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Digest of Education Statistics
2005 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 44. Mean reading scale scores and percentage sight reading for fall 1998 first-time kindergartners, by time of assessment and selected child, family, and early school experience characteristics: Selected years, fall 1998 through spring 2002
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                           |                   Mean reading scale score             | Fall kinder-|           Reading, percent reading sight words
                           |________________________________________________________|    garten to|________________________________________________________
Selected child, family,    |     Kindergarten    |    First grade      | Third grade| spring third|     Kindergarten     |     First grade     |Third grade
and early school           |_____________________|_____________________|____________|grade reading|______________________|_____________________|___________
experience characteristic  |Fall 1998|Spring 1999|Fall 1999|Spring 2000| Spring 2002|   score gain| Fall 1998|Spring 1999|Fall 1999|Spring 2000|Spring 2002
___________________________|_________|___________|_________|___________|____________|_____________|__________|___________|_________|___________|___________
1                          |        2|          3|        4|          5|           6|            7|         8|          9|       10|         11|         12
___________________________|_________|___________|_________|___________|____________|_____________|__________|___________|_________|___________|___________
   Total ..................|28  (0.4)| 39   (0.5)|46  (0.6)| 68   (0.7)| 109   (0.8)|  81    (0.6)| 3   (0.4)|  16  (0.8)|28  (1.3)|  77  (1.2)|  99  (0.2)
                           |_________|___________|_________|___________|____________|_____________|__________|___________|_________|___________|___________
Sex                        |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
  Male ....................|27  (0.5)| 38   (0.5)|45  (0.8)| 67   (0.9)| 108   (0.9)|  80    (0.6)| 4   (0.6)|  15  (1.0)|26  (1.5)|  73  (1.5)|  99  (0.3)
  Female ..................|28  (0.4)| 40   (0.6)|46  (0.7)| 70   (0.8)| 110   (0.9)|  82    (0.7)| 3   (0.5)|  17  (1.0)|30  (1.3)|  80  (1.3)|  99  (0.2)
                           |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
Race/ethnicity             |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
  White, non-Hispanic .....|29  (0.4)| 41   (0.5)|47  (0.7)| 71   (0.8)| 113   (0.6)|  84    (0.5)| 4   (0.5)|  18  (1.0)|31  (1.4)|  81  (1.3)|  99  (0.2)
  Black, non-Hispanic .....|25  (0.5)| 35   (0.5)|41  (0.7)| 61   (0.9)|  99   (1.0)|  74    (1.0)| 1   (0.4)|  10  (1.3)|20  (1.9)|  67  (1.7)|  98  (0.5)
  Hispanic ................|25  (0.7)| 36   (0.8)|42  (0.9)| 64   (1.5)| 105   (1.7)|  80    (1.4)| 3   (0.7)|  12  (1.5)|22  (2.3)|  70  (2.9)|  98  (0.5)
  Asian/Pacific Islander ..|31  (2.3)| 42   (2.9)|50  (3.4)| 73   (4.2)| 107   (3.3)|  76    (1.8)| 8   (3.3)|  25  (5.9)|37  (6.4)|  78  (4.2)|  98  (1.4)
  Other, non-Hispanic .....|24  (2.7)| 35   (2.2)|40  (3.7)| 61   (3.6)|  98   (6.9)|  74    (4.6)| 2   (1.2)|   9  (2.6)|22  (5.9)|  62  (6.8)|  97  (1.4)
                           |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
Parents' highest level     |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
   of education\1\         |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
  Less than high school ...|22  (0.6)| 31   (0.7)|36  (0.9)| 56   (1.4)|  92   (1.5)|  70    (1.5)|#     (†) |   3  (0.8)|10  (1.8)|  58  (2.7)|  95  (1.0)
  High school .............|25  (0.6)| 36   (0.8)|41  (1.0)| 62   (1.2)| 103   (1.3)|  78    (1.0)| 2   (0.8)|  10  (1.4)|18  (1.9)|  68  (2.1)|  98  (0.5)
  Some college ............|27  (0.4)| 38   (0.4)|45  (0.6)| 67   (0.8)| 108   (0.9)|  81    (0.9)| 2   (0.4)|  13  (0.8)|27  (1.5)|  77  (1.5)|  99  (0.2)
  Bachelor's or higher ....|32  (0.6)| 45   (0.7)|52  (0.9)| 77   (1.0)| 118   (0.7)|  86    (0.6)| 7   (0.8)|  26  (1.5)|41  (1.7)|  87  (1.2)| 100  (0.1)
                           |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
Socioeconomic status\1\    |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
  Lowest 20 percent .......|21  (0.5)| 31   (0.7)|36  (0.8)| 55   (1.1)|  93   (1.4)|  71    (1.3)| 1   (0.4)|   5  (1.0)|10  (1.4)|  56  (2.1)|  96  (0.9)
  Middle 60 percent .......|27  (0.4)| 38   (0.5)|45  (0.7)| 68   (0.8)| 109   (0.8)|  81    (0.7)| 3   (0.5)|  14  (0.9)|27  (1.4)|  77  (1.4)|  99  (0.2)
  Highest 20 percent ......|33  (0.7)| 46   (0.9)|53  (1.1)| 78   (1.2)| 120   (0.7)|  87    (0.5)| 8   (1.0)|  28  (1.8)|43  (2.0)|  88  (1.3)| 100   (#)
                           |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
Number of family risk      |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
   factors\1,2\            |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
  No risks ................|30  (0.5)| 42   (0.5)|49  (0.7)| 73   (0.8)| 114   (0.7)|  84    (0.6)| 5   (0.5)|  20  (1.0)|35  (1.5)|  83  (1.3)| 100  (0.1)
  One risk ................|25  (0.5)| 36   (0.6)|42  (0.7)| 64   (0.9)| 105   (1.2)|  79    (0.9)| 2   (0.4)|  11  (1.0)|21  (1.2)|  71  (1.9)|  99  (0.4)
  Two or more risks .......|23  (0.5)| 33   (0.6)|38  (0.8)| 58   (1.1)|  96   (1.8)|  73    (1.5)| 1   (0.5)|   5  (0.9)|12  (1.3)|  60  (2.5)|  97  (0.7)
                           |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
Kindergarten program type  |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
  Half-day program ........|28  (0.6)| 38   (0.6)|45  (0.8)| 68   (1.0)| 111   (0.8)|  83    (0.7)| 3   (0.5)|  14  (1.1)|26  (1.7)|  77  (1.3)|  99  (0.2)
  Full-day program ........|27  (0.6)| 40   (0.7)|46  (1.0)| 68   (1.2)| 108   (1.3)|  80    (0.8)| 3   (0.6)|  17  (1.3)|30  (2.0)|  76  (1.7)|  99  (0.3)
                           |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
School type across all     |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
   waves of the study      |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
  Public school all years .|27  (0.4)| 38   (0.5)|44  (0.6)| 66   (0.7)| 107   (0.8)|  81    (0.6)| 3   (0.4)|  14  (0.8)|25  (1.2)|  75  (1.4)|  99  (0.2)
  Private school all years |32  (0.9)| 44   (1.1)|52  (1.3)| 80   (1.6)| 116   (1.3)|  85    (0.9)| 6   (1.2)|  25  (2.6)|44  (3.2)|  91  (1.7)| 100  (0.1)
  Change in school type    |         |           |         |           |            |             |          |           |         |           |
     during study .........|31  (0.9)| 43   (1.3)|51  (1.7)| 74   (2.4)| 114   (1.5)|  83    (1.2)| 5   (1.2)|  22  (2.5)|38  (4.2)|  82  (3.8)| 100  (0.1)
___________________________|_________|___________|_________|___________|____________|_____________|__________|___________|_________|___________|___________
†Not applicable.
#Rounds to zero.
\1\Status during kindergarten year.
\2\Family risk factors included living below the federal poverty level, primary home language was non-English, mother's highest education was less than a high school diploma/GED, and living in a single-parent household. Values range from 0 to 4.
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Estimates reflect the sample of children assessed in English in all assessment years. The ECLS-K was not administered in 2001, when most of the children were in second grade. Although most of the children in the sample were in third grade in the spring of 2002, 10 percent were in second grade, and about 1 percent were enrolled in other grades. The risk factor variables, the socioeconomic status, and parent education variables are information collected in the kindergarten year. Standard errors appear in parentheses. Data calculated using C1_5SC0 weight.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K), Longitudinal Kindergarten-Third Grade Public-Use File, fall 1998, spring 1999, fall 1999, spring 2000, and spring 2002. (This table was prepared July 2005.).


2005 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest