Kindergarten

From Kindergarten Through Third Grade

Last Updated Oct 5, 2008 06:25 AM

Children’s Perceptions About Themselves and Their School Experiences

At the end of third grade, children were asked about their perceptions of their competence and interest in reading, mathematics, and school in general, and about their peer relationships and problem behaviors that they may exhibit (details on the measure used to assess children’s perceptions are provided in appendix B). On average, children indicated that they were generally interested in and enjoyed school, and that they did not perceive their schoolwork to be too difficult (table A-13). Girls tended to have greater interest and perceived competence in reading than boys, a finding that persisted after controlling for children’s race/ethnicity, number of family risk factors, and their early school experiences (tables A-13 and A-14).

On average, children also responded positively regarding their peer relationships, with most indicating that they generally made friends easily and got along well with their peers (tables A-13 and A-14). Black third-graders were more likely to feel this way than Asian/Pacific Islander children, after controlling for other child, family, and school experience factors. Children tended to indicate that they only occasionally exhibited externalizing (e.g., fighting and arguing) or internalizing (e.g., anxiety, sadness, loneliness) problem behaviors. Boys indicated a higher likelihood of exhibiting externalizing behaviors than girls. Black third-graders reported more of both types of problem behaviors than White, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander third-graders. In addition, as the number of family risk factors increased for third-graders, they were more likely to report internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors (figure F, tables A-13 and A-14).

Third-graders’ perceptions about their interest and competence in reading and mathematics were also associated with their achievement at the end of the school year (tables A-15 and A-16). Those scoring in the highest third on the reading assessment in spring of 2002 expressed greater interest and competency in reading than children scoring in the lower two-thirds. The same pattern of relationships between perceptions and achievement occurred in mathematics. The relationship between children’s perceptions and achievement were subject-specific, in that there was no relationship between achievement in one subject area and perceived interest and competence in a different subject area.

Conclusion

In summary, the findings from this report are consistent with patterns identified in earlier ECLS-K reports on children’s achievement in kindergarten and first grade (Denton and West 2002; West, Denton, and Reaney 2001; West, Denton, and Germino Hausken 2000). The knowledge and skills children demonstrated at the end of third grade continued to differ in relation to their race/ethnicity and number of family risk factors. In addition, this report found that the achievement gaps between disadvantaged and more advantaged children identified at the beginning of school (West, Denton, and Germino Hausken 2000) grew wider over the first 4 years of school attendance.

In the first months of school, private school kindergartners demonstrated higher achievement status in reading and mathematics than public school kindergartners (West, Denton, and Germino Hausken 2000). These unadjusted mean differences were also found in third grade between children who attended public schools for all 4 years and those who attended private schools for part or all of the time, and were also found in terms of children’s science achievement. However, when other factors (e.g., race/ethnicity and number of risk factors) were taken into account, some of the substantive schooltype achievement differences did not persist. Also, the achievement gap between public and private school children did not widen substantively over the first 4 years of school, even between those children who always attended the same types of school from kindergarten through third grade.

In earlier ECLS-K reports, findings also indicated that public school children who attended fullday (vs. half-day) kindergarten programs had higher overall achievement at the end of kindergarten in reading and mathematics, after controlling for other characteristics, and were more likely to demonstrate advanced reading skills at the end of the kindergarten year (Walston and West 2004; Denton, West, and Walston 2003). When overall kindergarten achievement was compared for full-day and halfday children from both public and private schools, however, differences in reading and mathematics achievement were not detected (West, Denton, and Reaney 2001). Findings from this report also indicate no substantive differences in reading, science, and mathematics achievement at the end of third grade related to the type of kindergarten program children had attended.

New information collected directly from children at the end of third grade indicates that, on average, they generally enjoyed reading, mathematics, and school in general, and felt competent in their schoolwork in these areas. Children’s academic performance in reading and mathematics was positively related to their perceptions of their competence in the corresponding subject area. Third-graders perceived that it was easy for them to make and maintain friendships, and that they only occasionally exhibited internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors in school. However, disadvantaged children were more likely than more advantaged children to indicate that they exhibited problem behaviors.

See also Kindergarten 557 1 - 4