
of preschool or pre-kindergarten programs. This literature review will examine the
history of early childhood education in the United States and how it has evolved into the
system that exists today. Furthermore, literature and research will be reviewed to
determine the outcomes and effects of literacy and mathematics on students who attend
pre-kindergarten and/or early childhood education programs. The literature review will
also examine the equity and availability of early education systems and how accessible it
is for students, specifically those from economically disadvantaged homes. Lasty,
literature will be reviewed to determine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on schools
within the United States.
These themes will then be used to determine the commonalities and differences
found within the research and provide context and considerations for the researcher as
he/she conducts his/her own research and gathers data to determine the overall
effectiveness of the public pre-kindergarten program that has faced potential elimination
due to budgetary deficits brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.
History of Pre-Kindergarten Programs
The development of pre-kindergarten education has a long history in the United
States and has evolved and transformed for centuries. While referred to as pre-

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kindergarten today, the history of such programs focuses mainly on students between the
ages of 4 and 6 years old (Bloch et al., 1989).
The earliest education of pre-kindergarten aged students can be traced back to the
17th century when children, 4 years and older, were taught to read through religious
scripture or bible readings. These lessons were less formal and were usually instructed
by village elders (Bloch et al., 1989). Public schools were created in early colonial times
and lasted through the mid-19th century. At that time schools focused on providing
education in moral character. Schools also focused on serving poor children who were
believed to not be proficient with such characteristics, while many wealthier children
tutored at home or were sent to private schools (Bloch et al., 1989).
Public schools, which included 4 year old students, became more prevalent in the
mid-19th century and were modeled off of British schooling programs, including the
Lancastrian Monitorial School and “infant schools” (Bloch, et al., 1989). The
Lancastrian Monitorial School approach was introduced in New York in the early 1800’s
by Joseph Lancaster who introduced a model in which large groups of students were in a
classroom and those that excelled taught those needing more assistance, which allowed
for teachers to better monitor the entire class (Encyclopedia.com, 2020).
Infant schools could be found in the United States in the 1820’s, and started as
Christian missions operated by charities and later morphed into preparatory schools for
wealthy families with a focus on reading (Prochner et al., 2015).
St. Louis was home to the first public school kindergarten, which was established
in 1873 as part of the St. Louis public schools led by Superintendent William H. Harris.

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Harris, who later became United States Superintendent of Public Education, argued that
4-year-olds fit into the public school system (Bloch et al., 1989).
As the country entered the 20th century, kindergarten classrooms were becoming
popular, typically servicing students between the ages of 4 and 6. This also brought more
of a push for reform within education. Some pushed for early education of students from
poor families, with a focus on public financing for 4-6 year old programs. Others pushed
to expand kindergarten as a sub primary class that would allow for students in urban
areas to catch up or fill gaps in order to allow them to enter first grade as a more
homogeneous group. The end of the century found that other kindergarten professionals
pushed for reform within kindergarten curriculums that would reflect new theories about
how students learn (Bloch et al., 1989).
Kindergarten programs were more readily available throughout the United States
within the mid-1920’s, with the argument that such programs had a large impact on
reading achievement thus calling for expansion of kindergarten programs. However, as
programs expanded the age of students enrolled began to change, with 5-year old’s being
the focus in kindergarten programs and 4-year old students being removed (Bloch et al.,
1989).
One of the major factors in removing 4-year-olds from kindergarten classrooms
was the establishment of nursery schools which serviced students between the ages of 1
and 5 years old (Bloch et al., 1989). The expansion of nursery schools and kindergarten
saw increased enrollment and popularity following the World War II baby boom by the
late 1940’s.

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However, the 1950’s saw a decrease in the number of 4-year-olds attending
kindergarten from programs that traditionally served 4-year students, separately from 5
year old students, and focused primarily on traditional play and socialization. There was
a greater need for space in order to serve 5-year old students, so many 4-year old
kindergarten programs were dissolved. Although some 4-year-olds were still included
and admitted to public kindergartens up until the mid 1960’s, this usually was only an
occurrence in areas where nursery schools were unavailable (Bloch et al., 1989).
The mid-1960’s also brought a focus to early childhood education with the
initiatives such as the War on Poverty and the Economic Poverty Act of 1964. Early
childhood education programs were considered a way to develop economically and
socially disadvantaged children through comprehensive educational, health and family
services (Cook et al., 2004, as cited in Winter & Kelly, 2008).
One of the key initiatives to surface in light of early education reform was the
Head Start Program. Winter and Kelly (2008) note the following about the development
of Head Start, “Head Start was one of the most notable outcomes of the War on Poverty
Act. This comprehensive model provided an array of social, health, and educational
services to young children and their families” (p. 261).
Head Start was designed to work with students for 6-8 weeks in the summer prior
to their start of elementary school to provide them with educational and social
experiences while providing health care and good nutrition for students (Zigler & Syfco,
2000). Throughout the country different Head Start models were created in order to
provide intensive educational programs to low income students (Winter & Kelly, 2008).
One of the more successful adaptations was the Carolina Abecedarian Project.

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Winter and Kelly explain the positive outcomes of the program by stating, “The dramatic
and sustained effects of the project have included higher cognitive scores through age 21
and better academic achievement in reading and math, compared to children not enrolled
in the program” (p. 261).
While the Carolina Abecedarian Project was a successful model of Head Start, the
quality of services provided by Head Start programs ranged in success and
accountability. It was not until 1975, 10 years following the start of the program, that the
development of Program Performance Standards were created for early childhood
education programs (Zigler & Styfco, 2000).
Further reform for early childhood education came in the early 1990’s as the
focus changed on how to improve previous Head Start models by developing an
expanded view of school readiness and how to improve it through the National Goals
Panel (Winter & Kelly, 2008). As noted by Winter & Kelly (2008):
School readiness was characterized as a multidimensional concept that
encompassed broader aspects of development beyond specific cognitive tasks and
literacy skills. Experts in the field agreed that programs aimed at helping children
achieve school success needed to address an array of factors, including motor
development, physical health, and dispositions toward learning. (p. 262)
Enrollment in many state run programs was brought to a halt after the 2008 financial
crisis, and attendance in Pre-K programs remained at approximately 1.2 million students
(Haslip, 2018).
Head Start still remains as one of the leading providers of early childhood
education in the United States, but many of these programs are only offered in a part-time

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or partial-year basis and coordinated with wrap around (full day) services to help working
parents (Magnuson et al., 2004).
Pre-kindergarten and early childhood education programs still remain in the
United States, with 43 states that are home to established state funded programs and
nearly one-third of all 4-year-olds in the country participating in them (Jung, 2018).
Furthermore, Jung (2018) notes that enrollment in state funded pre-k programs has nearly
doubled in the past 15 years and now reaches over 1.5 million students.
Effects on Mathematics Development in Pre-Kindergarten Programs
In considering the effects of the mathematical development of students within
Pre-Kindergarten programs, one must first look at how mathematics is currently
incorporated within such settings. Namkung et al. (2019) states the following regarding
the amount of mathematics instruction found in Pre-Kindergarten programs,
“Mathematics instruction rarely occurs at or prior to 3 or 4 years of age, and when it
does, it is often taught incidentally through play” (p. 89). The curriculums and
pedagogical approach for each early childhood education can look very different. While
some programs provide explicit instruction, others focus on play and socialization as the
primary source of mathematics instruction. Furthermore, when exposure to mathematics
is lacking or completely absent, it is often exacerbated even more within economically
disadvantaged families, who receive even less mathematical exposure or instruction both
at home and in preschool (Klein et al., 2008).
The quality of pre-kindergarten education can also be a key factor in determining
how effective mathematics education at an early age can be. Karademir and Akman
(2019) state, “ The form and quality of preschool math education affect the retention of

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math knowledge, learning of mathematical concepts, and development of math skills.
Therefore, preschool math education is also associated with students’ future
achievements or failures in math” (p. 209). Depending on the quality of the program,
some students may experience mathematical rich environments, while others receive little
experience, thus providing them with less experience and knowledge as they enter
kindergarten.
The quality of a preschool program can be assessed by its structure and process,
with the structure focusing on the education of instructors, size of the program, and
student/teacher ratio. Some programs focus more on student teacher interactions and
other place more priority on interactions amongst students (Yoshikawa et al., 2016).
While the quality of programs may vary in structure and process, Yoshikawa et al. (2016)
describe the success of the higher instructional quality schools in a recent study by
stating:
In a recent set of 14 randomized trials, preschool curriculums that focus on
specific child development skills that have a specific scope and sequence, and
were supported by high quality teacher professional development such as in
classroom coaching, have increased classroom quality and improved many child
outcomes. (p. 28)
Professional development and teacher education also plays a major role in
mathematics instruction within an early childhood education program. An emphasis on
teacher training is emphasized by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
(2013), which states, “Teacher education programs must include attention to the
mathematics component of early childhood programs, and continuing professional

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development opportunities should support high-quality mathematics education” (para. 4).
The lack of training and quality instruction is also noted by Morgan (2019):
One problem with American preschool programs is that they vary greatly in
quality. The most successful programs not only have personnel with the
appropriate qualifications but also include an evidence-based curriculum that is
well implemented. In addition, high-quality programs promote active but orderly
teaching and provide coaching for teachers to achieve the desired goals. (p.17)
Other research has found that preschool or pre-kindergarten programs with
instructional strategies that allow for inquiry-based learning, involve activities that allow
for active engagement and develop their own learning have helped to develop
mathematical skills (Karademir & Akman, 2019). Results from Karademir and Akman’s
study (2019) found that preschool students were able to demonstrate newly acquired math
skills following hands-on, inquiry-based instruction over those students who were
introduced to the same skills through more traditional instructional methods.
The amount, quality, and types of instruction all play a role in the overall effects
of mathematical developments of pre-kindergarten age students as they progress through
school. In a study of the impact of preschool mathematics on mathematics achievement
in later elementary school years, Watts et al. (2018) found that learning mathematics
during preschool did lead to improvements in mathematical skills and concepts later in
elementary school, but this was limited to the relationship between preschool to 5th
grade. The link between early preschool mathematics instruction and its effect on student
achievement, within upper-elementary grade levels, is difficult to determine due to the
numerous factors that could impact a students. These factors include the quality of

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instruction and knowledge of the teacher throughout a student’s elementary years (Watts
et al., 2018).
Other studies have focused on the effects of early mathematics intervention within
preschool or pre-kindergarten programs to determine their effectiveness of improving
mathematics skills. Namkung et al. (2019) found that students identified as having
mathematical difficulties at an early age were able to show growth and greater
acceleration of mathematics skills when provided with more informal instruction
compared to those students who already received informal mathematics instruction in
their school or at home.
However, it was also found that students with mathematical difficulties, who were
given mathematics reading instruction also showed growth, but not at a slower rate than
their typically developing peers, thus widening the achievement gap from a young age
(Namkung et al., 2019). This strengthens the argument that more needs to be done to
ensure equitable and quality mathematics programming in preschool and prekindergarten programs in order to close the gap between student mathematics growth and
achievement.
Overall the effects of early mathematics exposure and instruction play a major
role in the importance of a student’s development of methodical skills and concepts as
they grow. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (2013) states the following
regarding the importance of teaching mathematics for early childhood learners:
Young learners’ future understanding of mathematics requires an early foundation
based on a high-quality, challenging, and accessible mathematics education.
Young children in every setting should experience mathematics through effective,

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research-based curricula and teaching practices. Such practices in turn require that
teachers have the support of policies, organizational structures, and resources that
enable them to succeed in this challenging and important work. (para. 1)
Mathematics education within early childhood education has also experienced a
reform since the Obama administration dedicated $5 billion in funding for child care,
Head Start, and Early Head Start programs, which has driven many states to implement
mathematics at the preschool or pre-kindergarten level (Hachey, 2013). The push is now
to provide specific curricula and pathways for early mathematics learners with a focus on
building conceptual depth and understandings within mathematics (Hachey, 2013).
Research shows that preschool and pre-kindergarten programs need to have high
quality instruction, dedicated time for mathematics, and opportunities for both informal
and formal instruction to effectively reach students. Students who do not receive such
training begin their kindergarten year at a disadvantage and students from lower income
households are at an even greater disadvantage when they have not received quality
mathematics instruction prior to the start of kindergarten (Namkung et al., 2019).
Effects on Literacy Development in Pre-Kindergarten Programs
Since the dawn of pre-k programs in the United States, one of the main
components has always been developing student literacy. As early as the 17th century,
pre-kindergarten or 4 year old students learned to read through introductions to bible
study (Bloch, et al., 1989). As pre-kindergarten programs have evolved, so too has the
emphasis for literacy development and instruction. One of the major shifts in early child
education regarding literacy was the United States government’s “No Child Left Behind

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Act”, which placed a large emphasis on providing reading instruction for the nation’s
youngest students (Flippo, 2008).
In more recent years, a number of studies have been conducted to examine the
effects of pre-kindergarten literacy instruction on student development in prekindergarten programs. While every program is unique, servicing students from different
backgrounds, socio-economic status, and using a variety of different teaching methods
and curriculums, it is acknowledged that the early development of children (birth through
preschool) has an impact on students’ literacy and academic development (Flippo, 2008).
Examples of such impact are evident in programs such as Alabama’s First Class
Pre-K (FCPK) program, which was developed by the Alabama Department of Early
Childhood Education to provide a diverse delivery, voluntary, high quality, pre-k
program for 4-year old students (Preskitt et al., 2020). In a study of Alabama's FCPK
program, Preskitt et al. (2020) found that students who attended the program were
statistically more likely to be proficient in reading and math standardized tests in grades 3
through 7.
Furthermore, it was found that there was little evidence of fadeout or regression
among the students who attended the FCPK program well beyond the completion of the
program into later elementary and middle school grades (Preskitt et al., 2020). Preskitt et
al. (2020) attributed the success of students to the FCPK program by stating, “We suggest
that these benefits are related to the high quality standards and rigorous implementation
of Alabama’s FCPK” (p. 9).
In a study to determine the impacts of state funded preschool programs at
kindergarten entry, Jung (2018) found that pre-kindergarten participation was associated

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with positive effects on basic literacy skills at kindergarten entry, but small gains in
vocabulary skills. These findings are consistent with others who have found vocabulary
instruction at the pre-kindergarten level to be lacking. Newman & Dwyer (2009) state
the following regarding the emphasis on vocabulary instruction at the pre-kindergarten
level:
Given its substantial role in reading development and the significant vocabulary
gap prior to age 4, one would expect to find an emphasis on vocabulary early on,
especially in the preschool and primary grades years. Paradoxically, this appears
not to be the case. (p. 384)
While the impact of basic early literacy may be effective in future years, the
aforementioned research suggests that more needs to be done at the early childhood
education level to enhance the vocabulary of students in preparation for kindergarten and
elementary school.
Successful pre-kindergarten instruction is also reliant on the cohesiveness of
curriculum. In 2014, Massachusetts was one of 18 states that was awarded federal grant
money to expand upon their pre-kindergarten programing within the state, which they
used to provide public and private early childhood education programs with curricular
materials, professional development, and coaching (Bornfreund & Loewenberg, 2018).
A key focus of the initiative was developing a curriculum that was transferable
among multiple grade levels. The Boston Public School Department of Early Childhood
(DEC) had found that the disconnect between curriculums served as a barrier for success
when students moved from pre-kindergarten into primary elementary grade levels.
Bornfreund and Loewenberg (2018) state,

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DEC knew it needed to address the fact that the district’s successful K1 program
was largely disconnected from the instruction delivered in later grades. Aligned,
evidence-based P–3 curricula did not currently exist, so rather than piecing
together various curricula, the early childhood team began writing a new program
designed to build on the gains students made in K1 and ensure instructional
alignment as students entered K2. (p. 14)
Creating opportunities for teachers and students to build off knowledge from one year to
the next allowed for a transfer of understanding and better prepared students as they
progressed from a pre-kindergarten program to elementary school.
In addition to aligning curriculum, the way in which data is collected and shared
vertically from a pre-kindergarten program to an elementary school has also been studied.
Vertical data sharing allows for a transfer of data between the pre-k entity, whether it be
an in house public entity or a private pre-kindergarten center, and for educators to use
data to effectively gauge students’ prior knowledge as they enter kindergarten. In a
study of data collection and vertical data sharing between pre-kindergarten and
elementary school, Little et al., (2019) state the following:
Though county officials report that data is used for decision making by
themselves and teachers, we detected that the data available could be utilized to a
greater capacity. In order to realize this goal, the Local Education Agency (LEA)
need to focus on professionally developing their workforce, including teachers
and county-level officials, in data application or hire trained data analysts to
counsel and coach teachers on data use. (p.20)

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The United States is also home to more state-funded pre-kindergarten programs
run by school districts than privately or federally funded programs (Barnett et al., 2016,
as cited in Haslip, 2018). In a study focusing on the literacy development of students
who attended a public school district pre-kindergarten program, compared to students
who did not attend a pre-k program, Haslip (2018) found that students who did attend the
pre-k program began first grade reading nearly one full text level above students who
were not in a preschool group. Further emphasizing the importance of pre-kindergarten
literacy instruction, Haslip (2018) notes the following results from his study:
Children who attended Pre-K are at least risk for reading difficulty than the
children who did not attend any type of preschool. Children who did not attend
any type of preschool began first grade reading nearly one text level below the
expected benchmark. As a result, the no preschool group would have been placed
into below benchmark reading groups in their classrooms and qualified for
additional reading intervention more often than Pre-K attendees. (p. 12)
This shows the impact that mere attendance within a pre-kindergarten classroom can have
on a student’s literacy development prior to the start of kindergarten.
However, access and availability to preschool and early childhood education
programs, based on their location, has become a challenge for some families. It has been
found that there is inequity in attending such programs when students come from lower
income families and schools are not available in their communities (Fuller & Liang,
1996).
Literacy instruction in the pre-kindergarten programs has not only been a staple
from the start of their existence, but has also been found to be an important piece in

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19

providing students with important literacy development at a young age. However, critical
to the quality of any program is the preparation and training given to its instructors. As
such professional development and training is a key component to creating an effective
literacy program within preschool and early childhood learning programs. Effective
professional development includes knowledge- and practice-focused professional
development, resulting in knowledge for the educator as well as improved quality and
student outcomes (Zaslow et al., 2011, as cited in Waldron & McQueen, 2020).
The need for literacy development at the pre-kindergarten and early childhood
education level has been recognized for sustained success, as noted by the General
Education Leadership Network (2016), “Prekindergarten education has the potential to
improve “reading-by-third-grade” outcomes. Early childhood programs can also help to
address disparities in literacy achievement” (p.1).
While the success, quality and outcomes of different pre-kindergarten programs
may vary, overall the effects on literacy have been measured as successful based on the
previously mentioned studies. Torgesen (1998) expresses the need for early literacy
education and intervention:
The best solution to the problem of reading failure is to allocate resources for
early identification and prevention. It is a tragedy of the first order that while we
know clearly the costs of waiting too long, few school districts have in place a
mechanism to identify and help children before failure takes hold. (p. 32)
Servicing Students in Pre-Kindergarten
From the onset of pre-kindergarten programs or schools who provided educational
experiences for 4-year old students, many were established with the goal of educating the

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20

communities' neediest learners, specifically those students who came from families with
a lower socio-economic status. 4-year old programs were created in colonial America
during the 19th century with the goal of forming public schools to educate and to form
good moral character in poor children, based on the perception that these students were
lacking those particular skills based on their background and environment (Bloch et al.,
1989).
The late 19th century focused on educating those were poor, but also increasing
the role of mothers in the process (Rose, 2009). Rose (2009) states the following about
the pre-kindergarten reform that took place in the late 1890’s:
The managers of kindergarten and nursery programs shared the essential idea that
these schools for children would also teach women how to be better mothers,
through mother’s meetings, home visits, and involvement in the classroom. By
educating mothers, they believed, they would be helping to create families that
could climb out of poverty. (p. 223)
Furthermore, the mainstream adoption of public pre-kindergarten or 4-year old
classrooms were championed by philanthropists who had financed such programs
independently for poor children in urban areas (Bloch et al., 1989). One of the nation’s
largest movements to educate those believed to be the neediest based on the socioeconomic status came as part of the War on Poverty Act and the creation of Head Start,
which focused on the development of economically and socially disadvantaged children
through comprehensive educational, health, and family services (Winter & Kelley, 2008).
While Head Start put an emphasis on the inclusion of parents within their child’s
education, it also emphasized the employment of parents and community members within

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the program as a way of further supporting the community by providing a paying job
(Rose, 2009). However, the idea of providing career opportunity and development for
disadvantaged community members meant that some areas were hiring teachers that were
not trained or qualified to teach and a college degree and or teaching certification was not
required of Head Start’s teachers (Rose, 2009).
Zigler and Styfco (2000) describe how the ideas that framed Head Start were lost
in other reform efforts that eroded the quality of education within the program:
The lack of attention to quality over the years, including the lack of consistent
monitoring, resulted in an erosion of the value of services delivered. This
situation was exacerbated in the 1990s when a period of rapid expansion began. I
knew that many Head Start participants were not being served well, and I did not
want to see more of them served that way. (p. 70)
While the intent of programs like Head Start were designed to reach those that came from
less affluent families, the quality of this program and others has long been in question,
which has further expanded the gap between those with versus those without.
Magnuson et al. (2004) note the disproportion in pre-kindergarten enrollment for
families who are economically disadvantaged, “Not only are children from economically
disadvantaged families less likely to experience stimulating learning opportunities in their
home environments, they are also less likely to be enrolled in early education programs
and center-based child care” (p. 3).
Although programs like Head Start were started in the mid-1960's, equity and
access to quality education for those coming from underserved or low socio-economic
status families still remains. Program funding and quality of trained teachers continue to

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be a challenge in today’s early childhood education programs. While federal (ex. Head
Start) and public programs do exist to provide early childhood education, much of the
funding that comes for early childhood education centers is directly funded by families
and parents enrolling their students in programs, which can be a burden or deterrent for
low-income families (Scott et al., 2017). This means that families without financial
resources do not always have access to early child education, much less those deemed to
be of high quality.
Since the development of Head Start programs in the mid-1960’s, many programs
have struggled to find highly qualified educators for early childhood education programs,
a problem that continues to be a challenge. Scott et al. (2017) describe the requirements
and qualifications required for early child education programs and the inequities that
exist:
Early Head Start/Head Start programs require at least 50% of their workforce to
hold a bachelor’s degree, and Pre-K programs in 24 states require that all lead
teachers have a bachelor’s degree. However, in child care: 10 states have no
educational requirements for center-based lead teachers, and 23 states have no
requirements for regulated home-based providers. (p. 79)
The inequity of educational background requirements for employees within early
childhood education programs only exemplifies the disparity among programs. Terezakis
(2001), notes the following regarding the need for government funded Head Start
programs to service all families and communities, “ Head Start needs a structured
program resilient enough to work in widely different environments, from the Bronx to

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23

Appalachia; it needs clear objectives in guiding children and vesting their families with
the resources to continue to guide them” (para, 17).
With parent/family funding being a main source of funding for many of these
programs, the quality of education is often based on the cost of the program, which
creates a larger gap between students from affluent families and those from low income
families (Winter & Kelley, 2008). Morgan (2019) states the following about the inequity
in quality pre-kindergarten availability:
Wealthier parents are much more likely to place their children in higher quality
preschool programs because they can afford to pay for the private programs they
choose. However, low-income families have no choice but to send their children
to state or federally funded programs if they are available in their area. These
programs can vary greatly in quality. (p. 18)
Other studies have represented the availability of early childhood education or
preschool programs based on their location. In a study to observe the inequity of
preschool access for families, Fuller and Liang (1996) found the following:
First, availability is lower in many working class and middle-income
communities. This includes families that have difficulty paying private preschool
fees and usually cannot benefit from subsidies. Preschool availability remains
greatest in the richest communities. Second, more highly educated parents
demand and are more likely to find preschools in their communities, even after
taking into account modest family-income effects. Third, local areas with greater
shares of single-parent families display lower levels of preschool availability,
after taking into account the positive effect of welfare benefits. (p. 45)

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While the quality of educational access was already in question, so too is the access to
preschool programs as a whole.
The creation and development of pre-kindergarten, preschool, and early childhood
education programs has greatly expanded and grown since their first introduction in the
18th century. There has long been a focus on educating those from poor or low-income
families, but these problems still remain at the forefront of improving the nation's early
childhood education opportunities for all students. There is a call for further funding for
these programs, an emphasis on quality of instruction through education of employees
and use of research-based curriculums, as well as access to high quality programs for all
students (Morgan, 2019).
Effects of the Pandemic on School Budgets
The impact the Covid-19 pandemic will have on school districts may take years to
fully understand. However, at this point the effects of the national, state, and local
closures have already had an impact on local school districts.
School district revenues are tied directly to funding from federal, state, and local
taxes. Within Pennsylvania, a vast majority of public school districts rely heavily on
their local tax revenue to support a majority of their budget.
Pennsylvania relies on local millage rates to determine tax contributions within
each local school district. Millage rates are used in the state of Pennsylvania to determine
the amount of property or local tax that a homeowner must pay to their local school
district (Kagan, 2020). One mill is equal to one one-thousandth of a dollar—or $1 for
every $1,000—of property value. Millage rates are set by school districts and are
calculated based on the tax assessed value of a home (Kagan, 2020). As part of Act 1 of

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2006, Pennsylvania sets a base tax index rate for school districts to abide by. The index
is the average of the percentage increase in the Statewide average weekly wage and the
Employment Cost Index (Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2019).
Local school districts’ reliance on local tax revenue could cause budgetary
shortfalls in the near future. The rise in unemployment rates during the pandemic could
be a sign that districts may not receive the local tax revenue they typically rely on.
The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic were seen as early as the spring of 2020 as
the pandemic spread throughout the nation and world. At the time, many school districts
were just beginning to set their budgets for the 2020-2021 school year and were faced
with challenging financial forecasts. Burnette II (2020) explains the financial challenges
districts were facing as the onset of the pandemic hit the United States,
Almost half of the nation’s 13,000 school districts may be forced to make the
deepest cuts to education spending in a generation—slashing programs and laying
off hundreds of thousands of administrators, teachers and other staff—to fend off
financial collapse brought on by the coronavirus. (p. 12)
Schools are also finding increased budget costs, due to the many social distancing
guidelines that are in place for schools, and in order to provide students instruction both
in person and/or remotely. Baker et al. (2020) state:
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, public schools will likely experience even
greater revenue losses in the coming years than they did during the Great
Recession. Further, it appears that safely reopening schools in the fall of 2020 will
itself be costly. (p. 9)

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The pandemic has created new and costly needs for school districts to maintain
instruction for students. This includes an increase in staff members to keep class
numbers lower, an increase in demand for cleaning and sanitization products for staff
members, more reliance on substitutes for staff members that are sick, and increased
hours to maintain facilities and provide meals for the students and public. Schools have
also had to find ways to provide technology and internet access to all students in order to
provide equal access for all students (Baker et al., 2020).
The pandemic has also pushed families to reevaluate the way in which their
children will attend school and when they will attend school, which has resulted in the
changes to the number of students attending school. Some schools and districts have lost
students enrollments to private or cyber schools who could offer different programming,
fully virtual or more in-person instruction. The loss of students to other schools can
directly result in a loss of revenue.
As school districts’ opened their doors for the start of the 2020-2021 school year,
there were many unknowns, including how they would fund additional costs when
federal relief money had been exhausted. Burnette II (2020) states the following in
regards to school districts' reliance on federal support to supplement their budgets while
opening schools during the pandemic:
The congressional delay in passing new aid legislation is having real-life impact
close to the ground. Any new congressional aid would be funneled to lowincome districts across the country, which are heavily reliant on state sales and
income tax revenue that has been wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic. (p. 13)

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27

Awaiting additional funding has resulted in many districts diving further into their
original 2020 budget much earlier than expected, and with more spending the fear of
further deficits for the upcoming 2021 budget season looms for many school districts
across the nation (Burnette II, 2020).
While many districts will face budgetary restrictions and deficits as a result of the
pandemic, tough decisions regarding what to eliminate will need to be considered. In
regards to the effects of budget implications on preschool or pre-kindergarten programs,
Barnett (2008) states:
Increasing public investment in effective preschool education programs for all
children can produce substantial educational, social, and economic benefits. State
and local pre-K programs with high standards have been the most effective, and
such programs need not be provided by public schools. (p. 20)
Conclusion and Synthesis
The evolution of pre-kindergarten programs within the United States has greatly
morphed its role and purpose since the 18th century. From the early days of religiousbased privatized learning, pre-kindergarten programs have evolved into federal, state, and
privately funded learning institutions. While many federal and public programs continue
to push for providing services for those who are economically or socially disadvantaged,
there has also been a push for additional education for pre-kindergarten programs with
enrollment in pre-kindergarten programs doubling in the last 15 years to service more
than 1.5 million children in the United States (Jung, 2018).
Despite the existence of pre-kindergarten programs spanning back decades within
the country, many of the same issues and questions continue to remain. Pre-kindergarten

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28

programs have long focused on providing for the neediest learners or those who come
from low income families, but this still remains a focal point of the federal government,
despite the creation of federal programs like Head Start.
An examination of the quality of pre-kindergarten programs has provided
differing results from one program to the next. Numerous factors can play a role in the
quality of a program, such as teacher education, group size, student-teacher ratio,
interactions between teachers, and interactions among peers. These factors can help to
create a learning environment of higher or lesser quality, which can be attributed to
student gains (Yoshikawa et al., 2016).
Quality of pre-kindergarten and early childhood instruction continues to vary
from state to state and program to program. While strides have been made to require
more rigorous standards for learning and requirements for health and education, the
choice in curriculums and beliefs about the needs of pre-kindergarten students still varies
across programs (Winter & Kelly, 2008).
The ability to hire and retain teachers within pre-kindergarten programs has also
been shown to vary by programs, as program requirements, including Head Start, have
different education and background requirements for their teachers. Many early
childhood programs within the country still don’t require a degree in education for their
instructors. While socialization and social skills are still a mainstay within most prekindergarten programs there has been a major shift and focus on the instruction and
curriculum that occurs within pre-kindergarten programs. In particular, the development
of reading and mathematics skills at an early age have been found to provide students
with an advantage over those who did not attend such programs, citing the positive

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29

effects in both basic literacy and mathematics skills upon entry to kindergarten (Jung,
2018).
Based on a study examining the effects of pre-school one year prior to entry into
kindergarten, Magnuson et al. (2004) found the following, “Children in center-based
preschool programs in the year prior to school entry have better reading and math skills,
and this advantage persists through the spring of first grade. These children were also less
likely to repeat kindergarten” (p. 18). However, there is still uncertainty to which degree
pre-k programs or early childhood programs affect a student’s growth and achievement
throughout the duration of their educational experience.
As previously noted, the quality of instruction within both literacy and
mathematics is critical to assessing the benefits that such programs have on instruction.
While some programs employ rigorous instruction and focus on academic subjects like
mathematics and literacy, these subjects take a backseat to socialization within some
programs. The philosophy of specific teachers or programs has an impact on the
experience that students will receive regarding play, socialization, literacy, and
mathematics.
Efforts to sustain quality pre-kindergarten programs rely on the implementation of
strategic plans that allow for a flow of curriculum from pre-k through a student’s
elementary school years. Bornfreund and Loewenberg (2018) describe the success of the
pre-k program with the Boston Public Schools (BPS) by stating,
The BPS Department of Early Childhood has made slow, deliberate progress
toward providing not just high-quality pre-K, but also following it up with
kindergarten, first, and second grade. Recognizing that pre-K is no inoculation

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30

against future struggles and what follows pre-K matters. The department is
pushing up early childhood education practices that are so needed — but not often
seen — into kindergarten and the early elementary grades. (pp. 28-29)
Pre-kindergarten programs benefit most when a clear vision is in place, curriculum is
aligned, and professional development is provided for teachers with opportunities to learn
and grow along with the curriculum (Bornfreund & Loewenberg, 2018).
There has also been a call to better improve access and equity to high quality
preschool education for all families and communities. The inequities among programs or
access to programs remains a focus despite efforts of federal Head Start programs and the
War on Poverty Act in the mid 1960’s. Barnett (2008) references the importance of
quality programming within his study of the lasting effects of preschool education on
students:
Regarding how children should be served, it is clear that all programs do not
produce the same gains. Current child care policies and programs do not provide
services of the educational intensity needed to produce substantial short-term
gains, much less long-term gains. (p.17)
A call for equitable high quality education for the nation’s youngest learners calls for
increases in funding for preschool education, requiring higher credentials and education
for teachers, implementation of research-based best practices and curriculums for
programs, and ensuring equitable access and availability to programs for all students
regardless of economic status (Morgan, 2019).
Throughout the years, many pre-kindergarten programs were established to
service those from low income families or in the early days they were simply deemed as

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31

students from poor families. The idea of educating students within this socio-economic
class was based on the principle that by providing those less fortunate financially with an
early start they could then close the gap between those with and those without. Although
the premise and intention is to improve the status of specific students and families, there
have been barriers that have held students from low-income households to advance
themselves.
One noted barrier is the lack of access for students from lower income families to
attend pre-kindergarten or early childhood programs. Students from areas of poverty do
not always have programs available to them, compared to affluent families, as the
physical number of programs is fewer (Fuller & Liang, 1996).
Pre-kindergarten schooling for students that come from economically
disadvantaged backgrounds shows lasting long-term benefits for students, but these
benefits can also be found in all students who attend a pre-kindergarten or preschool
programs, regardless of their socioeconomic status (Barnett, 2008). Hachey (2013) notes
the disparity in mathematics achievement for students who come from lower socioeconomic status families:
There is ample evidence that the deficits begin early. Prior to elementary school,
there are differences in mathematical achievement based on socio-economic
status (SES). In comparison to children from middle and upper SES backgrounds
in the United States, lower SES preschool children tend not to do as well on a
variety of mathematical tasks. (p. 425)
Other barriers include the overall quality of programs based on the funding
sources available. While state and federally funded programs are made available to

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32

students from low-income families, these programs do not always have the same quality
of teacher or curriculum as those that are privately funded or funded by local school
districts. Furthermore, many local school districts are unable to maintain the costs of
programs, thus resulting in the cutting of district funded pre-kindergarten or early
childhood education programs.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also created major hardships on many schools
throughout the nation. Many will and have faced budget deficits as more money needs to
be allocated for personal protection equipment, social distancing, online learning, school
personnel, and other costs associated with bringing students back to class in a safe and
secure manor, while also following the guidelines of the Center for Disease and Control
and state and local health departments (Baker et al., 2020).
In addition to extra costs associated with the pandemic, school districts’ must also
battle anticipated losses in revenue due to local income and sales taxes associated with
their yearly budgets. School districts who rely heavily on local revenues may not be able
to do so with an increase in unemployment and an inability for some individuals to
follow through on payment of their property taxes. When districts do face financial
hardships and deficits in their budgets, they must make hard decisions like eliminating
staff members, limiting program offerings, or raising taxes. With millage rate systems,
schools can opt to raise millage rates that are used to calculate how much homeowners
must pay to their local school district, but this action could prove to be highly unpopular
given the current financial hardships some families are currently facing (Kagan, 2020).
The schools most likely to suffer financially are those with student populations
that are heavily black, Latino and low-income. Many of these schools heavy rely on state

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33

aid, which is typically driven from oil prices and income tax. As a result, they have taken
a large hit since the onset of the pandemic (Burnette II, 2020). These are the same areas
and families who have already seen less opportunity to access high quality prekindergarten instruction, thus widening the gap between rich and poor.
The literature has given further insight to the history of pre-kindergarten and early
education programs and their effects of literacy and mathematics. In addition, the review
outlined how pre-kindergarten and early childhood programs have historically focused on
students from low-income families and how these services would otherwise not be
attainable. Lastly the review provided information regarding the fiscal effects that the
current Covid-19 pandemic has had on schools, and the potential effects in the future.
The literature reviewed will lead the researcher in the data collection and methodology of
the project outlined in the next chapter.

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Chapter 3
Methodology
This study will collect, review and analyze quantitative and qualitative data based
on the district provided pre-kindergarten program to determine its overall effectiveness in
preparing students for their kindergarten year. The purpose of the study is to determine if
the supporting data shows that the program is effectively preparing its students for their
kindergarten year, areas of strength and need within the program, opportunities for
improvement, and the financial implications of the program's future within the district.
The participants of the study and the setting where the research took place will be
described. The study will also be related to supporting literature, as reviewed in Chapter
2. Lastly, the research design, methods used, and data collection processes will also be
explained.
Purpose
The Fox Chapel Area School District created a district-based pre-kindergarten
program for the start of the 2019-202 school year in a supportive classroom environment
designed to maximize students’ academic learning, achievement and growth (Fox Chapel
Area School District, 2020). The program was created to support students from families
with no more than 300% of the federal poverty guidelines. While the program was
launched on schedule for the 2019-2020 school year, it was interrupted in March of 2019
by the global Covid-19 pandemic.
During the spring of the 2020 school year, the district was finalizing its 20202021 budget, while trying to balance a projected deficit. As a result, the district reviewed

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its spending and was considering the elimination of some programs, including the newly
launched pre-kindergarten program. While it was ultimately decided to continue the
program into the 2020-2021 school year, the program’s overall effectiveness in preparing
students for kindergarten and its financial impact on the district's overall budget will
continue to be reviewed. As the district works to create its preliminary proposed budget
for the 2020-2021 school year, an overall budgetary deficit is once again a reality, and
projections predict additional deficits in coming years. These realities of the budget once
again bring to light the hard decisions that the district must face in working to balance the
budget. This study will be used to determine the effectiveness of the pre-kindergarten
program regarding students’ reading and mathematics growth and achievement, while
also taking into account teacher perceptions of the program’s effectiveness.
Students attending pre-kindergarten programs have shown both positive shortterm and long-term effects across academic skills in both reading and mathematics
(Fischer et al., 2020). Other research has noted that developing mathematical concepts
for students at an early age is critical to their development, and students identified as
having mathematical difficulties at an early age have been found to show accelerated
growth when given instruction at an early age (Namkung et. al., 2019).
The goal of the study is to determine the effectiveness of the Fox Chapel Area
School District pre-kindergarten program by determining the improvement students
attending the pre-kindergarten program have made within specific skill areas in both
literacy and mathematics. Additionally, teachers' perspectives regarding the effectiveness
of the program will also be used to determine a qualitative data indicator within the study.

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36

The collection and analysis of this data will be used to help determine the overall
effectiveness of the program and its continuation as a district offered program.
The research will be guided by the following questions:
1. What impact does a pre-kindergarten program have on a student's growth in
literacy skills based on district benchmarking assessments?
2. What impact does a pre-kindergarten program have on a student's growth in
mathematics skills based on district benchmarking assessments?
3. What are teacher perceptions of the district’s pre-kindergarten program in
providing students with foundational literacy and mathematics skills?
Setting and Participants
The Fox Chapel Area School District is a suburban school located approximately
25-minutes from downtown Pittsburgh. The district consists of six municipalities which
include the boroughs of Aspinwall, Blawnox, Fox Chapel and Sharpsburg and the
townships of O’Hara and Indiana. There are six schools within the district including four
elementary buildings, a middle school, and a high school.
Currently the district enrollment is over 4,000 students, and approximately 21.3%
fall within the economically disadvantaged criteria (Future Ready PA Index, 2020). The
school district is nationally recognized for its high achievement. The district’s mission
states, “The Fox Chapel Area School District exists to maximize student learning,
achievement, and development” (Fox Chapel Area School District, 2020).
The research setting will take place in the Fox Chapel Area School District prekindergarten classroom, which is housed at Kerr Elementary School. Kerr Elementary is
home to approximately 400 students, with 42.4% of its student population identified as

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37

coming from economically disadvantaged households (PA Future Ready Index, 2020).
In 2018, ground broke for construction of a new Kerr Elementary, which was built on the
same property as the original Kerr Elementary Building. The construction of the building
was complete for the start of the 2019-2020 school year at a cost of approximately 21
million dollars (Fox Chapel Area School District, 2020).
The new Kerr Elementary School provided the district with more space that was
designed for new district initiatives, including a new Spanish Immersion Program and a
Pre-Kindergarten Program for the start of the 2019-2020 school year. The PreKindergarten program was designed as a 5-day a week program, which followed the
district calendar. The Fox Chapel Area School District (2020) cites the following
Pathways to Readiness for their students:
● Social-Emotional Development (self-awareness, self-regulation, social
competence, and social awareness)
● Oral Language Development (speaking and conversation, listening
comprehension, vocabulary, and sentence structure)
● Emergent Reading (concepts of print, phonological awareness, alphabet
knowledge, and comprehension)
● Emergent Writing (forming letters, writing conventions, and conveying meaning)
● Math Development (number sense, geometry and spatial sense, measurement, and
classification and patterns)
● Scientific Inquiry (ask, imagine, plan, create, improve)

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38

Students also receive breakfast and lunch as part of the program and receive instruction
from special area teachers in the areas of art, computer, library, music and physical
education.
The program also has specific guidelines in order for students to attend the
program. Students enrolling in the program must live within the district, must turn 4
before September 1st, and the family income of the student cannot be more than 300% of
the federal poverty guidelines. In addition, attending students must be toilet trained and
parents/guardians must be able to provide transportation for their student(s) (Fox Chapel
Area School District, 2019).
The classroom has one full time teacher and a full time instructional assistant.
The full time-teacher does all planning, preparation, and instruction with students and the
instructional assistant aids in these duties on a day to day basis. The pre-kindergarten
teacher has been with the district for 15+ years and this is her second school year within
the pre-kindergarten classroom. The instructional assistant is new to the district and to the
pre-kindergarten program.
The current budget for the Pre-Kindergarten program is $221,619 for the 20202021 school year. With 97% of the costs coming from personnel salaries and benefits.
Current salaries for the 2020-2021 school year are $158,053 and an additional $57,871
for benefits packages (Figure 1). The cost of materials and resources for the prekindergarten program is $5,695 (3%) for the 2020-2021 school year.

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39

Figure 1
2020-2021 Pre-Kindergarten Budget Overview
Materials & Resources
3%
Personnel Benefits
26%
Personnel Salaries
71%

Personnel Salaries

Personnel Benefits

Materials & Resources

Figure 1. The breakdown of the overall Pre-Kindergarten Budget for the 2020-2021 school year.

The class is currently composed of 20 pre-kindergarten students, ages 4 and 5,
from throughout the school district’s community. Class size is capped at 20 students and
a lottery is used to select students if there are more than 20 qualified applicants. Last
year’s pre-kindergarten class, the first year of the district’s program, also had a total of 20
students. Of the 20 former pre-kindergarten students, 19 of the 20 are now enrolled in a
kindergarten classroom at one of the four district elementary schools. The following
shows the current breakdown of students who attended last year’s pre-kindergarten
program and the elementary school they are currently enrolled in for the 2020-2021
school year:
● Fairview Elementary ~ 1 student
● Hartwood Elementary ~ 3 students
● Kerr Elementary ~ 9 students
● O’Hara Elementary ~ 6 students
● Not Attending Kindergarten ~ 1 student

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40

The pandemic has altered the start dates for some of these students, with 4 of the
20 students joining the program in October 2020. Since the start of the 2020-2021 school
year, the pre-kindergarten classroom has attended class within a hybrid teaching mode,
due to the pandemic. As a result, different cohorts of students attend class in person two
days a week and work remotely or virtually on the other three days. The district recently
changed the instructional model of the pre-kindergarten classroom to return to a 5-day in
person model starting on Monday, March 15th.
The participants within the research study include the pre-kindergarten teacher
and the instructional assistant, in addition to 5 other kindergarten teachers throughout the
school district who currently have a student in their classroom that attended the district’s
pre-kindergarten program during the 2019-2020 school year. All participants have
agreed to the Participant Consent Form which is available in the Appendix (Appendix I).
Research Plan
The growth and development of pre-kindergarten and early education programs in
the United States has continually focused on those students who are considered most at
risk, due to their family socio-economic status or coming from economically
disadvantaged homes, but the realization now is that all students need access to high
quality pre-kindergarten education regardless of their economic status (Morgan, 2019).
This district’s pre-kindergarten program was created to serve incoming
kindergarten students within the district that come from a targeted socio-economic sub
group. All applicants and participants in the district’s pre-kindergarten program come
from households with a family income less than 300% of the federal poverty guidelines.

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41

While many pre-kindergarten or early education programs have only offered on a
part-time or partial-year basis and are coordinated with wrap around (full day) services to
help working parents (Magnuson et al., 2004), the school district’s program utilizes the
same calendar as students attending grades K-12. Students attend school for more than
six hours, five days per week.
Literature suggests that there is not only a need for early childhood education
prior to kindergarten, but the instruction must be of high quality. They must also include
purposefully designed curriculums, professional development provided for teachers, and
curriculum and instructional approaches that mirror those being used in the primary
elementary grades (Bornfreund & Loewenberg, 2018).
Fox Chapel Area School District’s pre-kindergarten program was designed to
provide students with exposure to fundamental skills taught through curriculums used
within the primary and upper elementary grade levels. Specifically, the pre-kindergarten
program uses the pre-kindergarten editions of Fundations, Eureka Math, and Big Day for
Pre-K reading, which are all curriculums that align with those used in all of the district’s
elementary buildings.
The reviewed literature also emphasized the importance of quality educational
experiences within pre-kindergarten or early education programs in determining their
overall effectiveness. Preschool mathematics should encourage students to learn through
questioning, recognizing, and exploring their environment through a clear inquiry based
mathematical focus (Karademir & Akman, 2019). The National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics (2013) supports the implementation of curricular resources and program

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42

standards at the early childhood level through an engaging and encouraging environment
that supports mathematical thinking.
Quality of pre-kindergarten programs are not only measures on the process,
curriculum and instruction, but also the quality of structure, which refers to the teacher
education, class size, and other qualities that define the make-up of the program itself
(Yoshikawa et al., 2016). The structural quality factors can vary from one program to the
next, but the literature references the importance of teacher education and professional
development in making an impact on pre-kindergarten learners.
The pre-kindergarten teacher within the program being studied has received
continued professional development for using the district’s provided reading and
mathematics curriculums. In addition, the district provides all primary elementary
teachers with training in a district developed Primary Teacher Academy that focuses on
literacy instruction for students in pre-kindergarten through 2nd grade. The literature
notes that effective professional development includes knowledge- and practice-focused
professional development, resulting in knowledge for the educator as well as improved
quality and student outcomes (Zaslow et al., 2011, as cited in Waldron & McQueen,
2020).
The district’s pre-kindergarten program was considered for elimination as a result
of budget deficits in the 2020-2021 school year. The pandemic has brought even greater
uncertainty for school districts with many facing rising costs and possible budget cuts
(Baker et al., 2020). The looming budget deficit for the 2021-2022 school year may
result in additional program cuts within the Fox Chapel Area School District, and

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determining the value, worth, and effectiveness of each program, including the prekindergarten program, will need to be considered when making such decisions.
Research Design, Methods, and Data Collection
This research will be done utilizing a mixed methods approach. This method will
allow the researcher to collect and analyze quantitative data, regarding student growth,
throughout the school year, followed by the use of qualitative data derived from teacher
surveys to assist in explaining and interpreting the findings of the quantitative study.
Following approval of the Institutional Review Board (Appendix A) data was
collected using grade level benchmark assessments of students in the pre-kindergarten
program to measure their growth in literacy and mathematics skills using benchmark
assessments throughout the school year.
Data for each student in the Pre-Kindergarten program was monitored from the
start of the 2020-2021 school year to January of 2021, in both literacy and math, with
assessments being administered 2 to 3 times during this time span. Assessments were
performed in a one-on-one setting with a student and the pre-kindergarten teachers.
Directions were given orally to the students with different checkpoints for specific skills
being recorded into each student’s Pre-K Assessment Booklet (Appendix B).
Data from the Pre-K Assessment Booklets were then shared with the researcher,
omitting the names of students and providing each with a code (student #1, #2, etc.) in or
to ensure that all data remained anonymous. This data was then compiled into a
spreadsheet to determine the trends that may or may not exist within the data. The data
collected from the pre-kindergarten students was limited to the skills assessed and

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44

recorded in the Pre-K Assessment Booklet, as these are the only assessments used to
assess learning at the pre-kindergarten level.
The following skills are the literacy skills assessed and recorded with the Pre-K
Assessment Booklet for each student currently attending the district’s pre-kindergarten
program:
● Letter Identification - Administered in September, November & January
o Upper Case Letter Identification - Students are asked to identify specific
Upper Case Letters when shown (26 letters total).
o Lower Case Letter Identification - Students are asked to identify specific
Lower Case Letters when shown (28 letters total, a & g).
● Phonological Awareness - Administered in November & January
o Words in a sentence - Students must attend to, discriminate, remember,
and manipulate sounds at the sentence level (3 Points).
o Blend Syllables - Students must attend to, discriminate, remember, and
manipulate sounds at the syllable level (3 Points).
o Segment Syllables - Students must identify the number of syllables within
a given word (3 Points).
o Recognize Rhyme - Students must determine if two words rhyme when
presented to them orally (3 Points).
o Producing Rhyme - Students must produce a rhyming word when
presented with an initial word orally (3 Points).
o Isolate Initial Sounds - Students must attend to, discriminate, remember,
and manipulate sounds at the phoneme (sound) level (3 Points).

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o Blend Phonemes - Students must identify a word when provided with the
individual phonemes orally (3 Points).
o Identify Phonemes - Students must identify phonemes within an individual
word (3 Points).
● Letter-Keyword-Sound (Based on the Fundations Curriculum /Administered in
November & January) – Students must identify a given letter, its associated
keyword, and its sound (ex. a – apple - /a/) (26 Letters)
The following skills are the mathematics skills assessed and recorded with the
Pre-K Assessment Booklet for each student currently attending the district’s prekindergarten program:
● Colors and Patterns - Administered in September, November & January
o Students must identify a specific color when given (11 points)
● Measurement and Geometry - Administered in September, November & January
o Rote Counting - Student must count sequentially to 100 (100 possible
points)
o Identifies Numbers 0-10 – Students can identify a number when given (11
points).
o Identifies Numbers 0-20 – Students can identify a number when given (21
points).
o One to One Counting – Students use one to one correspondence when
counting specific objects ( 8 points).
o Identify More or Less – Students can identify if a given number is more or
less and a 2nd number given (6 points).

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o Sorting - Students must sort objects by color, size, shape, and one other
attribute (4 points).
o Shapes - Students must identify different geometric shapes (7 points).
o Position Words – Students must move objects to represent given position
words (ex. under, above, beside, etc.) (12 points).
The total number of points for each assessed skill were collected and placed into a
spreadsheet. All data was stored in a secured database within the Fox Chapel Area School
District.
The data from each student was then examined to determine specific trends within
individual skills and/or content areas (mathematics and literacy), specifically examining
if students were making growth within specific skills. These trends were then analyzed
to determine if specific students were showing more or less growth than others, and to
determine if any outliers existed within the group.
Furthermore, the data from the entire class was then compiled and analyzed
within specific skill and content area sub-sections. This was used to determine if there
were any trends among specific skills to determine areas of strength and or weakness
within the program.
In addition, the data of students currently in kindergarten that completed the prekindergarten program during the 2019-2020 school year will also be collected and
analyzed in comparison to other kindergarten students who did not attend the prekindergarten program. Specifically, the researcher utilized data from the STAR 360
Early Literacy assessment to record student growth during the months of September,
November, and February.

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47

The STAR 360 Early Literacy Assessment is a customized reading test for
students to take on a computer, and is designed for students in grades pre-kindergarten
through 2nd grade. STAR 360 Early Literacy Assessment is a computer adaptive test in
which the software selects items based on the student’s responses. Based on student
responses, the computer adapts the questions introduced and the software increases the
difficulty level of the next item. The Star Early Literacy Assessment consists of 27
questions and generally takes fewer than 15 minutes for the student to complete
(Renaissance Learning, 2017).
The STAR 360 Early Literacy Assessment presents students 27 questions which
pertain to the following foundational skills: Alphabetic principle, concept of word, visual
discrimination, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and early numeracy
(Renaissance Learning, 2020).
Upon completion, the assessment provides each student with a scaled score (SS)
used to report performance for all students on a consistent scale. This allows all scores
and results to be comparable using a common scale, which ranges from a SS of 300–900
(Renaissance Learning, 2017). The STAR 360 Early Literacy assessment also
categorizes the SS of each student into one of the following literacy classifications, based
on a student’s SS:
● Emergent Reader – Scaled Score of 300-674
● Transitional Reader – Scaled Score of 675 – 774
● Probable Reader – Scaled Score of 775 – 900 (Renaissance Learning, 2017)
The data was collected and compiled into a district secured spreadsheet and coded
to keep the anonymity of each individual student. The STAR 360 Early Literacy data

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48

will be used to determine the individual growth patterns of individual students who
previously attended the pre-kindergarten program in 2019-2020, and will also be
compared to the average scaled scores of other kindergarten students within the school
district to determine trends or outliers within the data.
Qualitative data was also collected within the research study and was based on
two perception surveys given at the start (September) and end (April) of the 2020-2021
school year to both pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teachers to gather their perceptions
on the effectiveness of the program. All surveys were approved by IRB and required
participants to agree to an informed consent letter (Appendix C). Surveys were
completed using a secured Google form survey and participants had the ability to
withdraw from the study at any point. Those participants that completed the Initial
Student Readiness Survey (Appendix D) were then asked to complete a Pre-Kindergarten
Mid-Year Interview(Appendix E) and a Final Student Readiness Survey (Appendix F),
which was also administered via Google form. Due to Covid-19 restrictions and district
policies, prohibiting in person meetings, the Pre-Kindergarten Mid-Year Interview was
offered in a Google Form, allowing participants to type their responses to each of the
interview questions.
The purpose of the Initial and Final Student Readiness Survey was to gain teacher
perceptions of the program regarding the readiness of kindergarten students entering their
classrooms and formerly attending the pre-kindergarten program during the 2019-2020
school year. Perception questions were presented to participants using rating and Likert
scales. Open-ended questions regarding overall perception, support and resources
needed, and proposed improvements were also asked of each participant.

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The first section of the Initial and Final Survey used rating scales of 1 through 5,
with 1 representing minimal knowledge of concepts and 5 meaning extensive knowledge
of concepts. Questions focused on the teacher's perception of student readiness in both
literacy and mathematics. The questions were as follows:
● How would you rate the readiness of incoming kindergarten students who
attended the pre-kindergarten program, based on their knowledge of mathematical
skills/concepts?
● How would you rate the readiness of incoming kindergarten students who
attended the pre-kindergarten program, based on their knowledge of literary
concepts?
The second section of the survey used a Likert Scale to gain perceptual opinions
on student readiness in mathematics and literacy compared to students who did not attend
the pre-kindergarten program. The questions were as following:
● How would you compare the readiness of students who attended the prekindergarten program versus those who did not regarding knowledge of
mathematics skills/concepts?
● How would you compare the readiness of students who attended the prekindergarten program versus those who did not regarding knowledge of literary
skills/concepts?
The final section of the Initial and Final Student Readiness survey focused on
qualitative perceptions that were asked using open-ended questions. The questions were
as follows:

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● What improvements would you recommend to help further the development of
students' literacy and mathematics skills within the district provided prekindergarten program?
● What additional support or resources are needed to further the development of the
pre-kindergarten program, in order to develop students' literacy and mathematics
skills?
● What is your overall perception of the effectiveness of the pre-kindergarten
program in preparing its students for Kindergarten?
● What other factors do you believe play a role in student readiness for
kindergarten? Do you feel that the district's pre-kindergarten program addresses
these factors? Explain how it does or does not.
This data was collected and compared for trends within each survey (Initial and
Final), but was also used to analyze commonalities and differences from the initial to
final survey. These same surveys were given to the pre-kindergarten teacher, but were
completed from the perspective of incoming pre-kindergarten students.
The Pre-Kindergarten Mid-Year interview administered to district teachers in
January/February to further gauge the perception of the teachers’ outlook of the prekindergarten program’s ability to provide students with the necessary literacy and
mathematics skills to enter kindergarten. Out of the 7 participants that completed the
Pre-Kindergarten initial survey, 6 teachers were willing to participate in the PreKindergarten Mid-Year interview. All questions within the Pre-Kindergarten Mid-Year
Interview were presented in an open ended format and were analyzed and compared for
trends.

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The questions asked in the Pre-Kindergarten Mid-Year interview were all
qualitative. There were a total of 6 questions asked during the interview, with 2 of the
questions only applying to the pre-kindergarten teacher. The 6 questions asked were as
follows:
● What do you believe are the most important skills that Pre-Kindergarten students
need to acquire in order to be successful in Kindergarten?
● Follow up question: How effective is the Fox Chapel Area’s Pre-Kindergarten
program at providing these skills?
● Last year the district piloted the Pre-Kindergarten program, what improvement(s),
if any, did you see in students' literacy and mathematics skills from the start of the
year to the end of the year? (For Pre-K instructors only. Type N/A if this does not
apply to you.)
● How would you compare your students’ academic growth in mathematics and
literacy at this point in the school year, compared to last year? (For Pre-K
instructors only. Type N/A if this does not apply to you.)
● What do you believe are the greatest strengths of the Fox Chapel Area PreKindergarten program?
● In what areas do you think the Fox Chapel Area Pre-Kindergarten program needs
to improve?
Validity
Construct validity was used in this study to compare data measures of similar
qualities to see how highly correlated the measures are. Considering that the impact or
effectiveness of a program can be subjective, with no specific measure, measurements of

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students skills in both literacy and mathematics were assessed for each individual student
over time to serve as a measurement of effectiveness.
Furthermore, criterion validity was used through the data collected from the
STAR 360 Early Literacy Assessment. STAR 360 utilizes criterion validity by
comparing student scores to state benchmarks for reading proficiency.
Face validity was used in this study when surveying teachers on their opinions of
the impact that the pre-kindergarten program has on students in literacy and mathematics.
The survey provides opinions-based qualitative data that will be used in correlation with
quantitative data, providing a criterion validity for the data collected.
Credibility within the study was enhanced through triangulation, using both
quantitative and qualitative data to determine correlation of results. Multiple forms of
data regarding the effects of the pre-kindergarten program were collected through teacher
surveys, district benchmark assessment, and STAR 360 Early Literacy assessment data.
The researcher ensures that data was carefully collected from reliable sources and
reviewed for accuracy. All data and information reported from the study was based on
analysis of the data.
All data was collected carefully, ensuring that all questions in the initial, midyear, and final teacher surveys were asked in the same way. All students who
participated in district benchmark skills assessments within a one-on-one setting with the
district pre-kindergarten teachers. Students were all asked the same questions and in the
same format for each of the benchmark assessments. Furthermore, all students were
given the STAR 360 Early Literacy assessment in consistent classroom environments,
with headphones provided and sound enabled.

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The goal of this research study was to determine the effectiveness of the program
in the areas of mathematics and literacy. The techniques used in this study were done
with a systematic approach, in which most, if not all, could be replicated and transferable
in other school systems or districts. All data sources could be replicated within other
schools, but the purchase of STAR 360 software would be necessary to replicate.
However, all other survey data and benchmark data could be collected without additional
purchases.
Data was collected from various sources throughout the study and all data was
double checked for errors. All data collection procedures were outlined and approved by
the Internal Review Board and all teacher participants agreed to the informed consent
statement, which was included at the start of all teacher completed surveys and the midyear interview. All kindergarten teachers were asked to complete the survey with
knowledge of students who attended the pre-kindergarten program the previous school
year. There is a possibility that some responses from teachers were given based on what
they believed to be the right answer, potentially masking their true beliefs, thoughts and
opinions. Further, teachers knowledge of the pre-kindergarten program, or lack of
knowledge, could also have altered their responses.
All student benchmark data was collected by the district’s pre-kindergarten
teacher and compiled within the student assessment booklets for each student and labeled
with a number. STAR data was generated by the software’s website and student data
was transferred to a data spreadsheet. This data was then transferred to a secured
spreadsheet, with no indication of student name or identification.

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This research will help to show how effective the district’s pre-kindergarten
program is in developing students' literacy and mathematics skills prior to entering
kindergarten. The study will help to determine the total gains students made in particular
literacy and mathematics skills, while also examining how students who previously
attended the program are faring in the kindergarten year, with regard to literacy and
mathematics. Further, the study will provide insight from teachers, gaining perspective
of their thoughts and opinions of the program.
Overall, this study can be used to help the district determine how effective the
newly adopted program has been in growing students literacy and mathematics skills and
aiding in the decision to continue the program. The researcher will utilize the outlined
data collection plan to look for trends and correlations among the different data sources,
which will be outlined through data as data analysis and results in the next chapter.

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Chapter 4
Data Analysis and Results
Data was collected for the research study within the following areas: prekindergarten literacy benchmark assessments, pre-kindergarten mathematics benchmark
assessment, kindergarten STAR assessment data, and teacher perspective surveys based
on the effectiveness of the pre-kindergarten program. Student assessment data was
gathered and analyzed, while also examining growth throughout the school year.
The following research questions guided the study:
● What impact does a pre-kindergarten program have on a student's growth in
literacy skills based on district benchmarking assessments?
● What impact does a pre-kindergarten program have on a student's growth in
mathematics skills based on district benchmarking assessments?
● What are teacher perceptions of the district’s pre-kindergarten program in
providing students with foundational literacy and mathematics skills?
Data Analysis
Throughout the data analysis of this study, statistical methods were utilized to
gain further insight to the guiding research questions. Based on the data collected, the
overall effectiveness of the program on students' growth in literacy and mathematics,
combined with teacher perceptions of the program, led to findings about the overall
effectiveness of the pre-kindergarten program.

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The research first examined the overall average improvement for each literacy
and mathematics skill, based on the benchmark data collected throughout the school year.
This was then presented as an average percent improvement for each skill area.
Data from the STAR benchmark assessment was then analyzed comparing the
data collected for students previously attending the pre-kindergarten program to peers
within the district’s kindergarten classrooms as well as the national averages generated by
the STAR Early Literacy Assessment. Data was also analyzed to show the growth of
each student who previously attended the program as they took the assessment
throughout the school year, between the months of September and February.
Lastly, teacher perception survey responses were analyzed for differences
between the initial and final surveys, while also including perception-based responses
from the mid-year survey.
Results
Students within the district’s pre-kindergarten class were given benchmark
assessments of specific literacy and mathematics skills 2-3 times during the school year.
In total, data was collected for all 20 students within the district’s current prekindergarten classrooms. However, there were 4 students who did not enter the program
until October and did not have baseline data for some of the assessed skills. Assessment
data was collected on 11 different literacy skills: lower case letter identification,
uppercase letter identification, phonological awareness (words in a sentence, blending
syllables, segmenting syllables, recognizing rhyme, producing rhyme, isolating initial
sounds, blending phonemes, & identifying phonemes), and identifying
letter/keyword/sound, based on the Fundations curriculum.

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The average number of letters students were able to identify, uppercase and
lowercase, was recorded during the months of September, November and January (Figure
2). The classroom average of lowercase letters identified, based on 28 letters, was
13.1%in January, 16.6% in November, and 21.8% in January. Overall, 7 of the 20
students were able to identify all 28 letters during the January assessment compared to 1
student during the September assessment.
Uppercase letter identification showed an average number of letters identified
(Figure 2), based on 26 letters, as 14.1% in September, 18.8% in November, and 21.9%
in February. There were 4 students in the class that were able to identify all 26 letters in
September and 12 students who were able to identify all 26 letters during the January
assessment.
Figure 2
Letter Identification (Classroom Averages)
January
21.9

November

LOWER CASE LETTER IDENTIFICATION

14.1

13.1

16.6

18.8

21.8

September

UPPER CASE LETTER IDENTIFICATION

Figure 2. The average number of letters identified on benchmark assessments.

Assessment data on phonological awareness was gathered during the months of
November and January. There were a total of 8 skills used to identify students' overall

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phonological awareness skills (words in a sentence, blending syllables, segmenting
syllables, recognizing rhyme, producing rhyme, isolating initial sounds, blending
phonemes, & identifying phonemes). The classroom average for each phonological skill
was recorded in November and January (Figure 3). All skills were assessed based on a 3
point assessment. Overall, the assessments yielded improved classroom averages from
November to January. The greatest improved average was in the skill area of recognizing
rhyme, which had a classroom average score of 1.1 in November and 2.3 in January.
Figure 3
Phonological Awareness Skills (Classroom Averages)
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1

0.5
0
Words in a
Sentence

Blending
Syllables

Segmenting Recognizing
Syllables
Rhyme
November

Producing
Isolating
Blending
Rhyme Initial Sounds Phonemes

Identifying
Phonemes

January

Figure 3. The average number correctly identified for 8 phonological awareness skills.

Data collected for all 8 of the phonological awareness skills is also recorded
cumulatively to measure a student’s overall phonological ability (Figure 4 & Figure 5).
Based on the cumulative scores of each of the 8 skills assessed during the different
benchmark assessments, students who answered 0-12 questions correctly are identified

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with the “Not Yet Secure” marker. Students with cumulative scores of 13-18 correct
answers are identified as “In Process”, and those with scores of 19-24 are considered
“Proficient”. Data shows that more students, 14 of 18 students (78%), are either “In
Process” or “Proficient” during the January assessment as compared to the November
assessment, 7 out of 18 students (39%).
Figure 4
Cumulative Phonological Awareness Skill Categories (November)

22%

17%

Not Yet Secure

61%

In Process

Proficient

Figure 4. The number of students falling within each identification category for proficiency in
phonological awareness skills during the November benchmark assessment.

Figure 5
Cumulative Phonological Awareness Skill Categories (January)

22%
45%
33%

Not Yet Secure

In Process

Proficient

Figure 5. The number of students falling within each identification category for proficiency in
phonological awareness skills during the January benchmark assessment.

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Cumulative data for each student was recorded during each benchmark assessment and
shows that there was an average class cumulative score for phonological awareness skills
of 11.9 out of 24 in November and 17.7/24 in January.
The final literacy skill assessed measured students’ abilities to identify letters, a
corresponding keyword and sound based on the school district’s adopted Fundations
curriculum (Figure 6). The classroom average of letter, keyword, and sound recognition
improved from an average of 14.38 in November and 18.89 in January.
Figure 6
Letter, Keyword, Sound Assessment

18.89473684

Average Number Correct

14.38888889

0

2

4

6
January

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

November

Figure 6. The average number of letter, keyword, and sounds correct out of 26 possible letters. Based on
the district adopted Fundations Curriculum.

The data collected for different literacy skills shows overall growth in each
skill/competency that was assessed for students during the various benchmarks
throughout the year. While the consistency of growth varies between students, the
overall average for each skill showed positive growth from initial to final assessments.

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Mathematics Benchmark results were also recorded throughout the school year.
Assessment data was collected for 9 different mathematics skills: color identification,
identifying numbers (0-10, identifying number (0-20), rote counting, one to one counting,
identifying more or less, sorting, shape identification, and position word recognition.
Students were assessed for recognition of 11 different colors in September,
November, and January. Figure 7 shows the average number of colors identified within
each benchmark assessment. Overall the classroom average for color identification was
10.52 in September and improved to 10.95 in January, with only one student who did not
correctly identify all colors (11) correctly.
Figure 7
Average Number of Colors Identified (11 Total Colors)
11
10.9
10.8
10.7
10.6

10.5
10.4
10.3
Average Number of Colors Identified
September

November

January

Figure 7. The average number of colors identified, out of 1, based on district benchmark assessments.

Students were also assessed on number identification in September, November,
and January. During this assessment students were given numbers that were not in
sequential order and asked to identify them. Students were assessed in recognizing

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numbers 0-10 and 0-20 (Figure 8). During the September benchmark, the classroom
averaged a total 7.15 numbers out of a possible 11 for numbers 0 through 10, and 3.15 for
numbers 0-20. These averages climbed to 10.15 for numbers 0-10 and 16.11 for numbers
0-20 by the month of January.
Figure 8
Average of Number Identified (0-10 and 0-20)
18
16
14

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
September

November
0-10

January
0-20

Figure 8. The average of numbers identified between 0-10 and 0-20.

Data was also collected to monitor students’ rote counting ability, with the goal
being for students to count as high as 100. Figure 9 shows the classroom average for rote
counting from the September, November, and January benchmarks. On average students
could count up to 27 in September, 31 in November, and 51in January. A total of 6
students (30%) could count to 100 during the January benchmark compared to 1 out of 20
students (5%) in September and 2 of 20 (10%) in November.

Figure 9

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Rote Counting
60
40

20
0
September

November

January

Rote Counting

Figure 9. Classroom average for Rote Counting up to 100.

Classroom averages on counting with one-to-one correspondence also showed an
increase during each benchmark assessment. Students were asked to count objects using
one to one correspondence, with a total of 8 questions (Figure 10). The classroom
average increased from 3.56 out of 8 in September to 7 out of 8 in January. There were a
total of 12 students who were able to answer all 8 questions correctly during the January
benchmark compared to 1 student in September.
Figure 10
One-to-one Correspondence Counting (Classroom Average)
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

0
Average Number Correct
September

November

January

Figure 10. Classroom average for one to one correspondence counting with a total of 8 questions / points.

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Students were also assessed in their ability to compare numbers or groups of
objects and identify them as more or less (Figure 11). There were a total of 6 questions
and 6 possible points. The September benchmark classroom average was less than 1
(0.84), but then rose to 3.05 during the November benchmark. The classroom average
increased again during the January Benchmark to 4.45 out of 6. Overall 5 students had
correctly identified more or less during the January benchmark compared to 1 in
September and 4 in November.
Figure 11
Identifying More or Less
5
4
3
2
1
0

Classroom Average (6 Possible Points)
September

November

January

Figure 11. Classroom average for identifying whether numbers or groups of objects are more or less.
Based on 6 questions with 6 possible points.

During the November and January benchmarks, students were assessed in their
ability to sort different objects based on color, shape, size, and an additional attribute of
their choice (Figure 12). Students were awarded a point for each sort that was correctly
executed for a total of 4 points. The September classroom average for sorting was 2.21
out of 4 and 2.78 out of 4 in January. One student was able to complete all 4 sorts
accurately in November, and 3 students were able to complete all sorts accurately in
January.

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Figure 12
Sorting Objects (Color, Shape, Size, and other Attributes)

Classroom Average (4 Possible Points)

0

0.5
January

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

November

Figure 12. Classroom average for identifying whether numbers or groups of objects are more or less.
Based on 6 questions with 6 possible points.

Another assessment that was given to students during the months of September,
November, and January assessed their ability to identify 7 different geometric shapes:
circle, triangle, oval, square, rectangle, rhombus, and hexagon. Figure 13 shows the
classroom average for shape identification grew from 1.95 in September to 6.1 in
January, with 13 of 20 students identifying all 7 shapes correctly during the January
assessment.
Figure 13
Geometric Shape Identification
8
6

4
2

0
Classroom Average (7 Total Points)
September

November

January

Figure 13. Classroom average for identifying 7 different geometric shapes.

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The final skill assessed on the mathematics benchmark assessment focused on
students' abilities to identify the position of objects using 12 different geometric or
positional words: in, out, under, up, next to, below, beside, above, in front of, behind,
first, and last. Students’ received one point for every positional word that was correctly
identified, for a total of 12 points. Students were able to identify an average of 10.94
positions in November and 11.42 positions during the January assessment (Figure 14).
Overall 15 out of 20 students (75%) were able to identify all 12 shapes during the January
Assessment.
Figure 14

Average Number of
Positions Identified (12
Points Total)

Identifying Positions of Objects

0

0.5

1

1.5

2
January

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

November

Figure 14. Classroom average for identifying 12 different geometric positions using positional words.

Similar to the results of the literacy skills assessed, the classroom average of each
mathematics skill assessed showed improvement from the initial to final assessment.
While growth was not consistent for each individual student, all classroom averages
showed positive growth from one assessment to the next.
Additional quantitative data was gathered from students who had previously
attended the pre-kindergarten program during the 2019-2020 school year. Data was
collected from the STAR Early Literacy benchmark assessments that were given to the

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students during their kindergarten year (2020-2021). The STAR 360 Early Literacy
Assessment presents students 27 questions which pertain to the following foundational
skills: Alphabetic principle, concept of word, visual discrimination, phonemic awareness,
phonics, vocabulary, and early numeracy (Renaissance Learning, 2020).
Upon completion, the assessment provides each student with a scaled score (SS)
used to report performance for all students on a consistent scale, which allows all scores
and results to be comparable using a common scale, which ranges from a SS of 300–900
(Renaissance Learning, 2017).
Data was collected for each of the 19 students that previously attended the prekindergarten program in the 2019-2020 school year to determine where students stood in
comparison to their grade level kindergarten peers that did not attend the program. Using
the Star 360 Early Literacy scaled score an average was calculated during the September
assessment administration for all kindergarten students enrolled in the district, which was
an average of 564 scaled score points. An average scaled score was then calculated for
those students who attended the pre-kindergarten program the previous year, which was
an average of 593 scaled score points (Figure 15). The students who previously attended
the pre-kindergarten program had an average scaled score that was 29 points higher than
the average for their grade level peers within the district. Furthermore, 9 out of 19 of the
students who previously attended the pre-kindergarten program had scaled scores higher
than the district average during the September benchmark assessment.

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Figure 15

STAR 360 Early Literacy Scaled Score Average

STAR 360 Scaled Score Averages

545

550

555

560

565

570

575

Pre-Kindergarten Cohort Scaled Score Average

580

585

590

595

600

District Scaled Score Avergae

Figure 15. Scaled score averages for district kindergarten students and students who previously attended
the district pre-kindergarten program.

The STAR 360 Early Literacy assessment also categorizes the SS of each student
into one of the following literacy classifications, based on a student’s SS:
● Emergent Reader – Scaled Score of 300-674
● Transitional Reader – Scaled Score of 675 – 774
● Probable Reader – Scaled Score of 775 – 900
(Renaissance Learning, 2017)
Figure 16 shows the breakdown of STAR 360 Early Literacy classifications during the
September 2020 assessment for each of the 19 kindergarten students who previously
attended the pre-kindergarten program in the 2019-2020 school year.

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Figure 16
Percentage of Students by STAR 360 Literacy Classification

10%
16%
74%

Emergent Reader (SS of 300-674)

Transitional Reader (SS of 675 - 774)

Probable Reader (SS of 775-900)

Figure 16. Percentage of students within each STAR 360 Early literacy assessment from the September
2020 benchmark assessment.

Teacher Perception Data
Teacher perception data was also collected during different points in the study to
gather feedback from the district’s pre-kindergarten teacher and any current kindergarten
teacher with students in their classroom that had previously attended the district’s prekindergarten program during the 2019-2020 school year.
Teachers were asked to complete an initial student readiness survey in September
of 2020 and a final student readiness survey in May of 2021. Both surveys asked
surveyors to respond to the same 7 questions (Appendix D & Appendix F).
The first question asked of teachers in both the initial and final student readiness
surveys stated: How would you rate the readiness of incoming kindergarten students who
attended the pre-kindergarten program, based on their knowledge of mathematical skills
and concepts?

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This question utilized a Likert scale to gauge teachers’ opinion on students' incoming
mathematical skills, with a 1 on the scale representing minimal knowledge of
mathematical concepts and 5 representing an extensive knowledge of mathematical
concepts. Overall, 57.1% of teacher respondents rated the incoming students with a 3 out
of 5 on the Likert scale and 42.9% of respondents rated their students with a 4 out of 5.
The same question was asked on the final student readiness survey and resulted in
different results. In the final survey 40% of teacher respondents rated their students
mathematical abilities with a 3 out of 5 compared to 60% who rated their students’
mathematics ability as a 4 out of 5 (Figure 17). Overall the perception of students’, who
previously attended the pre-kindergarten programs, knowledge of mathematics skills and
concepts increased from the initial to final survey. However, it should be noted that there
were fewer respondents for the final survey than the initial survey.
Figure 17

60%

0%

0%

0%

0%

40%

43%

57%
0%

0%

PERCENTAGE OF RESPONSES

Teacher Perceptions of Students’ Mathematical Readiness

Initial Survey

Final Survey

1

0%

0%

2

0%

0%

3

57%

40%

4

43%

60%

5

0%

0%

Figure 17. Teacher ratings of knowledge of mathematical skills and concepts for students who previously
attended the pre-kindergarten program in the 2019-2020 school year.

Teachers were also asked to use a Likert scale to rate students’ knowledge and skills of
literacy concepts: How would you rate the readiness of incoming kindergarten students

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who attended the pre-kindergarten program, based on their knowledge of mathematical
skills and concepts?
The question was asked during the initial and final student readiness surveys and utilized
a Likert scale to gauge with a 1 on the scale representing minimal knowledge of literacy
concepts and 5 representing an extensive knowledge of literacy concepts. Overall, 57.1%
of teacher respondents rated the incoming students with a 3 out of 5 on the Likert scale
and 42.9% of respondents rated their students with a 4 out of 5.
In the initial survey 28.6% of the respondents gave a rating of 3 out of 5 and
71.4% gave a rating of 4 out of 5 (Figure 18). On the final student readiness survey,
respondents rated students’ knowledge of literacy skills and concepts with a 3 out of 5
(40%) and 4 out of 5 (60%). Overall the perception of students’, who previously attended
the pre-kindergarten programs, knowledge of mathematics skills and concepts increased
from the initial to final survey. However, it should be noted that there were fewer
respondents for the final survey than the initial survey.
Figure 18

60%

0%

40%
0%

0%

0%

29%

1

0%

0%

PERCENTAGE OF RESPONSES

71%

Teacher Perceptions of Students’ Literacy Readiness

Initial Survey

Final Survey

0%

0%

2

0%

0%

3

29%

40%

4

71%

60%

5

0%

0%

Figure 18. Teacher ratings of knowledge of literacy skills and concepts for students who previously
attended the pre-kindergarten program in the 2019-2020 school year.

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Respondents were also asked to answer the following multiple choice question on
both the initial and final student readiness surveys: How would you compare the
readiness of students who attended the pre-kindergarten program versus those who did
not in regards to knowledge of literacy skills/concepts?
The results from the initial survey showed that 42.9 % of respondents believed
that students who attended the pre-kindergarten program are more prepared than their
kindergarten peers, another 42.9% responded that their students had the same preparation
as compared to their peers, 14.3% responded that they were unable to make the
comparison, and 0% of respondents felt that their students who attended the prekindergarten program were less prepared compared to their peers (Figure 19).
Figure 19
Pre-Kindergarten Literacy Knowledge (Initial Student Readiness Survey)

14%
43%
43%

Students who attended the Pre-Kindergarten
program have the same preparation as
compared to their peers.
Students who attended the Pre-Kindergarten
program are less prepared compared to their
peers.
Students who attended the Pre-Kindergarten
program are more prepared compared to
their peers.

Figure 19. Comparison of students, who attended the pre-kindergarten program, knowledge of literacy
skills/concepts compared to other students on the initial student readiness survey.

Results from the final student readiness survey showed different results for the
question: How would you compare the readiness of students who attended the prekindergarten program versus those who did not in regards to knowledge of literacy
skills/concepts?

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In the final student readiness survey, 100% of respondents responded that their students
had the same preparation as compared to their peers (Figure 20).
Figure 20
Pre-Kindergarten Literacy Knowledge (Final Student Readiness Survey)

100%

Students who attended the Pre-Kindergarten
program have the same preparation as
compared to their peers.
Students who attended the Pre-Kindergarten
program are less prepared compared to
their peers.
Students who attended the Pre-Kindergarten
program are more prepared compared to
their peers.
N/A ~ Unable to make this comparison.

Figure 20. Comparison of students, who attended the pre-kindergarten program, knowledge of literacy
skills/concepts compared to other students on the final student readiness survey.

The initial and final surveys also included four open ended questions that
respondents were asked to answer. Below is a summary of the response for each of the
open-ended questions:
What improvements would you recommend to help further the development of
students' literacy and mathematics skills within the district provided prekindergarten program?
Within the initial student readiness survey most respondents shared that the prekindergarten program appropriately prepared students for kindergarten by providing
instruction on foundational skills. In addition, respondents shared that recommendations
were hard to make given the school closure that occurred in the spring of 2020, which
interrupted the ending to the 2019-2020 school year in which the pre-kindergarten
program started.

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The responses to the final student readiness survey recommended the continued
use of district curriculum to teach foundational skills to students during their prekindergarten year. One respondent also shared a need to implement more manipulatives,
songs, and rhymes to help with development of literacy and mathematics skills. Another
respondent also recommended expanding the program to have one pre-kindergarten
classroom within each school.
The responses to this question show that respondents feel that the core curriculum
being delivered to students in the pre-kindergarten classroom is preparing students with
the necessary literacy and mathematics skills.
What additional supports or resources are needed to further the development of
the pre-kindergarten program, in order to develop students’ literacy and
mathematics skills?
Responses from the initial student readiness survey shared very few
recommendations for additional resources and supports, with 43% of the respondents not
indicating any additional needs. However, multiple responses emphasized a need to add
additional classrooms at each of the four elementary buildings in the district. Another
response recommended additional alignment to the district’s adopted Eureka math
program to provide more stabilization of curriculum.
The final student survey saw similar responses, with some stating that no
additional materials/resources were needed. Other suggestions called for the use of more
hands-on manipulatives and resources for students to utilize during math class, and others
called for additional classrooms to be added at all four elementary schools.

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Responses to this question varied, with the most common theme being to expand
the program to house a pre-kindergarten classroom at all four elementary buildings in the
district. However, the most common theme was that no additional resources were
needed.
What is your overall perception of the effectiveness of the pre-kindergarten
program in preparing students for Kindergarten?
The initial survey responses for this question were positive, but also shared that
more time and experience with the students was necessary before drawing any
conclusions. Others’ responses shared the value of the foundational skills that students
came with to kindergarten as a positive of the program.
The final student readiness survey provided responses that all endorsed the
program and its ability to prepare students for their kindergarten year. Responses stated
that the program provided students with confidence in literacy and mathematics skills that
otherwise may not have been present. Overall the perception of the program from the
initial and final survey was positive.
What other factors do you believe play a role in student readiness for
kindergarten? Do you feel that the district’s pre-kindergarten program addresses
these factors? Explain how it does or does not.
Responses from the initial student readiness survey shared the need for parent
involvement in the development of a student at an early age, and communication between
the school and home. Others also noted how the program has targeted students from low
income families, which provides them with opportunities that they may not otherwise
have. Another common theme was overall student readiness and their ability to acclimate

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to a school setting, especially if they have never experienced one. The final survey
included similar responses, but also included the challenge presented by the pandemic,
which had an effect on student attendance and how they attended class each day, virtually
or in person.
Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teachers were also asked to take part in a midyear interview, in which six open-ended questions were asked about the district’s prekindergarten program. The questions asked and a summary of responses is below:
1. What do you believe are the most important skills that pre-kindergarten
students need to acquire in order to be successful in kindergarten?
Responses to this question included the following themes:
● Socialization with peers, communication of needs, transitioning from home to school,
independence with everyday tasks (buttoning, zipping, toileting, feeding, etc.)
● Overall school readiness
● Motor skills ~ holding a pencil, cutting with scissors
● Letter identification, letter/sound correspondence, foundational phonics skills,
phonemic awareness
● Number recognition/identification, rote counting, one to one correspondence
2. Follow up question: How effective is the Fox Chapel Area Pre-Kindergarten
program at providing these skills?
Responses to this question were all positive ranging from effective to highly
effective. All feedback was positive from all respondents when questioned about the
effectiveness of the pre-kindergarten program.

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3. Last year the district piloted the Pre-Kindergarten program, what
improvement(s), if any, did you see in the students' literacy and mathematics
skills from the start of the year to the end of the year? (This question was for
pre-kindergarten instructors only).
Respondents noted the increase in student foundational literacy skills including
letter identification accuracy, letter-sound correspondence, phonological awareness skills,
and letter formation throughout the pilot year. Improvements in mathematical skills and
concepts were also noted. Specifically, improvements in rote counting, 1-1 counting,
patterning, and positional words skills were improved throughout the year.
4. How would you compare your students’ academic growth in mathematics and
literacy at this point in the school year, compared to last year? (For Pre-K
instructors only.)
The interviewees shared that this question was difficult to answer
considering the learning formats had changed due to the pandemic for the current school
year. Students were not consistently in the building this school year and at times were
joining remotely. This created a lack of consistency, which the instructors believed to be
evident in the behavior and social dynamic of the classroom.
5. What do you believe are the greatest strengths of the Fox Chapel Area PreKindergarten program?
Responses to this question included the following themes:
● Socialization skills
● Fine motor skills
● Exposure to district provided curriculums

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● Confidence in abilities
● Literacy and mathematics skills
● Develops student readiness for kindergarten
6. In what areas do you think the Fox Chapel Area Pre-Kindergarten program
needs to improve?
Respondents shared that the program could be improved by expanding to all four
elementary buildings within the school district, and expanding the eligibility
requirements beyond just low-income households. Other responses shared a need for the
program to be offered to all pre-kindergarten students within the district.
Discussion
1. What impact does a pre-kindergarten program have on a student's growth in
literacy skills based on district benchmarking assessments?
Data collected from the study revealed that students enrolled in the district’s prekindergarten plan made growth in all literacy skills/concepts that were assessed
throughout the school year, with classroom averages improving during each benchmark
assessment for all 11 skills and areas assessed (lower case letter identification, uppercase
letter identification, phonological awareness, and identifying letter/keyword/sound, based
on the Fundations curriculum).
Specific indicators for student proficiency within 8 phonological awareness skills
(words in a sentence, blending syllables, segmenting syllables, recognizing rhyme,
producing rhyme, isolating initial sounds, blending phonemes, & identifying phonemes),
showed that 8 students (44%) had proficiently mastered the skills by January. In
addition, 6 students (33%) were still in progress toward reaching mastery, while 4

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students (22%) were not progressing toward mastery by the January benchmark
assessment.
In addition, 9 students who previously attended the pre-kindergarten program in
the 2019-2020 school year started their kindergarten school year with a STAR 360 Early
Literacy scaled score that was higher than the district average scaled score of 564.
This quantitative data shows that the pre-kindergarten program was successful in
growing most students during their pre-kindergarten school year, in terms of literacy
skills, and preparing them for kindergarten based on their initial STAR 360 literacy
assessment.
2. What impact does a pre-kindergarten program have on a student's growth in
mathematics skills based on district benchmarking assessments?
Benchmark mathematics data collected for each student attending the prekindergarten program throughout the school year showed that the classroom average for
each of the 9 mathematics skills (color identification, identifying numbers (0-10),
identifying number (0-20), rote counting, one to one counting, identifying more or less,
sorting, shape identification, and position word recognition) grew during each
benchmark. It was also found that every student in the program showed growth within
each of the 9 individually assessed skills/concepts from the initial assessment to the
January assessment.
3. What are teacher perceptions of the district’s pre-kindergarten program in
providing students with foundational literacy and mathematics skills?
Teacher perception of the pre-kindergarten programs’ effectiveness in improving
student literacy skills was also favorable. Teachers shared that students were either more

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or similarly prepared for kindergarten based on their knowledge of literacy skills and
concepts. Responses to open ended questions also shared that students came to
kindergarten equipped with foundational literacy skills at the start of the school year.
Similar feedback was given regarding the program's ability to grow student
mathematics skills. Kindergarten teachers reported that students who attended the prekindergarten program came equally or more prepared than their grade level peers in
regards to mathematical skills including number recognition, rote counting, and one to
one correspondence.
Overall teacher feedback for improving the program was centered around an
expansion of the program to reach more students in the district. This included creating
more classrooms across each elementary building in the district and widening availability
beyond the current low-income family requirement that is in place.
Summary/Transition
The effectiveness of the district’s pre-kindergarten program in developing
students mathematics and literacy skills was a fundamental piece for creating the
program. Data and benchmark assessments were created specifically by the district in
order to monitor student growth throughout their pre-kindergarten school year. The
collected benchmark data shows classroom average growth in all reading and
mathematics skills and helps to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the program.
Some student data varied in the number of participants during the various
benchmark assessments. There were 4 students out of the 20 students in the prekindergarten classroom that did not begin the program until October, which resulted in
missing or incomplete data points for some of the assessments.

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In addition, teacher perception is a critical piece in continuing the district’s prekindergarten program. Creating buy-in among the staff and providing them with
opportunities to review data regarding program effectiveness will be critical to its success
moving forward.
Throughout the study the participation within the surveys and mid-year interview
varied. There were a total of 7 responses for the Initial Student Survey that was sent to
all kindergarten teachers, currently instructing a student that had previously attended the
pre-kindergarten program, and all pre-kindergarten teachers in the school district. The
Kindergarten Effectiveness Mid-Year Interview had 6 total participants, and there were 5
total participants for the Final Student Readiness Survey. The decrease of participants
resulted in less qualitative data to be analyzed and compared.
The next chapter will share conclusions and recommendations based on the
collected data. This information will help to guide the future of the pre-kindergarten
program moving forward.

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Chapter 5
Conclusions and Recommendations
This study was designed to determine the effectiveness of a district created prekindergarten program on student growth. Specifically, the study gathered data to
determine how effective the Fox Chapel Area School District pre-kindergarten program
was in growing pre-kindergarten students literacy and mathematics skills. The collection
and analysis of data from benchmark assessment data for current pre-kindergarten
students, STAR 360 Early Literacy assessment data from students formerly attending the
pre-kindergarten program, and teacher perception surveys and interviews were used to
help answer the study’s research questions:
1. What impact does a pre-kindergarten program have on a student's growth in
literacy skills based on district benchmarking assessments?
2. What impact does a pre-kindergarten program have on a student's growth in
mathematics skills based on district benchmarking assessments?
3. What are teacher perceptions of the district’s pre-kindergarten program in
providing students with foundational literacy and mathematics skills?
This chapter will address the conclusions from the study and how the data
collected was used to determine such results. Applications of the results will also be
discussed and how the study can help to guide the district’s pre-kindergarten program in
the future, as well as other pre-kindergarten programs. This includes the fiscal
implications that pertain to the study and conclusions and recommendations of the study.

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Future planning will also be discussed based on the results of the study and how
they can be used to determine the effectiveness of a pre-kindergarten program and
develop other programs to be effective in growing students literacy and mathematics
skills.
Conclusions
The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a district created
pre-kindergarten program in growing students literacy and mathematics skills. The
financial burden brought on by the Covid-19 resulted in budget uncertainties for many
school districts. The need for districts to allocate funds for personal protection
equipment, social distancing, online learning, school personnel, and other costs
associated with bringing students back to class in a safe and secure manner, resulted in
considerations for saving money in other areas (Baker et al., 2020). One consideration
for cost savings was the deletion of programs, including the Fox Chapel Area School
District’s pre-kindergarten program, which was in its first year of implementation. As a
result, programs were reviewed for their effectiveness in supporting student growth,
which led to this study’s focus. Ultimately, the district chose to keep its newly
established pre-kindergarten program, but studying the effectiveness of the program
would be necessary as more budget deficits are looming in coming years.
The study focused on growth of student literacy skills and was guided by the
following question: What impact does a pre-kindergarten program have on a student's
growth in literacy skills based on district benchmarking assessments? Collection of
benchmark data was collected for 11 different literacy skills: lower case letter
identification, uppercase letter identification, phonological awareness (words in a

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sentence, blending syllables, segmenting syllables, recognizing rhyme, producing rhyme,
isolating initial sounds, blending phonemes, & identifying phonemes), and identifying
letter/keyword/sound, based on the Fundations curriculum.
The development of early literacy skills within pre-kindergarten are critical
indicators of progress in learning to read during a student’s early elementary years.
Utilizing measures of word reading skill, and having assessment measures to gauge
student growth and development along the way, are essential to identifying specific needs
of individual students who are not making adequate progress (Torgesen, 1998).
As a result of the study, the district’s pre-kindergarten program was effective in
improving the overall classroom average in all 11 of the assessed literacy skills from the
initial benchmark assessment to the last recorded assessment. This positive growth
shows that the instruction and monitored progress led to overall growth in literacy skills
within the classroom.
Of the 11 skills assessed, 8 of them fell into the phonological awareness category,
which is a group of skills used to assess a student’s ability to identify individual letter
sounds or phonemes. Of the 8 phonological awareness skills assessed, 17 out of the 18
students assessed, in all areas, showed improvement from the initial benchmark
assessment to the final assessment. Based on the cumulative scores of each of the 8 skills
assessed (Figure 4) during the different benchmark assessments, students who answered
0-12 questions correctly are identified with the “Not Yet Secure” marker. Students with
cumulative scores with 13-18 correct answers are identified as “In Process”, and those
with scores of 19-24 are considered “Proficient”. During the November benchmark, 4 of
18 students were consider “Proficient”, 3 of 18 were “In Process”, and 11 of 18 were in

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the “Not Yet Secure” category for the 8 assessed phonological skills. During the January
benchmark (Figure 5) 8 of 18 students were consider “Proficient”, 6 of 18 were “In
Process”, and 4 of 18 were in the “Not Yet Secure” category for the 8 assessed
Phonological skills. Of the 4 remaining students in the “Not Yet Secure” category, 3
students had a score of 12, which was one below the “In Process” category.
These results are evidence that the district’s focus on the phonics-based
Fundations curriculum resulted in student growth for all but one student in the prekindergarten program further proving its effectiveness in developing students literacy
skills throughout the year.
Additional evidence of literacy growth was shown in students’ abilities to identify
upper and lower case letters. Research supports the development of letter and sound
recognition within pre-kindergarten classrooms as stated by the General Education
Leadership Network (2016), “Research suggests that we should set a benchmark of
children naming 18 upper case and 15 lower case letters by the end of pre-K10 and
should teach letter-sound associations, rather than letter names or sounds alone” (p. 3).
From the September benchmark assessment to the January benchmark
assessment, all students showed growth in their ability to identify upper case letters. By
the January assessment 12 out of the 20 students in the pre-kindergarten classroom could
identify all 26 upper case letters and the average number of upper case letters students
could identify rose to 21.9 out 26 compared to 14 out of 16 during the September
benchmark.
During the September benchmark assessment the classroom average for letter
identification was 13 letters out of a possible 28, with only 8 students attempting to

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identify. This classroom average rose to 21.75 out of 28 during the January assessment
with all 18 students showing improvement from their initial assessment.
The progress made by students in the identification of upper and lower case letter
sounds is evidence the instruction has been effective for students. Classroom averages
for both skills were well above the recommended benchmark for end of year
identification of letters (upper case letters – 18 / lower case letters -15) as recommended
by the General Education Leadership Network (2016).
In addition to identifying letters, students were also assessed in their abilities to
name corresponding letter sounds and keywords based on the Fundations curriculum.
During the initial November assessment, the classroom average was 14.38 out of 26
possible letters identified with their corresponding sounds and keyword. The classroom
average rose to 18.89 during the January assessment. Out of the 19 students assessed
within the pre-kindergarten class, 15 students showed growth in their ability to identify
specific letters along with their corresponding sounds and keywords. It should also be
noted that 2 of the 19 students maintained the same score between the November and
January assessments.
The progress within the Fundations-based letter, keyword, sound assessment is
significant in how it demonstrated growth for a majority of the classroom between
assessments, as well as growth in the overall classroom average for the skill. In addition,
this skill is directly linked to the district’s literacy curriculum in kindergarten, 1st, and
2nd grade. Providing students with the opportunity to learn and experience the
curriculum prior to entering kindergarten is an advantage that not all students have. The
cohesive alignment of curriculum between the pre-kindergarten literacy curriculum,

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Fundations, is recommended in providing students with exposure and experience, and
also allows for teachers to effectively communicate the needs of students from one year
to the next (Bornfreund & Loewenberg, 2018).
The study also examined the effectiveness of the pre-kindergarten program’s
literacy skills for students who had already completed the program during the 2019-2020
school year. Data from the STAR 360 Early Literacy assessment, given in September of
2020 for all former pre-kindergarten students and were now enrolled in one of the
district’s kindergarten classrooms, showed that 9 of the 19 students scored above the
district’s percentile rank average. Furthermore, 12 of the 19 former students scored in a
percentile rank above 50 on the STAR 360 benchmark assessment, and only 1 student
from the program scored below the 25th percentile. The district views scores above the
50th percentile rank to be in good standing, while those below the 50th need to be
monitored, and those below the 25th percentile are most likely in need of additional
intervention. This data shows that nearly half the students were performing similarly or
above their grade level peers at the start of kindergarten, and only 1 student from the
previous class is in need of additional supports.
The data and research suggests that the district’s pre-kindergarten program has
been effective in growing student literacy skills. The impact of the pre-kindergarten
program on students’ literacy skills resulted in positive growth for nearly all participating
students. With improved classroom averages for all skills between benchmark
assessments for all 11 literacy skills, the program can be deemed effective in its ability to
provide literacy instruction that results in improved literacy skill development. However,
it should also be noted that the data shows an overall class average improvement for all

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literacy skills, but some students are still in need of additional support and have not
exhibited growth in all skill areas. Based on the research and results from the district
benchmark assessments, one can conclude the district created pre-kindergarten program
positively impacts students’ literacy knowledge and skill development.
The study also examined the effects of mathematics based on the following
research question: What impact does a pre-kindergarten program have on a student's
growth in mathematics skills based on district benchmarking assessments?
Benchmark assessments were used to monitor student growth in 9 different
mathematics skill areas: color identification, identifying numbers (0-10, identifying
number (0-20), rote counting, one to one counting, identifying more or less, sorting,
shape identification, and position word recognition.
Similar to the literacy benchmark results, the data revealed that the classroom
average rose during each benchmark for each of the 9 assessed mathematics skills. In
addition, all students showed an increase in every skill assessed from the initial
assessment to the January assessment in all skill areas except for identifying positions.
Watts et al. (2017) state the following in regards to mathematical skill development in
pre-school or pre-kindergarten years, “Much of the correlational evidence linking early
and later mathematics ability is based on measures of early levels of math skills. Other
studies show strong associations between early gains in mathematical ability and later
success in school” (p. 540). The results reveal the pre-kindergarten program has a
positive impact on developing its students’ mathematics skills.
Overall, the mathematics benchmark assessment data collected for students
attending the pre-kindergarten program showed a positive impact on students’

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mathematics skills. The classroom averages for all skills assessed improved from the
initial benchmark assessment to the final assessment, demonstrating the program’s
effectiveness in growing students’ mathematics skills and knowledge.
The final question of the study focused on teacher perceptions of the district’s
pre-kindergarten program: What are teacher perceptions of the district’s PreKindergarten program in providing students with foundational literacy and mathematics
skills? Data collected from initial and final teacher perception surveys examining
effectiveness of the pre-kindergarten was favorable. Responses showed that teachers
believed that their students came to kindergarten with average to above average literacy
and mathematics skills both at the beginning and end of their kindergarten school year.
At the start of school year, 4 of the 7 teachers surveyed felt that their students who
had previously attended the pre-kindergarten program had an average knowledge of
mathematical concepts, and 3 out of 7 felt that their students had above average
mathematical skills. These number changed slightly by the end of the school year with 2
out 5 respondents sharing their students had average mathematical abilities and 3 out 4
stating that their students had above average abilities. Overall, both the initial and final
surveys showed that teachers believed that their students came to kindergarten with
average or above average mathematical skills.
Similar trends were found in respondents’ feelings about the knowledge of
literacy concepts for their students who had previously attended the pre-kindergarten
program. At the start of school year 4 of the 7 teachers surveyed felt that their students,
who had previously attended the pre-kindergarten program, had an average knowledge of
literacy concepts, and 3 out of 7 felt that their students had above average knowledge.

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These numbers changed slightly by the end of the school year with 2 out 5 respondents
sharing their students had average literacy knowledge and 3 out 4 stating that their
students had above average abilities.
Additional responses from a mid-year interview provided positive feedback in
favor of the program’s ability to provide students with the necessary reading and
mathematics skills necessary to enter kindergarten. Teachers also shared that along with
providing strong skill development in literacy and mathematics, students also developed
socialization, fine motor, and confidence in their abilities.
In response to questions comparing the readiness of kindergarten students who
had previously attended the pre-kindergarten program compared to their peers who had
not, teachers shared that their students entered the school year with either the same
preparation or more preparation than their peers. These results show further evidence
that the program was successful in preparing students for kindergarten, based on teacher
perception.
Teachers also provided perceptive feedback on recommendations for the program
moving forward, which provided further endorsement of the program’s instruction in
foundational skills and how these concepts needed to be continually reinforced within the
program. Another common theme was a call for an expansion to the program. Teachers
shared that providing more opportunities for additional students to participate in the
program would further student readiness and development upon entering kindergarten,
including adding an additional pre-kindergarten classroom at each building and
expanding the income-based requirements to allow for more students to attend.

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Teacher perceptions of the district’s pre-kindergarten program showed an
overwhelming support for not only continuing the program, but expanding it to reach
additional students within the district. The program’s ability to provide students with the
necessary foundational skills needed for kindergarten, while directly aligning to the
district’s curriculum, was considered a major strength of the program by all teachers.
Based on the assessment and perception data gathered, along with research
outlined in the review of literature, the district’s pre-kindergarten program has been
successful in growing student literacy and mathematics skills and abilities in order to
prepare them for the start of kindergarten. The data shows students are learning from the
program and that additional considerations need to be made in regards to continuing the
program in the future as well as a possible expansion of the program.
The use of benchmarking and monitoring student progress throughout the prekindergarten school year was a valuable source of data. Monitoring student growth
allows for teachers to adapt their instruction to better meet student needs, when keying in
on areas of strength and weakness. In addition, this data can then be used when students
enter kindergarten, providing an overview of what they have learned to this point and
areas of strength or need upon entering kindergarten. This data may not be available for
students who attended preschool or pre-kindergarten classrooms outside of the school
district.
Furthermore, the district’s pre-kindergarten program directly aligned its curricular
resources with those that are used in their elementary schools, which allows for students
to gain experience in the curriculums prior to entering kindergarten. The alignment of
curriculums also allows for consistency in scoring, grading, and transferrable data from

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one grade level to the next. Teachers can have informed discussion with one another
regarding areas of focus or need within the curriculum.
While considerations for expansion of the program may seem intriguing based in
the results of the study, careful consideration for budgetary restrictions must always be
weighed. The current pre-kindergarten program will cost the district a total of $221,619
for the 2021-2022 school year. While this cost reflects the higher end of personnel costs,
including salary and benefits, the district would conservatively need to budget between
$100,000 to $220,000 for any additional pre-kindergarten classrooms that would be
added. Furthermore, the expansion of the program may also increase a need for
transportation of students, which is currently the responsibility of the parent/guardians of
the students attending the program. If transportation was added, additional funds would
be required in order to transport students.
Further considerations may also be needed to gauge the other skill areas that are
not assessed as commonly as those recorded during the district’s literacy and
mathematics assessments. Research from the review of literature stressed the importance
of vocabulary development for pre-kindergarten and preschool learners. Neuman &
Dwyer (2009) state the following regarding the importance of vocabulary in prekindergarten or preschool year, “Given its substantial role in reading development and
the significant vocabulary gap prior to age 4, one would expect to find an emphasis on
vocabulary early on, especially in the preschool and primary grades years” (p. 384).
While this instruction does occur with the district’s pre-kindergarten classroom, further
examination into how vocabulary is assessed and monitored for growth should be
considered in the future.

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The final consideration is for the Fox Chapel Area School District to continue
with its pre-kindergarten program. Based on the students results, the program has shown
that it effectively grows students’ literacy and mathematics skills and knowledge,
preparing them for the start of the kindergarten school year. It is also recommended that
the district explore alternative ways to fund the program for expansion within the district.
The exploration of possible grant money could be advantageous in reducing or
supplementing costs in the future. While financial uncertainty still looms following the
Covid-19 pandemic, the district should continue to promote the program and its successes
and consider how to expand to reach more students in the future.
Limitations
The study was completed during the 2020-2021 school year, which occurred
during the global Covid-19 pandemic, which required schools to implement numerous
mitigation efforts to maintain health and safety standards. At the start of the school year,
the Fox Chapel Area School District utilized a hybrid instructional model for all of its
elementary students, including the pre-kindergarten classroom. The hybrid learning
format required half of the students in the pre-kindergarten classroom to attend school in
person on Mondays and Thursdays, while joining the classroom virtually on Tuesdays,
Wednesdays, and Fridays. The remaining students attended school in person on
Tuesdays and Fridays with Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday being virtual days.
Students in the pre-kindergarten participated in the hybrid instructional model until
March when all students returned to the classroom, in person, 5 days a week.
While the data collection from the study was not affected by the implementation
of the hybrid model, there are unknown instructional outcomes that may have impacted

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the results of the assessments. Teachers were required to instruct students both in-person
and online simultaneously, working to engage learners in both platforms. Some
challenges that arose from this model included the balancing of instructional platforms,
different instructional materials, technology issues, and an inability or challenge to gauge
student understanding when they were working virtually. The impact of these challenges
was not measured, but should be considered as a limitation of the study.
In addition, the data collected from former pre-kindergarten students that had
entered kindergarten was gathered using the STAR 360 Early Literacy assessment. This
data was used to make comparisons of readiness for students who had attended the prekindergarten program compared to their grade level peers that had not. However, the
Covid-19 pandemic also interrupted the pre-kindergarten classroom in the spring of 2020,
resulting in an asynchronous virtual instructional model. The Asynchronous model
consisted of teachers posting assignments to a website for students to complete
independently, without direct instruction from a teacher. The change in instructional
platforms may have caused learning loss for students, which could have altered their
incoming STAR 360 Early Literacy scores. However, there is no data to explain the
potential learning loss that may have occurred.
Baseline assessment data was gathered throughout the school year by the
researcher to monitor the progress of literacy and mathematics skill development for
students in the pre-kindergarten classroom. However, some students did not join the prekindergarten classroom until October, resulting in some missing data points at the start of
the school year. Data was missing for these students in the following skill areas: upper
and lower case letter identification, color identification, rote counting, and number

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identification. As a result, these students were not only missing benchmark assessment
data to monitor their progress, but may have also missed curricular instruction that
occurred prior to joining the program. This may have resulted in skewed growth or
classroom averages during different benchmark assessment windows.
Other key components of early childhood education and pre-kindergarten
programs include the involvement of families, community, social and emotional learning,
developing fine and gross motor skills, as well as other developmentally appropriate
skills. These components are all part of the district’s pre-kindergarten program, and can
also provide valuable insight into the effectiveness of a pre-kindergarten or preschool
program. However, this study’s view of effectiveness was limited to the growth of
literacy and mathematics knowledge and skills.
Recommendations for Future Research
After completing the action research the results and conclusions of the study have
led to recommendations for development of other pre-kindergarten programs and future
studies.
The reviewed research supports the development that high quality prekindergarten programs have on preparing students to enter kindergarten and elementary
school, especially those who come from low socio-economic households. As a result, it
is recommended that pre-kindergarten and early childhood education programs use
income-based requirements for admission into their programs. While this may limit the
number of potential applicants, it also provides opportunities for students who may not
otherwise have access preschool or pre-kindergarten programs.

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The continued use of progress monitoring through benchmark assessments is also
recommended for pre-kindergarten programs. Monitoring student growth of specific
reading and mathematics skills provides instructors with data to inform their instruction,
track progress, identify areas of need, and accurately plan instructions to most benefit
students. Benchmark data was critical in helping to determine the effectiveness of the
pre-kindergarten program within the study and could provide other programs with
measurable data to determine the effectiveness.
The study also examined students, who previously attended the pre-kindergarten
program, performance on the STAR 360 Early Literacy assessment at the start of their
kindergarten school year. This data helped compare students the literacy abilities of
students who attended the program versus those their peers. It is recommended that other
programs use similar benchmarking tools to compare student growth from year to the
next. For example, the STAR 360 Early Literacy could also be given to students at the
end of the pre-kindergarten school year in order to develop an understanding of their
abilities after a year of instruction. Data from this assessment could then be compared to
the STAR 360 Early Literacy assessment, given at the start of their kindergarten year, to
determine how much content knowledge was retained over the course of the summer.
The research and teacher perception responses also support the need for the prekindergarten and preschool programs to align their curriculums with those being
implemented within their associated schools or districts. The pre-kindergarten program
researched in the study utilizes the Fundations literacy program, Eureka Math, and the
Big Day for Pre-K reading program. Each of these programs is directly aligned to
curriculums being taught in the district elementary schools, providing students with early

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exposure to curriculum content and philosophies. Teachers also benefit from the
alignment, by knowing what instruction students have experienced prior to their arrival in
kindergarten.
Additional research is needed to examine the effectiveness of other areas of prekindergarten or preschool programs, including but not limited to involvement of families,
community, social and emotional learning, developing fine and gross motor skills. While
these areas were not examined in this study, research shows that all are important aspects
of early education programs.
Summary
Early childhood education and pre-kindergarten programs have continually
evolved since first being introduced in the United States in the early 1800’s. Today prekindergartens have become critical in preparing our nation’s youngest learners for
elementary school. While the focus of these programs is still debated by some, the need
for rigorous instruction is necessary to provide students will the literacy and mathematics
skills necessary to be successful learners.
This study examined the effectiveness of a district created pre-kindergarten
program on student growth. The results of the study show that through carefully
designed curriculums with rigorous instruction, students are able to show growth in both
literacy and mathematics skills and abilities. Consideration for the creation of new prekindergarten programs should consider the findings of this study, as well as areas of
learning necessary for child development at the early childhood education age.
While the preschool and pre-kindergarten programs are offered privately through
numerous institutions throughout the nation, further studies and examination into the

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implementation of district created and aligned pre-kindergarten programs are necessary
as an alternative way to instruct the nation’s youth.
This study examined the effectiveness a pre-kindergarten program can have on
student growth and content knowledge within the areas of literacy and mathematics. The
Fox Chapel Area School District’s pre-kindergarten program use of benchmark
assessments, aligned curriculums, and income-based requirements are all supported by
the reviewed literature and are proving to be effective in improving students’ literacy and
mathematics skills. There are still other areas that need to be examined for effectiveness,
such as social and emotional development, development of motor skills, and behavioral
data that could all be used to further examine the effectiveness of this or other programs.
The study has provided an overview for how pre-kindergarten and pre-school
programs can be monitored to determine their effectiveness in growing students’ content
knowledge. This study can be used as a framework for reviewing other programs, while
also emulating the successes found within this study.

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Appendix B

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Appendix C
Informed Consent Statement: Pre-Kindergarten Effectiveness Mid-Year Interview
The interview that is being conducted is part of a research study to determine the
Effectiveness of a District Created Pre-Kindergarten Program on Student Growth. The
purpose of this study is to help determine the effectiveness of the Fox Chapel Area
School District Pre- Kindergarten in growing its students in fundamental literacy and
mathematics skills. The benefits of this study will allow the district to make future
decisions for the improvement of the program in future years.
You are invited to participate in this interview because you are currently a PreKindergarten teacher or instructional assistant at Kerr Elementary and participated in
the initial student readiness survey given at the beginning of the research study. Your
participation in this study is to take part in a mid-year interview regarding your
perceptions of the Pre-Kindergarten program, and you will also be invited to complete
the post Student Readiness Survey in the spring (May 2021). However, the interview
poses minimal risk to participants and is completely voluntary and all information
collected will remain anonymous and confidential. If you choose to participate in the
interview, and the initial and post Student Readiness surveys, you may withdraw from
the research study at any time with no penalty. The time required to anticipate in the
interview is approximately 1 hour. If you choose to withdraw from the study and wish to
have your responses retracted, please contact the head research, Stephen Edwards. All
records and survey responses will remain confidential and kept in a secure location.
Interview responses will be kept and seen only by the researcher.
For information regarding the research being conducted or the rights of participants,
please contact the researcher, Stephen Edwards, or Faculty Advisor, Dr. Kevin Lordon.
Researcher Info:
Name: Stephen P. Edwards University: California University of PA Email:
edw7058@calu.edu
Phone Number: 412-963-9315
Faculty Advisor Info:
Name: Dr. Kevin Lordon
University: California University of PA Email: lordon@calu.edu
***If at any time the research study would be terminated, the Principal Investigator
would inform the participants of the termination, but such termination may occur
without the participant's consent. Further, the Principal Investigator will also inform the
participants of any significant findings during the duration of the study that may
influence their participation.
***All data will be stored in secured data bases within the Fox Chapel Area School
District.

The research study was Approved by the California University of Pennsylvania
Institutional Review Board. This approval is effective nn/nn/nn and expires
mm/mm/mm.

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I have read the Informed Consent Statement and understand that my participation in
the following survey is voluntary and all responses will remain anonymous and
confidential. Please place an “X” indicating your agreement to participate in the
research study.
● ____ I consent to participate in the research-based interview based on the
guidelines outlined within the Informed Consent Statement.
● ____ I do not consent to participate in the research-based interview based on
the guidelines outlined within the Informed Consent Statement.
_____________________________________ ______________ Signature Date
Pre-Kindergarten Effectiveness Mid-Year Interview
What do you believe are the most important skills that Pre-Kindergarten students need
to acquire in order to be successful in Kindergarten?
Follow up question: How effective is the Fox Chapel Area’s Pre-Kindergarten program at
providing these skills?
Last year the district piloted the Pre-Kindergarten program, what improvement did you
see in their literacy and mathematics skills from the start of the year to the end of the
year?
How would you compare your students’ academic growth in mathematics and literacy at
this point in the school year, compared to last year?
What do you believe are the greatest strengths of the Fox Chapel Area Pre-Kindergarten
program?
In what areas do you think the Fox Chapel Area Pre-Kindergarten program needs to
improve?

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Appendix D

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Appendix E

Pre-Kindergarten Effectiveness Mid-Year
Interview
Informed Consent Statement: Pre-Kindergarten Effectiveness Mid-Year Interview

The interview that is being conducted is part of a research study to determine the
Effectiveness of a District Created Pre-Kindergarten Program on Student Growth. The
purpose of this study is to help determine the effectiveness of the Fox Chapel Area School
District Pre-Kindergarten in growing its students in fundamental literacy and mathematics
skills. The benefits of this study will allow the district to make future decisions for the
improvement of the program in future years.
You are invited to participate in this interview because you are currently a Pre-Kindergarten
teacher or instructional assistant at Kerr Elementary and participated in the initial student
readiness survey given at the beginning of the research study. Your participation in this study
is to take part in a mid-year interview regarding your perceptions of the Pre-Kindergarten
program, and you will also be invited to complete the post Student Readiness Survey in the
spring (May 2021). However, the interview poses minimal risk to participants and is
completely voluntary and all information collected will remain anonymous and confidential.
If you choose to participate in the interview, and the initial and post Student Readiness
surveys, you may withdraw from the research study at any time with no penalty. The time
required to participate in the interview is approximately 1 hour. If you choose to withdraw
from the study and wish to have your responses retracted, please contact the head
researcher, Stephen Edwards. All records and survey responses will remain confidential and
kept in a secure location. Interview responses will be kept and seen only by the researcher.
For information regarding the research being conducted or the rights of participants, please
contact the researcher, Stephen Edwards, or Faculty Advisor, Dr. Kevin Lordon.
Researcher Info:
Name: Stephen P. Edwards
University: California University of PA
Email: edw7058@calu.edu
Phone Number: 412-963-9315
Faculty Advisor Info:
Name: Dr. Kevin Lordon
University: California University of PA
Email: lordon@calu.edu
***If at any time the research study would be terminated, the Principal Investigator would
inform the participants of the termination, but such termination may occur without the
participant's consent. Further, the Principal Investigator will also inform the participants of
any significant findings during the duration of the study that may influence their

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participation.
***All data will be stored in secured data bases within the Fox Chapel Area School District.
The research study was Approved by the California University of Pennsylvania Institutional
Review Board. This approval is effective 09/23/20 and expires 09/22/21.
Your email address will be recorded when you submit this form.
Not stephen_edwards@fcasd.edu? Switch account
* Required

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Appendix F

Final Student Readiness Survey
Informed Consent Statement: Pre-Kindergarten Effectiveness Survey

The following survey is part of a research study to determine the Effectiveness of a District
Created Pre-Kindergarten Program on Student Growth. The purpose of this study is to help
determine the effectiveness of the Fox Chapel Area School District Pre-Kindergarten in
growing its students in fundamental literacy and mathematics skills. The benefits of this
study will allow the district to make future decisions for the improvement of the program in
future years.
You are invited to participate in this survey because you are currently a Pre-Kindergarten
teacher or Kindergarten teacher of students who have previously attended the PreKindergarten program at Kerr Elementary. Your participation in this study is limited to the
completion of this survey, both at the beginning of the research project and at its conclusion,
and a mid-year interview. The initial survey will be given in the fall (September/October 2020)
and the post survey will be given to participants in the spring (May 2021). All participants
that take the initial survey will be invited to participate in a mid-year interview and a post
Student Readiness Survey in the spring. However, the survey poses minimal risk to
participants and is completely voluntary and all information collected will remain anonymous
and confidential. The estimated time to complete the Student Readiness survey is 30
minutes. Those who choose to participate in the surveys and interview may withdraw from
the research study at any time with no penalty. If you choose to withdraw from the study and
wish to have your responses retracted, please contact the head research, Stephen Edwards.
All records and survey responses will remain confidential and kept in a secure location.
Survey results will be kept and seen only by the researcher.
For information regarding the research being conducted or the rights of participants, please
contact the researcher, Stephen Edwards, or Faculty Advisor, Dr. Kevin Lordon.
Researcher Info:
Name: Stephen P. Edwards
Affiliated University: California University of PA
Email: edw7058@calu.edu
Phone Number: 412-963-9315
Faculty Advisor Info:
Name: Dr. Kevin Lordon
Affiliated University: California University of PA
Email: lordon@calu.edu
***If at any time the research study would be terminated, the Principal Investigator would
inform the participants of the termination, but such termination may occur without the
participant's consent. Further, the Principal Investigator will also inform the participants of
any significant findings during the duration of the study that may influence their
participation.

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***All data will be stored in secured data bases within the Fox Chapel Area School District.

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