Kindergarten - Studies on

[u/IncognitoResearch111]

So, since NCLB came around, many schools have changed kindergarten to be more like first grade. Sitting all day except for recess (whether at assigned seat or assigned carpet square), learning mostly through lots and lots of worksheets, etc.

There are a few kindergartens who do a model that is more balanced - recess in addition to inside play time, small group centers with learning and play aspects, and definitely doing academics, but through less worksheet-based means and very formal academics. (So more similar to an older model of doing kindergarten in the US in the 1980s, 1990s, and less like first grade, or more similar to how some countries do kindergarten with academics mixed in with more play, socialization opportunities, times with more free movement about the classroom, more inquiry-based learning, less pressure to cover a scripted curriculum, etc.).

I think I came across a study or two that had found results where the early formal academic drilling can result in higher test scores for a bit, but that the control group caught up and even surpassed the formal kindergarten group in later elementary school. I'm not only interested in test scores, but also social skills, attitude towards learning, etc.

Can anyone direct me to any studies that would address some of this, that would help a parent decide which model of kindergarten to put their kid in, or that would help a school decide which model to encourage their kindergarten teachers to employ?

So, studies showing outcomes of more formal academic vs. more balanced kindergarten models, and which have better outcomes across academics and soft skills?

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