Working paper
Trends in children’s academic skills at school entry: 2010 – 2017
2019
By: Megan Kuhfeld, James Soland, Christine Pitts, Margaret Burchinal

Description
Students’ level of academic skills at school entry are a strong predictor of later academic success, and focusing on improving these skills during the preschool years has been a priority during the past ten years. Evidence from two prior nationally representative studies indicated that incoming kindergarteners’ math and literacy skills were higher in 2010 than 1998, but no national studies have examined trends since 2010. This study examines academic skills at kindergarten entry from 2010 and 2017 using data from over 2 million kindergarten students. Results indicated kindergarteners in 2017 have slightly lower math and reading skills than in 2010, but that inequalities at school entry by race/ethnicity and school poverty level have decreased during this period.
See MoreTopics: Early learning, Equity
Associated Research
Related Topics


Education’s long COVID: 2022–23 achievement data reveal stalled progress toward pandemic recovery
New research shows progress toward academic recovery stalled in 2022-23. This research brief covers data from 6.7 million US students examining academic gains relative to pre-pandemic years as well as tracking the gap in achievement between COVID year student groups compared to their pre-pandemic peers.
By: Karyn Lewis, Megan Kuhfeld
Products: MAP Growth
Topics: COVID-19 & schools, Equity


Technical appendix: 2022-23 achievement data reveal stalled progress toward pandemic recovery
The purpose of this technical appendix is to share more detailed results and describe the sample and methods used in the research in Education’s long COVID: 2022-23 achievement data reveal stalled progress toward pandemic recovery report.
By: Jazmin Isaacs, Megan Kuhfeld, Karyn Lewis
Topics: COVID-19 & schools, Equity


The purpose of this technical appendix is to share more detailed results and describe the sample and methods used in the research in Progress towards pandemic recovery: Continued signs of rebounding achievement at the start of the 2022-23 school year.
By: Megan Kuhfeld, Karyn Lewis
Topics: COVID-19 & schools, Equity


New research provides evidence that student reading and math achievement at the start of the 2022–23 school year is continuing to rebound from the impacts of the pandemic, though full recovery is likely still several years away.
By: Karyn Lewis, Megan Kuhfeld
Topics: Equity, COVID-19 & schools


Technical appendix for: The widening achievement divide during COVID-19
The purpose of this technical appendix is to share more detailed results and to describe more fully the sample and methods used in the research included in the brief, The widening achievement divide during COVID-19.
By: Megan Kuhfeld, Meredith Langi, Karyn Lewis
Topics: COVID-19 & schools, Equity


The widening achievement divide during COVID-19
New research provides additional evidence of the uneven impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic showing that students’ math and reading test scores are more variable in spring 2022 than before the pandemic in part because the divide between high and low achievers has widened.
By: Karyn Lewis, Megan Kuhfeld, Meredith Langi, Scott J. Peters, Erin Fahle
Topics: COVID-19 & schools, Equity


COVID-19 in the early elementary years: A comparison of achievement in spring 2019 and spring 2022
New NWEA research provides further evidence of the challenges that young learners are currently facing from the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
By: Megan Kuhfeld, Karyn Lewis
Topics: COVID-19 & schools, Early learning, Equity