Date
2010
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Chair
Michelle Goodwin
Primary Subject Area
Education, Early Childhood; Education, Elementary
Keywords
preschool, Standards of Learning, Virginia Preschool Initiative
Recommended Citation
Randall, Pamela Perry, "Preschool Education in Virginia and the Resulting Academic Effects for Third- and Fifth-Grade At-Risk Students" (2010). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 367.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/367
Abstract
While there remains little doubt that the "founding" preschool programs in America--the High/Scope Perry Program, the Chicago Child-Parent Centers, and the Abecedarian Project--had a positive academic and social impact on the students they served, such claims are difficult to substantiate for students being served in the Virginia Preschool Initiative Program. This study was designed to investigate the educational impact of the state-funded preschool program on the academic achievement of at-risk students who attended school from 1999-2002. These students' third- and fifth-grade Standards of Learning tests, in the subject areas of mathematics and reading, were compared using T-tests and ANOVA calculations to determine if there existed any statistically significant differences in academic achievement. Results from the investigation did not find any significant differences in achievement between those students who attended preschool and those who did not. In fact, reading scores were higher for those female students who did not attend preschool.
