Research Findings: The transition to kindergarten can be challenging for children and families. Research shows that some transition activities implemented by elementary schools can have small positive associations with children's outcomes. Examining the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2011 dataset…

This research examined growth and co-occurrence of latent developmental patterns of classroom behavior problems among young, economically disadvantaged children. A nationally representative sample (N = 3,827) of children was assessed for overactive and underactive behavior problems through two years of prekindergarten, kindergarten and first…

In August 2017, the Houston area was ravaged by one of the costliest natural disasters in history--Hurricane Harvey. In this brief, the first in a two-part series, the authors examine the effects of Harvey on student homelessness in the Houston Independent School District (Houston ISD). The authors find that student homelessness in Houston ISD…

Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to examine the extent to which differences were present in the mathematics achievement of Grade 3 Emergent Bilingual students by their economic status, ethnicity/race, and gender. In the first study, the extent to which economic status (i.e., Poor and Not Poor) was related to the…

Supporting socio-economically disadvantaged students to improve their academic resilience is vital in promoting social mobility and halting intergenerational transmission of poverty. Based on the baseline data 2013-2014 from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) database, this paper examined the impact of preschool education experience on…

This action research study examined the impact of a summer literacy program on summer reading setback. Gaining Ground is a summer intervention program designed primarily for economically disadvantaged students in Grades K-5. By granting access to self-selected books and implementing project-based curriculum, Gaining Ground aims to improve reading…

In 2014, New York City launched its Pre-K for All program, which rapidly tripled the number of children in free, full-day prekindergarten. Two years later, the city rolled out ThriveNYC, a citywide mental health initiative with a focus on early childhood. By this time, a team from New York University's medical school had partnered for nearly two…

School districts in the United States often borrow on the municipal bond market to pay for capital projects. Districts serving economically disadvantaged communities tend to receive lower credit ratings and pay higher interest rates. To remedy this problem, 24 states have established credit enhancement programs that promise to repay district debt…

In this study (n = 1000, M[subscript age at K1entry] = 53.4 months, SD = 3.4; 53% females), we investigated the contributions of the family socioeconomic status (SES; maternal education and an income-related measure) and number and age of siblings to the development of children's math, reading, and working memory (WM) updating skills over the…

Many states and communities have invested in public early childhood education programs to improve children's readiness to enter school and narrow achievement gaps in later grades. This study asked whether and how Wisconsin's universal state-funded prekindergarten program, Wisconsin 4K, has improved student achievement and helped to reduce the…

The United States educational system has historically struggled to improve the student outcomes for African American and economically disadvantaged students (Meatto, 2019). This doctoral study analyzed the underlying factors that affected schools' performances in a central Louisiana school system over a five year period. Specifically, this study…

Evidence points to the possibility of promoting executive functions (EF) through school interventions. Little is known, however, about the effectiveness of this type of intervention in situations of social vulnerability. This study investigated the effectiveness of an EF intervention program applied with a sample of preschool children, in a…

Transition to school may be experienced as a critical event for both children and their families. Within an ecological framework of transition, the scope of the concept of school readiness in recent years has decentered from the child to the environment, including the readiness of (pre)school education to develop core skills in children. This…

Analyzed in this investigation were the current Texas state-mandated assessments in reading and the extent to which test scores differed among English Language Learners who were Not Poor (i.e., did not qualify for the reduced or free lunch program), English Language Learners who were Moderately Poor (i.e., qualified for the reduced lunch program),…

In this investigation, differences in the reading performance as a function of degree of economic disadvantage for Texas Grade 3 students were examined. Data were obtained from the Texas Education Agency on all Texas Grade 3 students for the 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and 2014-2015 school years. In all analyses, statistically significant differences,…