Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies (ECLS)

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies (ECLS) program offers the first nationally representative study of early childhood development and education in the United States. The ECLS program currently has three separate longitudinal studies fielded by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES): The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–99 (ECLS-K); the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B); and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of 2010–11 (ECLS-K:2011). These studies are intended to complement one another; together, they provide a picture of children’s development and education from birth through the elementary and middle school years.

Since the base year of the first ECLS study, the ECLS-K, AIR has provided support for study design; instrument development; assessment development; field testing; main study collection; database and database documentation development; and training of researchers on the various ECLS databases.
 

Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of 2010–11 (ECLS-K:2011)

Children’s Knowledge and Skills at Kindergarten Entry in Illinois (October 2019)

At least half of states administer or are developing kindergarten entry assessments. In fall 2017 the Illinois State Board of Education began requiring teachers to report data on every child’s skills at kindergarten entry using the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey.

English Language Program Participation Among Students in the Kindergarten Class of 2010-11: Spring 2011 to Spring 2012 (July 2018)

Providing English language instruction has important implications for millions of children nationwide. This Statistics in Brief report uses data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, focused on the Kindergarten Class of 2010-11, to examine students who participated in English language programs.

The Summer After Kindergarten: Children’s Experiences by Socioeconomic Characteristics (May 2018)

This Statistics-in-Brief analyzes student's participation in summer activities compared by two socioeconomic characteristics - household poverty status and parents' highest level of education. Data for socioeconomic characteristics was gathered from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 while data related to summer activity participation was collected from interviews with parents or guardians in the fall of 2011.

Findings From the Fourth-Grade Round of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–11 (PDF, March 2018)

This report highlights data gathered in the spring of 2015, when a majority of the students from the study were in fourth grade, providing a snapshot of information on select child and family characteristics including poverty status, parental education, family type, and primary home language as well as children's knowledge in reading, math, and science.

Infographic: Immigrant Kindergartners in the United States (PDF)

How many students in our nation’s kindergarten classrooms were born outside the United States? Where do they come from and what languages do they speak?

Infographic: First Graders' Exposure to Technology in the Classroom (PDF)

This infographic uses findings from the 2010-11 Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to illustrate a picture of student access to common electronic devices and teachers’ training in use of technology in the classroom.
 

Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B)

The Children Born in 2001 at Kindergarten Entry: First Findings From the Kindergarten Data Collections of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (PDF, November 2010)

Using data from the final two rounds of the ECLS-B, this First Look provides a snapshot of the demographic characteristics, reading and mathematics knowledge, fine motor skills, school characteristics, and before- and after-school care arrangements of the cohort at the time they first began kindergarten.

Preschool: First Findings From the Third Follow-up of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (PDF, October 2007)

This report, the first from the third wave of the ECLS-B, provides descriptive information about these children when they were about 4 years old, including results from language, literacy, mathematics, and fine motor skills assessments, and information on children's nonparental education and care experiences.

Children Born in 2001: First Results from the Base Year of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (PDF, November 2006)

This report provides descriptive information about children born in the United States in 2001. It presents information on certain child and family characteristics, on children’s mental and physical skills, on children’s first experiences in child care, and on the fathers of these children.

Age 2: Findings From the 2-Year-Old Follow-up of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (PDF, August 2006)

This First Look uses the second wave of data from the ECLS-B, a study of children born in the year 2001. It provides descriptive information about these children when they were about 2 years old, presenting information on selected child and family characteristics.

Fathers of U.S. Children Born in 2001: Findings from ECLS-B (PDF, July 2006)

This First Look presents information about the biological fathers of children born in the United States in the year 2001. It presents information on specific demographic characteristics of resident and nonresident biological fathers’ involvement in pregnancy and birth, fathers’ attitudes about fathering, and what resident fathers are doing with and for their very young children.
 

Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K)

Access to Algebra I: The Effects of Online Mathematics for Grade 8 Students (December 2011)

This study tested the impact of expanding access to Algebra I to grade 8 students by offering an online course in schools that do not typically offer Algebra I in grade 8. The results indicate that offering Algebra I as an online course to algebra-ready students is an effective way to broaden access in schools

The Kindergarten Year (PDF, November 2011)

This report answers two basic sets of questions about children's knowledge and skill acquisition during the kindergarten year. What gains are children making from the fall of the kindergarten year to the spring of the kindergarten year in their overall reading and mathematics knowledge and skills? What gains are children making in specific knowledge and skills (e.g., recognizing letters, recognizing numbers)?

Eighth-Grade Algebra: Findings From the Eighth-Grade Round of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–99 (PDF, November 2011)

This Statistics in Brief provides descriptive statistics on algebra enrollment for the cohort of students in the first-grade class of 1999-2000 who had progressed to eighth grade in the 2006-07 school year. The brief examines mathematics performance at the end of eighth grade by algebra enrollment and other characteristics, including prior mathematics ability and schools' level of eighth-grade algebra enrollment.

Making the Most of Extra Time: Relationships Between Full-Day Kindergarten Instructional Environments and Reading Achievement (PDF, November 2010)

This brief provides some of the first evidence on how full-day kindergarten programs might structure instructional resources and practices in ways that prepare children for first grade and later school success. Read the related policy brief (PDF) >>

Eighth Grade: First Findings From the Final Round of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (PDF, September 2008)

Using data from the ECLS-K, AIR described the middle school experiences of the cohort. The ECLS-K followed the educational, socioemotional, and physical development of a nationally representative sample of kindergartners in public and private schools in the United States from the fall of 1998 through the spring of 2007. Information was collected from the children, their parents, their teachers, and school administrators.

Demographic and School Characteristics of Students Receiving Special Education in the Elementary Grades (PDF, July 2007)

This issue brief provides a detailed description of the proportion of elementary school students receiving special education in kindergarten, first grade, third grade, and fifth grade; the primary disabilities of these students; and the variation in these measures across a range of demographic and school characteristics.

Children’s Self-Report About Their Social-Emotional Development from Third to Fifth Grade: Findings from the ECLS-K (PDF, April 2007)

This paper uses longitudinal self-report data from a nationally representative data set to explore the relationships between self-perceptions of peer relationships and problem behaviors measured at the end of the third and fifth grades and various socio-demographic characteristics and academic performance.

Timing and Duration of Student Participation in Special Education in the Primary Grades (PDF, March 2007)

A first step in understanding more about students receiving special education in the primary grades is a basic description of the timing and duration of special education services provided over these grades. This Issue Brief focuses on the primary grades and uses special education data collected in spring 1999 (kindergarten), 2000 (first grade), and 2002 (third grade).

The Early Reading and Mathematics Achievement of Children Who Repeated Kindergarten or Who Began School a Year Late (PDF, September 2006)

Parents and educators are concerned whether certain children will have the knowledge and skills at age 5 to succeed in kindergarten. This report examines the association between kindergarten enrollment status (e.g., repeating kindergarten or delaying entry into kindergarten) and children’s first-grade reading and mathematics achievement, using data from the ECLS-K.

Findings From the 2-Year-Old Follow-up of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (PDF, August 2006)

This First Look uses the second wave of data from the ECLS-B, a study of children born in the year 2001. It provides descriptive information about these children when they were about 2 years old, presenting information on selected child and family characteristics.

Arts Instruction of Public School Students in the First and Third Grades (PDF, June 2006)

Few national studies have been conducted on students’ receipt of arts instruction, particularly in the early grades. To address this gap in the literature, this Issue Brief provides a descriptive look at the prevalence of arts instruction received by first and third grade public school students in their schools. The brief looks at differences in these characteristics by level of poverty and/or urbanicity of the school.

Instructional Focus in First Grade (PDF, March 2006)

This Issue Brief details how often per week and how much time per day first-graders were instructed in subjects such as reading, mathematics, and science during the 1999-2000 academic year. It then focuses in more detail on students’ in-class work on reading and language arts.

Fifth Grade: Findings From The Fifth-Grade Follow-up of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (PDF, March 2006)

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–99 (ECLS-K) is following a nationally representative cohort of children from kindergarten and into the later grades. The ECLS-K focuses on children’s school experiences beginning with kindergarten.

Teacher Qualifications, Instructional Practices, and Reading and Mathematics Gains of Kindergartners (PDF, March 2006)

This report explores relationships between kindergarten teachers' reports of their qualifications and instructional practices and direct assessments of children's reading and mathematics achievement during the kindergarten year. The study estimated the degree to which specific aspects of teacher training—the teaching credential and coursework in pedagogy—and teaching experience were associated with student achievement.

Regional Differences in Kindergartners’ Early Education Experiences (PDF, June 2005)

Findings from this report indicate that kindergartners’ preschool experiences and kindergarten program type vary by the regions in which their schools are located and by the regional characteristics of these kindergartners, their families, and their schools.

Relationships Between Family Risks and Children’s Reading and Mathematics Growth from Kindergarten Through Third Grade (PDF, April 2005)

This paper explores whether kindergartners’ reading and mathematics gains over the first 4 years of school are more strongly associated with particular risk factors alone or in combination, as opposed to the cumulative number of family risk factors a child experiences. Second, the analysis makes use of the reading and mathematics data collected at 4 time points to describe achievement growth over time, rather than using scores from two time points as a measure of academic gain.

America's Kindergartners (PDF, February 2000)

This report provides national data on children’s skills, knowledge, and experiences as they enter kindergarten for the first time. The data, collected in the fall of 1998 from approximately 22,000 kindergarten children attending about 1,000 public and private schools, are the first findings from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99.