[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-269469-105":59,"doc-detail-269469-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","impact-of-kindergarten-instructional-assistants-on-student-reading-achievement","Impact of Kindergarten Instructional Assistants on Student Reading Achievement","","A Florida school district used kindergarten instructional assistants (KIAs) after the COVID-19 pandemic to support literacy learning during 2021–2024. The study evaluates KIA effects on kindergarten students’ reading achievement using propensity score matching to form a comparison group from district charter schools without KIAs. Regression results show a slight but statistically significant reading advantage for students without KIAs. Findings discuss potential explanations and recommend evidence-based KIA use, including role clarification, targeted professional learning, coaching, and fidelity checks.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/impact-of-kindergarten-instructional-assistants-on-student-reading-achievement/269469/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/impact-of-kindergarten-instructional-assistants-on-student-reading-achievement/269469.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Adam","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-09-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What prompted the use of kindergarten instructional assistants in the Florida district?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"District leaders used Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to place a KIA in each kindergarten classroom from 2021–2024 to help address pandemic-related literacy challenges.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How was the comparison group created for the study?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Because there was no comparison group of KIA vs. no-KIA classrooms, the study used propensity score matching to construct a comparison group from charter school students within the district that did not have KIAs.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What did the regression analyses find about KIA effects on reading achievement?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Regression analyses indicated a slight but statistically significant advantage for students without KIAs in the charter schools on the state reading assessment.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},269469,1789452241,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":129,"read_time":36,"preview_page_count":4},1374404737137,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Impact of Kindergarten Instructional Assistants on Student Reading Achievement  \nAndrea K. W. Smith 1, Daniel L. Dinsmore 1,  \nRebeca Arndt2, & Peggy K. Jones2  \n1 College of Education and Human Services, University of North Florida  \n2 Office for Accountability, Research, and Measurement,  \nPasco County Schools  \nAbstract  \nA Florida school district provided kindergarten instructional assistants (KIAs) after the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we seek to understand the effects of KIAs during the pandemic and recovery period on students’ reading achievement. Due to the lack of a comparison group, we used propensity score matching to create a comparison group of students from charter schools within the district that did not have KIAs. Regression analyses revealed a slight but significant advantage for students without KIAs in the charter schools on the state reading assessment. The paper explores possible explanations for this outcome and then focuses on evidence-based practices for utilizing KIAs and other paraprofessionals to best support students and teachers. Suggestions include role clarification, targeted professional learning, coaching, and fidelity checks.  \nRationale and Background  \nOne Florida school district elected to use some of its Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to hire a KIA to be placed in each kindergarten classroom in the district’s public schools during the 2021–2024 school years. The district was piloting the placement of KIAs to determine if they would help students succeed in literacy learning and overcome the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Though ESSER funds are no longer available for this initiative, district educational leaders wanted to know the impact of placing KIAs in these kindergarten classrooms to inform future decision-making.  \nPurpose  \nThe purpose of this quantitative research study was to determine the effect of kindergarten instructional assistants (KIAs) on the reading performance of kindergarten students in a Florida school district. The study intended to answer the following research question: What was the impact of having KIAs in kindergarten classrooms on student outcomes for literacy?  \nEffectiveness of Kindergarten Instructional Assistants  \nWithin the extant literature, KIAs and other classroom paraprofessionals have a mixed impact on student achievement. For example, Penney (2018) found that the use of paraprofessionals could increase student achievement, though the positive impact was strongest for students who were White and those from high socioeconomic status backgrounds. He randomly assigned students and teachers to classrooms with or without a paraprofessional for kindergarten and again for first grade, creating four groups of students with or without access to a paraprofessional in kindergarten and in first grade. He found that access to a paraprofessional in kindergarten or first grade tended to have a positive  \neffect on first-grade reading scores. Penney noted that similar results could not be found for mathematics gains. As Penney noted, non-cognitive skills developed in kindergarten with the support of paraprofessionals can have an impact on later learning to read.  \nIn contrast to Penney’s relatively positive outcomes, Tompkins et al. (2012) studied 24 paraprofessionals who provided a scripted phonics intervention to small groups of kindergarten students in their classrooms. The authors found that the paraprofessionals did not consistently follow the scripts, began instruction without preparing materials or previewing the script, and guided students incorrectly in sounding out words. Examples in the article involved guiding a student to sound out each letter in the word “what” to produce a non-word that rhymed with “hat” and using the word “they” as an example of the sound represented by the letter “y.” Paraprofessionals also skipped sections of the script and spent the most time on the simplest skills, not recogn","cbCaiv80J9KR9y6U","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiv80J9KR9y6U","pdf",498989,16,"English","# Abstract\n# Rationale and Background\n# Purpose\n# Effectiveness of Kindergarten Instructional Assistants\n## Mixed impact in extant literature","[{\"question\":\"What prompted the use of kindergarten instructional assistants in the Florida district?\",\"answer\":\"District leaders used Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to place a KIA in each kindergarten classroom from 2021–2024 to help address pandemic-related literacy challenges.\"},{\"question\":\"How was the comparison group created for the study?\",\"answer\":\"Because there was no comparison group of KIA vs. no-KIA classrooms, the study used propensity score matching to construct a comparison group from charter school students within the district that did not have KIAs.\"},{\"question\":\"What did the regression analyses find about KIA effects on reading achievement?\",\"answer\":\"Regression analyses indicated a slight but statistically significant advantage for students without KIAs in the charter schools on the state reading assessment.\"}]","Impact of Kindergarten Instructional Assistants on Student Reading Achievement | PDF"]