Preschool Children; Preschool Education; Primary Education IDENTIFIERS African Americans

This study examined demographic, behavioral, and academic contributors to inner-city children's grade retention prior to third grade and at the end of the fifth year of school. Subjects were 138 children who were enrolled in 63 public schools in Washington D.C. Prior to entering first grade, all children, 96 percent of whom were African American, had attended both prekindergarten and kindergarten. Measures included assessments of children's academic progress, children's behavioral and social development, parental involvement during children's first 3 years in school, the nature of children's prekindergarten and kindergarten experiences, and demographic information. Results, based on 66 % of the original sample, indicated that relationships existed between children's reading and language skills in first grade and their grade retention prior to third grade; between their parents ' involvement in their education during kindergarten and their grade retention prior to third grade; and between their verbal performance during their fifth year in school and their grade retention at the end of their fifth year in school. Three tables are included. (BC) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made. from the original document