Vol. 2409 - Nastasia Schreiner, Ph.D. - March 2025 Tarek Chebbi, Ed.D. - Impact of the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program (VPK) on First Grade Achievement

Q: What is the purpose of the report on VPK and first grade achievement?

The report identifies M-DCPS students who completed VPK in 2022-2023 and compares their early literacy and math achievement in first grade with students who did not complete VPK in M-DCPS.

Q: How was the comparison between VPK completers and non-completers conducted?

Two independent samples t-tests were run using FAST STAR Reading (Early Literacy) and FAST STAR Mathematics scale scores from the first progress monitoring period (PM1) of first grade.

Q: What did the results show for reading and math?

VPK completers scored higher than non-completers in both reading and math at the start of first grade, with a statistically meaningful difference in reading and a statistically significant but very small effect size in math.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Fahsai

Report identifies students who completed a Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program (VPK) within Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) during the 2022-2023 school year and compares early literacy and math achievement in first grade against students who did not complete a VPK in M-DCPS. Using independent samples t-tests on Florida FAST STAR Reading and Mathematics scale scores from PM1, the analysis finds higher mean performance for VPK completers in both reading and math, with statistically significant but smaller math effect sizes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Methodology

Data Analysis

Interpretation of the Results

Vol. 2409 Nastasia Schreiner, Ph.D. March 2025 Tarek Chebbi, Ed.D. Impact of the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program (VPK) on First Grade Achievement Introduction Children in Florida who will be 4 years old on or before September 1st of the school year are eligible to attend a Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program (VPK), provided by either the public school districts or other private providers, regardless of family income. There are several different VPK programs, including Head Start, Title I, and more. VPK programs provided within Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) include Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Inclusion, Head Start, Title I, and two fee-supported programs (either half day or full day) . Data collected by the Florida Department of Education demonstrates that children who participate in a VPK program are more prepared for kindergarten than those who do not. (Florida Department of Education, n.d.) The purpose of this report is to identify students who completed a VPK program within M-DCPS during the 2022-2023 school year who would now be in first grade within the district. Then, their achievement in early literacy and math will be compared to students who did not complete a VPK program in M-DCPS. Methodology This analysis included 20,313 total students who are currently in first grade in M-DCPS as of March 2025. Of those, 6,191 students (30.5%) completed VPK in the district, and 14,122 students (69.5%) did not. However, it’s important to note that of the students who did not complete VPK in M-DCPS, there could be students who completed a VPK program through another provider (i.e., private daycare, other districts, etc.) . Unfortunately, this information is not easily accessible, and the analysis was run with the caveat that some students who are in the “non-VPK group”(i.e., control) group may have completed a VPK program elsewhere. It should be noted that since we are not comparing the impact of VPK programs implemented in the district to the impact of VPK programs implemented through private providers, it is safe to assume that any differences in achievement between the control group and the treatment group will be attributed to the VPK programs. In order to compare student achievement in first grade by VPK completion status, two independent samples t-tests were run using the scale score of the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (F.A.S.T.) STAR exam in Reading and in Math from the first progress monitoring period (PM1) of first grade as the outcome variables. In first grade, the majority of students complete the “Early Literacy” version of the STAR exam, while a small number of students complete the “Reading” version of the STAR exam. For the purpose of this analysis, only students who completed the Early Literacy exam were kept in the analysis. Data Analysis This analysis was conducted to determine if there was a significant difference in reading and mathematics achievement for first graders who completed a VPK program in M-DCPS compared to students who either did not participate in a VPK program at M-DCPS OR might have participated in a VPK program through private providers. To do this, we performed a statistical test called an independent samples t-test. FAST STAR Reading (Early Literacy) For reading, the analysis included 20,313 students who completed the FAST STAR Reading Early Literacy exam during PM1. The mean scale score for VPK completers was 771.79 (SD = 87.04), while the mean scale score for non-completers was 753.94 (SD = 93.85) . The results of the statistical t-test revealed that this difference is statistically meaningful, meaning we can be confident that the difference is not just a fluke. t (12666.45) = -13.14, p < .001. Additionally, the Cohen’s D value was . 19, which indicates a small to moderate effect size. In other words, students who attended VPK programs in M-DCPS during the 2022-2023 school year demonstrated better performance o

FAQs

What is the purpose of the report on VPK and first grade achievement?

The report identifies M-DCPS students who completed VPK in 2022-2023 and compares their early literacy and math achievement in first grade with students who did not complete VPK in M-DCPS.

How was the comparison between VPK completers and non-completers conducted?

Two independent samples t-tests were run using FAST STAR Reading (Early Literacy) and FAST STAR Mathematics scale scores from the first progress monitoring period (PM1) of first grade.

What did the results show for reading and math?

VPK completers scored higher than non-completers in both reading and math at the start of first grade, with a statistically meaningful difference in reading and a statistically significant but very small effect size in math.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Fahsai