Early Childhood Longitudinal Study [United States]: Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) programprovides national data on children's status at birth and at variouspoints thereafter, children's transition to nonparental care, earlyeducation programs, and school, and children's experiences and growththrough the fifth grade. ECLS also provides data to test hypothesesabout the effects of a wide range of family, school, community, andindividual variables on children's development, early learning, andearly performance in school. The Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999addresses four key issues: (1) school readiness, (2) children'stransitions to kindergarten, first grade, and beyond, (3) therelationship between children's kindergarten experience and theirelementary school performance, and (4) children's growth in math,reading, and general knowledge (i.e., science and social studies), andtheir progress through elementary school.