For Immediate Release: April 15, 2023

Contact:
Tony Pals, tpals@aera.net
(202) 238-3235, (202) 288-9333 (cell)

Marla Koenigsknecht, mkoenigsknecht@aera.net
(202) 238-3233, (517) 803-1591 (cell)

AERA23 Study Snapshot: Changes in Children's Kindergarten Readiness in the Wake of COVID-19: Statewide Evidence From Louisiana

Study: “Changes in Children's Kindergarten Readiness in the Wake of COVID-19: Statewide Evidence From Louisiana”
Authors: Anna J. Markowitz (University of California, Los Angeles), Walter A. Herring (Mathematica), Isabelle Fares (University of Virginia)
Embargoed until: 12:01 a.m. CT Saturday, April 15

This paper will be presented at the place-based component of the AERA 2023 Annual Meeting. 
Session: Ongoing COVID Impacts in Early Childhood Education
Date/Time: Saturday, April 15, 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. CT

Main Findings:

• Between 5 and 15 percent fewer kindergarteners met readiness benchmarks across multiple areas after schools closed in 2020, with the largest declines in literacy, mathematics, and physical development.
   
• Readiness drops were larger among Black children than White children across all domains except mathematics, and larger among Hispanic children than White children in social-emotional development.

Details:

• Evidence on changes in children’s kindergarten readiness in the wake of COVID-19 beyond literacy is limited and mixed. To address this gap, the authors used statewide Louisiana enrollment and assessment data to estimate changes in the proportion of children deemed kindergarten ready in literacy, mathematics, approaches to learning, social-emotional skills, and physical development.
   
• The authors note their results provide some of the first evidence of pandemic-linked changes in young children’s learning and development, and provide a fuller picture of the challenges children, families, and schools may face in the coming years.
   
• The authors conducted two analyses: the first on literacy readiness using data from the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) and the second on readiness across five areas using data from the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP). 
   
• Based on DIBELS literacy data, the study found a 7 percentage point drop in the proportion of children who were kindergarten ready in 2020 (41 percent) compared to 2019 (48 percent), representing a decrease of 15 percent.
   
• Literacy readiness among children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds declined twice as much (8 percentage points, from 43 percent to 35 percent) as among their non–economically disadvantaged counterparts (4 percentage points, from 62 percent to 58 percent), representing a decrease of 6 percent.
   
• Literacy readiness among Black children decreased (9 percentage points, from 42 percent to 33 percent) by more than among their White peers (7 percentage points, from 56 percent to 49 percent), representing a decrease of 12.5 percent.
   
• Based on data from the DRDP multi-domain assessment, children in 2020 were between 5 and 15 percent less likely to be deemed kindergarten ready in five areas by their teachers than children in 2019. The largest changes were in mathematics (14 percent decrease) and physical development (13 percent decrease). Language and literacy readiness dropped 6 percent and approaches to learning and social and emotional readiness each decreased 5 percent.
   
• Across racial and ethnic groups, Black children showed larger declines in readiness than their White peers across all areas except mathematics, and larger declines than their Hispanic peers in social-emotional development.
   
• “Children are experiencing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic that extend beyond academics,” said study co-author Anna J. Markowitz, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Our findings on social-emotional development and approaches to learning are consistent with reported behavioral and developmental concerns from early education teachers and parents. We also see impacts in physical development, which is consistent with other research documenting troubling decreases in physical activity.”
   
• “The evidence from this study shows that the pandemic is likely to be exacerbating existing inequalities,” Markowitz said. “It also makes clear the importance of directing resources specifically to schools serving communities of color, and in particular Black communities, who experienced both more negative consequences from COVID-19 and less access to in-person schooling and support.”
   
• The study used statewide Louisiana enrollment, assessment, and socioeconomic data from literacy screeners and a multi-domain kindergarten entry assessment from the Louisiana Department of Education for the years 2019 and 2020. Like most states, Louisiana shut down public schools in March 2020, but by the 2020–21 academic year it had one of the highest rates of in-person schooling nationwide.

To request a copy of the working paper, or to talk to the study author, please contact AERA Communications: Tony Pals, Director of Communications, tpals@aera.net, cell: (202) 288-9333; Marla Koenigsknecht, Communications Associate, mkoenigsknecht@aera.net, cell: (517) 803-1591.

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About AERA
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning. Founded in 1916, AERA advances knowledge about education, encourages scholarly inquiry related to education, and promotes the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. Find AERA on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.