Colorado Research Shows Full-Day Preschool Better Than Half-Day
Doubling the time that kids spend in prekindergarten classes may have huge implications for a child's learning, development, and academic performance.
New research took place in a school district near Denver to compare full and half-day preschool programs. Half of the students were enrolled in full-day classes while the other half attended classes for half the day. By the end of the school year, full-day students were outperforming the half-day students in vocabulary, literacy, and math.
It's interesting to note that students who attended all-day classes received school lunches and a mandatory nap time. Four-year-olds who were done at noon and wnet home didn't necessarily get regular sleep and meals. Is there a correlation?
While it appears there is an initial boost in learning, researches are continuing to track these students into first grade and beyond to see if the boost in learning continues or fades by the 2nd or 3rd grade.
It's definitely something for parents of pre-schoolers to think about when determining the path of early education for their children.