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Digest of Education Statistics
2019 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 220.42. Fall 2010 first-time kindergartners' science scale scores and standard deviations through spring of fifth grade, by selected child, family, and school characteristics during the kindergarten year: Fall 2010 and spring 2011 through spring 2016
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected child, family, or school characteristic during the kindergarten year Kindergarten, spring 2011 First grade, spring 2012 Second grade, spring 2013 Third grade, spring 2014 Fourth grade, spring 2015 Fifth grade, spring 2016
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
  Mean science score1
Total 34.1 (0.18) 43.2 (0.26) 52.7 (0.28) 60.3 (0.28) 67.1 (0.29) 73.7 (0.28)
Sex of child                        
Male 34.2 (0.20) 43.5 (0.29) 53.2 (0.31) 60.8 (0.30) 67.5 (0.34) 74.2 (0.32)
Female 34.1 (0.21) 42.9 (0.29) 52.3 (0.32) 59.8 (0.32) 66.6 (0.32) 73.3 (0.33)
                         
Age of child at kindergarten entry, fall 2010                        
Less than 5 years old 31.1 (0.42) 39.2 (0.76) 48.5 (0.73) 56.4 (0.75) 63.8 (0.79) 70.4 (0.89)
5 years old to 5 1/2 years old 32.8 (0.21) 41.4 (0.31) 50.9 (0.32) 58.9 (0.35) 65.9 (0.35) 72.7 (0.34)
More than 5 1/2 years old to 6 years old 35.2 (0.21) 44.6 (0.30) 54.2 (0.32) 61.5 (0.32) 68.0 (0.33) 74.7 (0.34)
More than 6 years old 36.5 (0.38) 46.9 (0.46) 55.8 (0.62) 62.6 (0.61) 69.4 (0.56) 75.2 (0.61)
                         
Race/ethnicity of child                        
White 36.8 (0.19) 46.6 (0.23) 56.2 (0.26) 63.8 (0.26) 70.5 (0.21) 77.3 (0.25)
Black 30.7 (0.33) 38.1 (0.47) 46.7 (0.50) 53.7 (0.60) 60.1 (0.73) 65.6 (0.64)
Hispanic 29.8 (0.24) 38.0 (0.39) 47.6 (0.43) 55.2 (0.39) 62.3 (0.50) 69.3 (0.36)
Asian 32.0 (0.31) 42.3 (0.51) 54.4 (0.55) 62.7 (0.57) 69.1 (0.50) 77.1 (0.50)
Pacific Islander 31.6 (1.20) 40.7 (1.34) 50.6 (2.02) 59.1 (2.42) 64.9 (2.28) 73.0 (1.71)
American Indian/Alaska Native 35.3 (1.05) 43.1 (1.67) 51.3 (1.31) 58.1 (1.62) 67.4 (1.64) 73.1 (2.08)
Two or more races 36.2 (0.40) 45.9 (0.66) 54.9 (0.81) 62.6 (0.82) 68.8 (0.85) 75.4 (0.87)
                         
How often child exhibited positive learning
   behaviors, fall 20102
                       
Never 28.3 (0.94) 33.3 (1.15) 40.6 (1.27) 48.0 (1.41) 56.7 (1.45) 60.5 (1.64)
Sometimes 31.8 (0.27) 39.6 (0.36) 48.6 (0.40) 56.0 (0.43) 63.0 (0.46) 69.8 (0.48)
Often 34.4 (0.23) 43.8 (0.29) 53.4 (0.34) 61.2 (0.32) 67.8 (0.35) 74.5 (0.34)
Very often 36.4 (0.24) 46.4 (0.40) 56.4 (0.40) 63.8 (0.40) 70.6 (0.33) 77.3 (0.37)
                         
Primary type of nonparental care arrangement
   prior to kindergarten entry3
                       
No regular nonparental arrangement 32.5 (0.27) 41.5 (0.39) 50.9 (0.42) 58.6 (0.42) 65.1 (0.47) 72.5 (0.41)
Home-based care                        
Relative care 33.5 (0.27) 42.6 (0.39) 51.7 (0.44) 59.0 (0.44) 65.8 (0.47) 72.2 (0.45)
Nonrelative care 35.8 (0.39) 45.2 (0.52) 54.7 (0.46) 62.0 (0.54) 69.5 (0.42) 75.9 (0.53)
Center-based care 34.7 (0.20) 43.8 (0.28) 53.4 (0.32) 61.1 (0.31) 67.9 (0.30) 74.4 (0.33)
Multiple arrangements 35.5 (0.56) 44.8 (0.71) 54.6 (0.74) 62.0 (0.91) 68.5 (0.89) 75.2 (0.87)
                         
Household type, fall 20104                        
Two-parent household 35.0 (0.19) 44.5 (0.26) 54.1 (0.28) 61.8 (0.27) 68.6 (0.27) 75.5 (0.27)
Mother-only household 32.1 (0.32) 40.2 (0.44) 49.1 (0.52) 56.4 (0.57) 63.1 (0.63) 69.2 (0.48)
Father-only household 34.2 (0.55) 41.5 (0.70) 49.9 (0.84) 57.1 (0.89) 64.5 (1.05) 72.1 (1.07)
Other household type 31.4 (0.78) 39.0 (0.91) 47.7 (1.02) 54.2 (1.18) 59.6 (1.39) 66.1 (1.71)
                         
Primary home language                        
English 35.3 (0.19) 44.7 (0.25) 54.0 (0.28) 61.4 (0.30) 68.1 (0.29) 74.7 (0.30)
Non-English 27.5 (0.26) 35.4 (0.42) 45.8 (0.56) 54.1 (0.49) 61.5 (0.63) 68.6 (0.51)
Primary language not identified5 29.3 (0.65) 37.2 (0.89) 46.4 (1.28) 54.6 (1.36) 62.6 (1.51) 70.7 (1.62)
                         
Parents' highest level of education6                        
Less than high school 27.6 (0.34) 34.5 (0.48) 43.7 (0.58) 51.1 (0.51) 58.1 (0.61) 64.3 (0.60)
High school completion 31.2 (0.21) 39.2 (0.32) 48.3 (0.36) 55.6 (0.34) 62.5 (0.38) 69.1 (0.38)
Some college/vocational 33.9 (0.20) 42.8 (0.25) 51.9 (0.28) 59.5 (0.28) 66.6 (0.34) 73.1 (0.34)
Bachelor's degree 36.6 (0.22) 46.4 (0.34) 56.5 (0.36) 64.3 (0.34) 70.7 (0.33) 77.8 (0.38)
Any graduate education 38.1 (0.23) 49.2 (0.34) 59.3 (0.33) 67.0 (0.34) 73.4 (0.29) 80.1 (0.33)
                         
Poverty status, spring 20117                        
Below poverty threshold 29.9 (0.26) 37.6 (0.42) 46.7 (0.47) 54.4 (0.43) 60.9 (0.53) 67.4 (0.46)
100 to 199 percent of poverty threshold 33.4 (0.27) 42.2 (0.34) 51.8 (0.36) 59.0 (0.43) 66.1 (0.45) 72.6 (0.47)
200 percent or more of poverty threshold 36.8 (0.18) 46.9 (0.25) 56.6 (0.27) 64.4 (0.26) 71.0 (0.22) 77.8 (0.27)
                         
Two risk factors8                        
Both risk factors: No parent completed high
   school9 and family below poverty
   threshold7
27.2 (0.44) 33.7 (0.57) 43.1 (0.74) 50.7 (0.60) 57.7 (0.77) 64.1 (0.80)
One risk factor: No parent completed high
   school
28.0 (0.41) 35.6 (0.66) 45.8 (0.83) 53.6 (0.85) 60.4 (1.09) 67.1 (1.21)
One risk factor: Family below poverty
   threshold
30.7 (0.26) 38.8 (0.44) 47.7 (0.49) 55.5 (0.46) 61.9 (0.55) 68.4 (0.50)
Neither risk factor 36.0 (0.18) 45.7 (0.25) 55.4 (0.26) 63.0 (0.26) 69.8 (0.23) 76.5 (0.29)
                         
Socioeconomic status10                        
Lowest 20 percent 29.3 (0.27) 36.6 (0.41) 45.6 (0.41) 52.9 (0.48) 59.7 (0.56) 66.3 (0.51)
Middle 60 percent 34.3 (0.17) 43.3 (0.23) 52.7 (0.25) 60.2 (0.25) 67.2 (0.25) 73.8 (0.29)
Highest 20 percent 38.1 (0.21) 49.0 (0.37) 59.3 (0.36) 67.2 (0.34) 73.4 (0.29) 80.3 (0.29)
                         
School control, fall 2010                        
Public 33.8 (0.21) 42.8 (0.28) 52.3 (0.30) 59.8 (0.31) 66.6 (0.32) 73.3 (0.31)
Private 36.6 (0.41) 46.4 (0.64) 56.0 (0.68) 64.2 (0.66) 70.7 (0.58) 77.5 (0.61)
  Standard deviation of the science score
Total 6.8 (0.12) 9.5 (0.16) 10.7 (0.19) 10.9 (0.19) 10.9 (0.21) 11.6 (0.20)
1 Reflects performance on questions on physical sciences, life sciences, earth and space sciences, and scientific inquiry. Possible scores for the science assessment range from 0 to 100. Science was not assessed in the fall of kindergarten.
2 Derived from child’s approaches to learning scale score in fall of the kindergarten year. This score is based on teachers' reports on how often students exhibit positive learning behaviors in seven areas: attentiveness, task persistence, eagerness to learn, learning independence, ability to adapt easily to changes in routine, organization, and ability to follow classroom rules. Possible scores range from 1 to 4, with higher scores indicating that a child exhibits positive learning behaviors more often. Fall 2010 scores were categorized into the four anchor points on the original scale--1 (never), 2 (sometimes), 3 (often), and 4 (very often)--by rounding the mean score to the nearest whole number.
3 The type of nonparental care in which the child spent the most hours. "Multiple arrangements" refers to children who spent an equal amount of time in each of two or more arrangements.
4 A two-parent household may have two biological parents, two adoptive parents, or one biological/adoptive parent and one other parent/partner. A mother-only or father-only household has one biological or adoptive parent only, without another parent/partner. In other household types, which do not include biological or adoptive parents, the guardian or guardians may be related or unrelated to the child.
5 Two or more languages (which could include English) were spoken in the child's home, and the parent respondent was unable to specify which language was the primary one (the one spoken most of the time).
6 Parents' highest level of education is the highest level of education achieved by either of the parents or guardians in a two-parent household, by the only parent in a single-parent household, or by any guardian in a household with no parents.
7 Poverty status is based on preliminary U.S. Census income thresholds for 2010, which identify incomes determined to meet household needs, given family size and composition. For example, a family of three with one child was below the poverty threshold if its income was less than $17,552 in 2010.
8 Includes only children for whom information about both risk factors is available. Excludes children with missing information about parental education or poverty status.
9 High school not completed by any parent or guardian living with the child.
10 Socioeconomic status (SES) was measured by a composite score based on parental education and occupations and household income during the child's kindergarten year.
NOTE: Estimates weighted by W9C9P_20. Estimates pertain to a sample of children who were enrolled in kindergarten for the first time in the 2010-11 school year. The same children were assessed in spring 2012 (when the majority were in first grade), spring 2013 (when the majority were in second grade), spring 2014 (when the majority were in third grade), spring 2015 (when the majority were in fourth grade), and spring 2016 (when the majority were in fifth grade). Estimates differ from previously published figures because science scale scores were recalculated to represent the kindergarten through fifth-grade assessment item pools and because weights were adjusted to account for survey nonresponse at each data collection wave, including the latest round of data collection (spring 2016). Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–11 (ECLS-K:2011), Kindergarten–Fifth Grade Restricted-Use Data File. (This table was prepared March 2019.)

2019 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest