The county school system has gone from half- to full-day kindergarten at every elementary school, part of a nationwide trend motivated partly by parent convenience and the quest to teach children more reading and math skills at an earlier grade. Full-day kindergarten is mandatory in Maryland this fall and is required in several other states.

That change and others, including class-size reduction in schools most affected by poverty, have paved the way for a more ambitious preschool program. Weast said the extra instructional time is essential, given the increasing academic demands on schoolchildren in recent years…

The Rutgers institute reported findings last year from a year-long study that indicated full-day preschool could yield considerable gains. In a comparison of an eight-hour full-day program and a 2.5- to three-hour program, each serving randomly assigned students from the same pool, the study found that full-day students showed nearly twice the reading and math gains as the half-day students after several months of instruction…

Source: Washington Post, United States
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