The Effects of Kindergarten Instruction in Alphabet and Numbers on First Grade Reading

The ability to recognize letters and numbers in kindergarten has been demonstrated to be a better predictor of end-of-first-grade reading skills than other accepted“readiness skills” or IQ. It would thus seem logical to hypothesize that instruction in recognizing letters and numbers in kindergarten should produce an increment to reading level attained at the end of first grade. To test this possibility, four classes of kindergarten children were given the Letters and Numbers Subtest of the Gates Reading Readiness Tests in the spring of their kindergarten year. Two classes were then given eight weeks of training in alphabet and numbers names, while the other two classes participated in the regular informal kindergarten program. Retesting at the end of this period showed that the experimental group did respond to training, achieving a level of recognition of numbers and letters higher than that of the control group. Follow-up testing at the beginning of first grade showed that the effects of training persisted through the summer vacation. Reading tests given at the end of first grade, however, demonstrated that the beneficial effect of kinder-garten training in letters and numbers had dissipated by that time. The distribution of end-of-first-grade reading scores revealed no differences between the experimental and control groups. From these results, together with the results of earlier studies, one could conclude that formalized training in letters and numbers recognition affects only the scores achieved on subsequent recognition tests and does not affect eventual ability to read. In this regard, one may even question the value of formalized training in other reading readiness activities as well.