The Woodruff Study

Woodruff Primary School is a public “3K-throughsecond grade” school in Spartanburg District #4. Long known as a statewide leader in pre-K public education, the Kindergarten Success CAN chose WPS for an investigation of nearly 50 dependent variables and their relationship with success in 5 year old kindergarten; e.g., impact of 4K and 3K participation, attendance/tardiness in 4K, mother’s education level, measures of poverty, ethnicity, access to technology, disability, and many other potential contributing indicators.

Child-level data (de-identified) on each of these variables were collected by 5K teachers at the end of the childrens’ 5K year, enabling cross-tabulated comparisons among potential contributing indicators and kindergarten success.

Major findings included a strongly positive relationship between 4K participation and 5K success, suggesting a county-wide effort to encourage 4K participation. Significant positive relationships were also evident given mother’s educational level, technology/literacy in the home, 4K absence/attendance patterns, and developmental delays.

An executive summary of The Woodruff Study is available upon request from BThompson@ learnwithsam.org