ED480265 - Reading--Young Children's Achievement and Classroom Experiences: Findings from the Condition of Education, 2003 - ERIC-ED480265 | Content Details

ED480265 - Reading--Young Children's Achievement and Classroom Experiences: Findings from the Condition of Education, 2003

Source Institution: National Center for Education Statistics (ED), Washington, DC

Subject: Beginning Reading, Classroom Environment, Family Environment, Full Day Half Day Schedules, Instructional Effectiveness, Kindergarten, Literacy, Primary Education, Reading Achievement, Reading Instruction, Reading Skills, Teaching Methods

Abstract: Kindergarten and first grade represent a time of rapid growth and learning'for children. During these years, children acquire the reading knowledge and skills that prepare them for future schooling and life. Until recently, little national data have been available on young children's reading skills. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K), sponsored by the United States Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), strives to help fill this gap in knowledge. The study, which follows the academic progress of a nationally representative sample of children from kindergarten through fifth grade, provides information about children's reading achievement in early elementary school. This special analysis summarizes finding from the ECLS-K on children's reading skills through the first two years of school and the classroom experience of beginning readers. It explores some of the factors that relate to kindergartners' reading skills, such as the literacy environment in the home. In addition, the analysis focuses on differences in the instructional practices used to teach reading in kindergarten and the emphasis placed on various reading activities and skills. The special analysis concludes by examining the relationship between the type of kindergarten program (full-day or half-day) children attend and their reading skills and achievement.