The Dallas Morning News – EVA-MARIE AYALA
“As legislators work to revamp education for the youngest Texans, they keep coming back to one question: Does full-day prekindergarten really make much of a difference? Research suggests it does. Studies have consistently found measurable, as well as anecdotal, evidence that full-day programs have far more lasting effects on children than half-day programs, early childhood education advocates say. Alan Cohen, who oversees the Dallas school district’s pre-K, pointed legislators to a local study that looked at all districts in the county. It was abundantly clear that lack of kindergarten readiness created an achievement cap in the third grade, meaning that students who didn’t attend pre-K couldn’t score above a certain level, he said. That echoed findings from a University of Minnesota study released in November that showed children who had a seven-hour instructional day outperformed their peers academically, behaved better in class, had fewer absences and were healthier than their peers in a three-hour program.”(more)