Shannon Beam

Professor Kramer
CAS 138T
April 6th, 2016
Full-Day Is The Only Way

If you have ever taken a glance into a kindergarten classroom, you tend to find tiny
rambunctious children, practicing writing their letters and numbers. As the day goes on, they
paint in art class and shake tambourines in music class. These activities that the youngsters
are engaging in during a typical kindergarten day are enhancing both their cognitive abilities and
developing their motor skills, without them even knowing. However, in the United States there is
not a federal law that mandates that children must go to kindergarten. This decision is in the
hands of the individual states. Multiple studies have concluded that those children that attend
full day kindergarten programs are more advanced both academically and socially than those
children that are enrolled in half day programs. Full day kindergarten serves as a catalyst for a
childs cognitive development, which consequently increases the childs ability to attain
academic success in the future, putting these students further ahead than those that only stay
for a half day. Therefore, the federal government should enact legislation that mandates full day
kindergarten for every child five years of age throughout the United States. Additionally, full day
kindergarten provided for every children in our nation will give all Americas children the
opportunity to gain a similar educational foundation and can only help the future children of
America to compete globally. After all, full day kindergarten is already mandatory in some
school districts in our nation, why not make it for all districts?

As previously mentioned, there is no federal law in our nation that declares that children
must go to kindergarten. Each individual state is responsible for determining if their children

should attend kindergarten or not and whether they should stay for a partial day or for the full
day. In the United States, thirty-four states require school districts to offer half day kindergarten
and 11 states and the District of Columbia require school districts to offer full day kindergarten.
Six states Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York don't require
school districts to offer kindergarten at all, according to MaryLee Allen, Director of Child Welfare
and Mental Health at the Children's Defense Fund (Writer). The lack of all-day kindergarten
programs in every state could be due to the fact that for a while kindergarten was seen as a
place where children learned to color, share and play (Writer). In recent years the academic
rigor in kindergarten classrooms has notably increased. Researchers Daphna Bassok and
Anna Rorem from the University of Virginia [1] discovered that from 1998 to 2006, kindergarten
teachers reported devoting 25 percent more time to teaching early literacy, increasing it to 7
hours per week, the researchers found (Klein). In addition, the pair found that in 1998, a little
less than a third of teachers said that kindergartners should leave the grade knowing how to
read. By 2006, that percentage had risen to 65 percent (Klein). Even though rigour has
increased in difficulty, there is still time for playful activities in kindergarten classrooms. These
activities that children are participating in, such as using scissors to make a craft or singing the
alphabet aloud not only help with their motor skills, but in addition aid memory which contributes
to the mind cognitively. Even something as simple as playing the tambourine, or drums in music
class can help to improve neural processing, a study by Northwestern University concluded
(locker). As the rigor has increased significantly, so has the number of children throughout the
United States that attend kindergarten.

The number of children that attend kindergarten throughout our nation is at an all-time
high. In 2015, the United States Department of Education claimed that four million children
entered kindergarten ( A Matter 1). As the number of kindergarten students has risen, there has
also been a rise in kindergarten students that attend school for the entirety of the day.

According to Child Trends, a non-profit organization based out of Washington D.C., in 1970
about 10% of children went to full-day programs, however, in 2012 more than 76% percent of
children were in full-day programs (Klein). Though this increase in kindergarten attendance as
well as full-day programs would be seen a major success to many, it's still troubling that not all
of the states in our nation require their children to start schooling at such a young age. The
even more puzzling part is the fact that there are various studies done by top institutions such
as universities, the Education Department and scholars that show not only does kindergarten
charter academic growth, but those students who are enrolled in full day kindergarten are far
more advanced than those in half day. Yet, only 11 states require their school districts to offer
full day-programs (Klein). Why not all fifty?

Various school districts in our nation mandate that the children who are eligible to attend
kindergarten go for the entirety of the school day. In these districts, parents are not given the
option of whether they prefer their child to be enrolled in half day or full day kindergarten. The
only option is full day kindergarten programs. The ability of the the federal government to
enforce and implement full-day Kindergarten programs in every state is indisputable. Eleven
states require their school districts to offer full day kindergarten (Klein). These mandatory full
day programs have been seen in major American cities such as Buffalo, New York and all the
way to the rural State College, Pennsylvania and East Amwell, New Jersey School Districts
(State). The School District of Buffalo recently enforced this policy for the 2014-2015 academic
school year, which opened up the doors for more than 34,000 new kindergarteners and allowed
for all children in Buffalo to start on the same educational foundation (Percious). Keep in mind
that these three school districts are not the only districts that make full day kindergarten the only
option, they just happen to be a few examples. The precedent set by these school districts
previously mentioned must be followed by all districts across America, in order for all children to
develop both strong independence and academics.

Full day kindergarten is a crucial transition year for children that helps with cognitive
development, independence and long term academic success. To begin, we must consider that
those students who are in full day kindergarten classes are in school for approximately 32 hours
per week, while those who attend for a half day are there for about 16 hours during the week as
reported by Lee V from the American Socially Association (Pitch). These extra hours, explain
the data conducted in the studies by Jill Walston (Education Statistics Services Institute
American Institutes for Research) and Jerry West (National Center for Education Statistics
Institute of Education Sciences U.S. Department of Education) which state that, full day
programs spend much more time focusing on math and reading, than half day (Pitch). For
instance the pair concluded that, eighty percent of programs that are for the entirety of the
school day spend about thirty minutes a day devoted to math, while only half of partial day
programs spend this same amount of time (Pitch). When it comes to reading, sixty percent of
full day kindergarten classes exceed more than sixty minutes on reading every day, as
compared to only 37% of half day classes (Pitch). When full day students are not spending time
working on math problems or reading books, they are engaged in self-selected activities. With
the duration of the school day to fill, Walston and West found that those students who were
enrolled in full day programs spent 57 minutes on self-selected programs, while the kids that
were there in partial day spent 32 minutes (Pitch). These activities help to promote
independence, which is an essential trait needed in not only in the classroom, but also in life.

Due to full day programs, children are not only a full quarter ahead of their peers, but are
also able to make developments academically that help them to excel in the classroom in later
years. A longitudinal study conducted by the Evansville-Vanderburgh of Indiana School
Corporation in 1988 observed children that attended full day programs from kindergarten all the
way up to eighth grade. Through their studies they discovered students enrolled in full day

kindergarten performed better than the half day kindergarten peers in reading, mathematics,
hand-writing, spelling and English through Grade 3 (Pitch). Students who were enrolled in full
day kindergarten performed better on every category of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills
in Grades 3, 5 and 7 (Pitch). These full-day students went on to earn higher GPAs in grades six
through eight, than those who only went for a partial day (Pitch). Long term effects of full day
kindergarten programs are not the only factors to take into consideration. Duke University
psychology professors and graduate students noted that just one year of full day kindergarten
can put children significantly more ahead than their counterparts. Studies carried out by the
university, concluded that those that attend full day kindergarten programs end up being one
quarter ahead at the end of the school year, than those that attended for the partial day
(Cooper). More time in the classroom allows for time more development, which then leads to
stronger academic success, yet still not every school district or state is on board with mandatory
full day kindergarten.

The six and a half hour average school day is no doubt a long one for a five year old
child (Average). This raises the question of what will then happen when first grade comes
around and it is now mandatory for children to sit in the classroom for six full hours. Research
by James Elicker and Sangeeta Mathur from Purdue University has shown full day
kindergarten eased the transition to first grade, helping children adapt to the demands of a full
size school day (Grade 2). In addition, teachers who teach full day programs have more time
for curriculum planning incorporating a greater number of thematic units in the school year,
offering more in-depth coverage of each unit, the pair from Purdue University found (Great 2).
Also not forget that full day kindergarten programs help to accommodate those parents who
work full time jobs and cannot leave their job half way through the day to pick up their children.
While the link between full day kindergarten programs and academic advancement is
apparent, we also must look at the bigger picture. On a global scale, our nation is falling far

behind academically. In the 2012 global PISA test, taken by children from sixty-four different
countries, the United States ranked 35th out of 64 countries in math (Desilver). When it came to
the science section of the test, our nation ranked 27th (Desilver). The consequences that
accompany the failure to mandate full-day kindergarten nationally exceeds the costliness of this
action. The academic improvement in Americas youth justifies the financial investment required.
Some states and school districts have made the investment, but the vast majority of the U.S has
yet to follow. How can the United States expect to compete aggressively when some states in
our nation do not require their children to enroll in an elementary grade that is crucial for
cognitive development?

Kindergarten is a place for learning, developing and growing. It is a place where

academic rigor has risen over time and the number of American children enrolled in this
elementary grade has grown. Yet, there is no federal law that orders every child to go to
kindergarten. By the year 2016, one would think that all states would require not just
kindergarten, but full day kindergarten. Every study completed on full day kindergarten
programs has linked higher academic and social success to those children that stay the entire
duration of the school day as compared to those who only stay a partial day. America many
investments. Mandatory full day kindergarten programs in every state across our nation is an
investment that will be pivotal for the future children of our country as they compete in a global
economy. After all, if it's done in the Buffalo, State College and East Amwell School Districts,
why cant it be replicated in all?

Works Cited
A Matter of Equity: Preschool in America. N.p.: United State Department of Education, n.d.
Matter Of Equality: Preschool in America. Apr. 2015. Web. 5 Apr. 2016.

"Average Number of Hours in the School Day and Average Number of Days in the School
Year for Public Schools, by State: 200708." Average Number of Hours in the School
Day and Average Number of Days in the School Year for Public Schools, by State:
200708. Institute of Education Sciences, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.
Chandler, Michael Alison. "The Half-day Kindergarten Time Crunch." Washington Post. The
Washington Post, 24 Mar. 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.
Cooper, Harris, Ashley Batts Allen, Erika A. Patall, and Amy L. Dent. "Review of Educational

Research." Review of Educational Research. Sage Journals, Mar. 2010. Web. 05 Apr.
2016.
Desilver, Drew. "U.S. Students Improving Slowly in Math and Science, but Still Lagging
Internationally." Pew Research Center RSS. N.p., 02 Feb. 2015. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.
Great Public Schools For Every Student. Full-day Kindergarten Helps Close the Achievement
Gaps (n.d.): n. pag. NEA Education Policy & Practice Department. Center for Great
Public Schools, 2015. Web. 5 April 2016.

Klein, Rebecca. "Just 15 States Require Students To Attend Kindergarten."The Huffington

Post. The Huffington Post.com, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.

Pitch, Lisa, and Ordene Edwards. "Kindergarten Study: Full Day vs Half
Day."KINDERGARTEN STUDY: Full-Day versus Half-Day Kindergarten (n.d.): n. pag.
Clark County School District. Web. 5 Apr. 2016.

Locker, Melissa. "This Is How Music Can Change Your Brain." Time. Time, 16 Dec. 2014.
Web. 05 Apr. 2016.
Precious, Tom. "Buffalo, N.Y., Makes Kindergarten Compulsory for Young Students."
Education Week. N.p., 18 June 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.

"State College Area School District." Registration/Enrollment / Kindergarten Registration. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.
Writer, Adrienne Lu Pew/Stateline Staff. "Push for Full-day Kindergarten Grows." USA Today

. Gannett, 13 Jan. 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.