Implications for Leaders: The Correlation between Kindergarten Report Cards and Seventh-Grade Achievement in a Southern Public School District

Kindergarten readiness can have lasting effects on a student’s success in school. This study identified the relationships between the core grade point average (GPA) of seventh-grade students and the skills they mastered on their kindergarten report cards. The study also evaluated which kindergarten skills are more likely to yield a high GPA, and discovered significant differences in kindergarten preparedness and seventh-grade achievement due to gender differences. Both the kindergarten and seventh-grade report cards of 166 students from a southern public school district were measured. Six of the twenty-one kindergarten skills assessed on the first quarter report card yielded significant results that varied by gender. The study also indicated that there was a positive correlation between the number of skills a student mastered and a higher GPA in seventh grade. Recommendations are provided for parents, teachers, school officials, and local preschool programs so that these stakeholders may work together to change the learning culture within the community by ensuring that students begin school academically ready for the classroom, assist students in avoiding the label “at-risk,” and contribute to making academic gains with each passing school year.|Keywords: Kindergarten students; Kindergarten readiness; At-risk students; Kindergarten preparedness; Middle school success; Skills based report card; Gender differences; Preschool; Kindergarten; Elementary and secondary schools; Educational outcomes; Student success; Early childhood education

Grantor dc:publisher

Creighton University

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Gilliland, Krista Lazarus

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Cherney, Isabelle D.

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright is retained by the Author. A non-exclusive distribution right is granted to Creighton University and to ProQuest following the publishing model selected above.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10504/71149

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:cdr.creighton.edu:10504/71149