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This study drew on data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 to examine whether children made gains in general knowledge over the summer following their first year of kindergarten, whether general knowledge gains were similar for all children, and whether participation in certain types of summer activities related to general summer knowledge gains. The analyses in this study used a subset of 3,718 children from the larger study who were first-time kindergartners in Fall 1998, who were administered a general knowledge assessment in English in both Spring and Fall 1999, and whose parents completed an interview in Fall 1999. Findings revealed that children gained an average of 3.2 points on general knowledge assessments over the summer. Children who repeated kindergarten in 1999-2000 showed smaller summer gains than children who moved to first grade. Higher family SES and lower general knowledge status at end of kindergarten were associated with greater summer gains. White children and those from high-SES groups had more involvement in all types of summer activities than some minority children and those from the lowest SES. Associations between summer experiences and general knowledge gains were detected only for children from the lowest general knowledge group after controlling for other factors in the model. For this group, greater exposure to literacy activities was related to additional summer knowledge gains. Low- knowledge children participating in summer school, camps, or day care gained more than low-knowledge children not attending summer education programs. For children from middle and high general knowledge groups, summer activities were not associated with summer general knowledge gains. (Contains 12 references.) (KB)

A study used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) to answer the following questions: Which of the various reading instructional activities do kindergartners do most often? Who has opportunities to participate in the various types of instructional activities? and Are the various instructional activities found in public school kindergarten classrooms associated with children's reading gains during the kindergarten year? A nationally representative sample of 22,782 children enrolled in 1,277 schools during the 1998-99 school year participated in the study. Children were administered a 2-stage individual assessment in the areas of reading, math, and general knowledge in the fall of 1998 and the spring of 1999. Also, kindergarten teachers were asked to complete a set of self-administered questionnaires about themselves, their students, and their classrooms. This paper analyzes data from the subset of 14,975 children who attended kindergarten for the first time in fall 1998 and were administered a reading assessment in English in both fall and spring of the kindergarten year and who has complete teacher questionnaire data. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the reading instruction children received in various kindergarten programs, and how instruction differed by the characteristics of the children and their schools. Next, linear regression analyses were used to examine the relationships of the child, family, and kindergarten program characteristics to the gains children made in reading during kindergarten. All results discussed in the paper are statistically significant at the .05 level. Findings suggest that kindergarteners were exposed to a variety of reading activities during the week, and that the frequency of exposure to the different sets of activities and the gain students made in reading were associated with child, family, and school characteristics. (Contains 15 references, 1 figure, and 7 tables.) (NKA)

As computers become more prevalent and computer skills more necessary, there continues to be a "digital divide" between those with computer access and skills and those without. These differences are less pronounced in skills where children's access to computers and the Internet are more prevalent. Noting that few studies have focused exclusively on kindergartners' and first-graders' access to and use of computers in different settings, this report details examination of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) to assess children's access to and use of computers in their schools, classrooms, and homes as they begin formal schooling. Data were drawn upon to answer 10 questions pertaining to access to and use of computer resources. Findings indicated that almost all young children had access to computers, either at home or in their classrooms, and schools. However, kindergartners' access differed by the types of school they attended: public schoolers had greater access to school and classroom resources, whereas private school children had greater access to home computer resources. For the most part, young children's access to school computer resources did not differ greatly by child and family characteristics. However, in kindergarten some minority children and those from lower-SES families were less likely to attend schools that provided Internet access. In first grade, children from the lowest SES group continued to have less access to the Internet in comparison to first-graders in the highest SES group. Kindergartners and first-graders in the lowest SES group were also less likely to have a computer area in their classroom. Socioeconomic status also predicted access to computers at home. Findings related to children's use of computers indicated that the majority of young children in public schools were in classrooms where computers were used for instructional purposes on a weekly basis. The most frequent classroom uses were to learn reading, writing, and spelling; to learn math; and for fun. Public school children with access to home computers used them an average of 3 to 4 days a week; frequency of use did not tend to differ by child or family characteristics. Over 86 percent used them for educational purposes. Finally, young children's classroom computer use in public schools did not differ based on whether children had home access. The report concludes by suggesting additional analyses and future research. The report's two appendices include standard error tables for the main text and supplementary tables and standard errors. (Contains 13 references.) (HTH)

Noting that the kindergarten year is important in establishing competencies critical to children's success and achievement in school, and the lack of information on how children make the transition to kindergarten, this study examined differences in parental reports of children's adjustment behaviors for a large, nationally representative sample of beginning public school kindergartners. The focus of the research was on the prevalence of parent-reported adjustment problems of first-time public school kindergartners and whether some groups of children experience these adjustment problems more than others. The adjustment behaviors examined were: complaining about going to school, being upset or reluctant to go to school, and pretending to be sick to stay home from school. Data were from a subset of 13,602 children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K). Parents reported that 72 percent of first-time public school kindergartners did not show signs of adjustment difficulty during the first 2 months of the school year. Thirteen percent showed one adjustment difficulty, and 15 percent exhibited two or more. Certain child, family, and kindergarten program characteristics were related to the percent of children who showed adjustment difficulties. Being male, having a disability, or living in a lower socioeconomic status family were associated with adjustment difficulties. Children attending full-day kindergarten programs and those in class sizes of 25 or more children were more likely to demonstrate adjustment difficulties even after controlling for other child and family characteristic differences. (Contains 6 data tables.) (KB)

This study identified the types of transition activities practiced by kindergarten teachers/schools around the country, the relation of various school characteristics to transition activities, and the relation between transition activities and parent involvement during kindergarten. The study sample was comprised of 2,826 public school and 417 private school kindergarten teachers participating in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99. Data were obtained from teacher and administrator questionnaires. Findings indicated that teachers used an average of three transition activities, the most common being phoning and sending information home about the program, inviting parents and children to visit the classroom prior to beginning school, and inviting parents to a pre-enrollment orientation. Teachers in schools with low proportions of at-risk children, minority children, or English language learners reported more transition activities than teachers in schools with higher proportions of these groups. Compared with teachers in public and other private schools, significantly higher proportions of teachers in Catholic schools reported telephoning or sending home information, hosting pre- enrollment visits by parents and children, and shortening school days at the start of the kindergarten year. Teachers in schools with lower proportions of low-income or minority families reported greater parent attendance at conferences, open houses, and art/music events. The proportion of parents volunteering regularly was associated with the proportion of low-income families. Regular parent volunteers were most prevalent in private schools. Several transition activities were associated positively with parent participation. Contains 10 references and 5 tables. (KB)

This longitudinal study examined the extent to which developmentally appropriate practices of teaching and evaluation are accepted and implemented in primary schools and the relationship of teacher educational background and experience with the use of these practices. Data were obtained from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study kindergarten class of 1998-1999. The research design was guided by an ecological systems perspective, in which the child's physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development are considered across multiple contexts. The total sample was comprised of 3,047 kindergarten teachers from public and private schools. Findings revealed that half-day teachers spent 3.5 hours and full-day teachers spent 5 hours per day in instructional activities. Half- and full-day teachers spent similar proportions of time in different grouping arrangements, with teacher-directed whole-class grouping comprising the greatest portion of the instructional day. Numerous differences were reported between public and private elementary schools, including proportion of time in teacher-directed whole-class instruction. The majority of kindergarten teachers reported having several activity centers in their classrooms, with differences related to type of school (public versus private), teachers' education level, and teachers' certification area. Teachers were more likely to favor ratings that compared a child's performance with prior performance and that evaluated a child's effort over ratings that compared performance with peers or outside standards. Only type of school (public versus private) was related to type of student evaluation preferred by the teacher. (Contains 12 references.) (KB)